The world hasn’t been cute for 16 months. Constant lockdowns due to a global you-know-what were instantly followed by a plague of cicadas — effectively keeping us on lockdown. And now, there is a shortage of Oatly. Wake us up in mid-2022. Until then, we’ve learned how to make oat milk. (DIY to the rescue!)
It’s hard to know why our treasured, holy-grail oat milk is nearly impossible to find. Is it because Starbucks gets it first? Or a reported delay in the opening of an Oatly factory? Or are they just screwing with our fragile psyches? OUR COFFEE IS CURDLING, and we need answers NOW.
Some of our friends told us, “Just try another oat milk.” We moved them to the “acquaintance” category, because they do not understand. Heck, we don’t even fully understand it. We don’t want to take away from any other oat milk brand but …
Let’s just say that our Oatly obsession has clouded our rational thought.
A brief primer: Oat milk has been on the U.S. market since the ‘90s. Ah, the ‘90s. A lot of things were good about them (from TLC to Tamagotchis) but oat milk wasn’t one. It was so not cool (i.e., shelf stable). Eventually it hit the fridge like cow’s milk, so it was certainly no longer weird — but still not very popular.
Then Oatly arrived in the U.S. with not just a great product but an AMAZING marketing team. Its breezy, tongue-in-cheek attitude endeared both oat milk pros and novices alike. Right around this time, this formerly niche genre’s growth exploded into the mainstream. Oatly straight up changed the game and made people notice — including a group of investors including Oprah Winfrey, who invested $200 million in it. Today, the company is valued at somewhere between $10 and $13 billion. With a B.
Still, now it’s hard to get, and, well, we’re not mad; we’re just disappointed. No wait, we’re mad. But our therapist told us to channel our anger in productive ways. So we decided to make our own oat milk. The first few batches were discouraging, but we finally found the right proportions, and we’re excited to share them with you, so you can make your own oat milk too before Oatly decides to twirl down from the holy heavens and bless us with the precious droplets of its golden soul-salve again.
‘Til then, Oatly tribe, we will get through this together.
How to Make Oat Milk at Home
Ingredients:
4 cup cold water
1 cup rolled oats
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Pinch of salt (optional)
Equipment:
High-speed blender
Nut milk bag
Add oats, water, and any additional ingredients to a high powered blender.
Get your ingredients together. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Blend for 20-30 seconds. Make sure to not over-blend.
Blend it real good. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Place a nut milk bag or thin towel over a large mixing bowl or pitcher and pour in the mixture.
Grab a nut milk bag. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Strain the mixture. Double strain if needed to remove all sediments.
Strain the mixture. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Transfer the oat milk to a sealed container and store in the fridge or enjoy immediately.
Enjoy! | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
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