Almond Cow Milk Maker Review: Homemade Nut Milk

Making milk at home lets you choose the nuts or seeds, prepare them as your recipe directs and see exactly what goes into the finished drink. For GAPS, that preparation is part of the food you are making. A milk maker becomes useful when it makes the blending and filtering easier to repeat. That is where Almond Cow fits in my kitchen.

I have used Almond Cow since May 2021, and it is the milk maker I use for homemade nut milks. The feature that makes it worth considering is its built-in filter basket: the machine processes the ingredients and holds back the pulp, so a regular batch does not need a separate nut milk bag.^[1][2]

The result is filtered milk, with the damp pulp left in the basket. Before choosing one, I would look at the size of the batch, the preparation your ingredients need, and the cleaning that follows. Those details tell you more about whether it fits your kitchen than the button alone.

See the Almond Cow Milk Maker in my Amazon storefront. You can also use my Almond Cow referral link when shopping directly with the company.

What the Filter Basket Changes

With a blender method, you blend the ingredients with water and then strain the mixture if the recipe calls for it. Almond Cow puts the filtering step inside the machine. Its basket attaches beneath the motor head, around the blade assembly. The liquid collects in the main vessel while the basket retains the pulp.^[1][3]

The practical benefit is fewer transfers between a blender, a strainer and a bowl. You still need to empty and rinse the basket, but you do not have to pour a full batch through a separate bag. If squeezing a bag is the part of making milk you would most like to avoid, this is the design feature to pay attention to.

It also explains why the machine cannot replace every blender method. An intentionally unstrained milk keeps the blended ingredients in the drink. Almond Cow separates some of those solids out. Choose the method for the milk you want to make rather than assuming that every nut milk recipe produces the same result.

What Making a Batch Involves

The standard Milk Maker makes about five to six cups per batch. Its current product listing gives a capacity of up to 1.5 liters. That is the batch to plan around when choosing storage space and deciding how quickly you will use the milk.^[3]

For an Almond Cow recipe that fits your GAPS preparation, the machine workflow is straightforward:

1. Prepare the ingredients as the recipe directs. Keep any soaking, draining, heating or cooling steps that belong to that recipe.
2. Add the measured water to the main vessel within the machine’s MIN and MAX marks. Put the prepared ingredients in the filter basket without filling past its MAX line.
3. Fit the basket securely to the head, following the lock marking on your unit, and seat the head on the base.
4. Press the cow button to start the automatic cycle. The machine blends in stages, with pauses between them. Wait until blending has finished and the indicator returns to a steady light.
5. Lift the head onto its collector stand, transfer the milk to a clean storage container, and empty the pulp and clean the parts.

The pauses are part of the automatic program. They do not mean that the first short blending burst has finished the batch. Almond Cow’s FAQ describes three blending stages before the steady-light endpoint.^[2]

The maker’s one-minute description refers to machine processing. Preparing ingredients, filling the machine, transferring the milk and cleaning the parts still take time around that cycle. Allow time for those steps as well as the automatic cycle.^[1][4]

How It Fits GAPS Preparation

For GAPS, start with the preparation of the food. In the beverages section of Gut and Physiology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride describes soaking nuts or seeds for 12 to 24 hours, draining them, then blending them with fresh water and straining the milk. Her coconut milk method has a different beginning: the coconut and water are brought to a boil, cooled, blended and strained.^[5]

Almond Cow does not heat the milk. It cannot do a recipe’s boiling step for you, and the blending cycle does not replace a required soak. Keep those preparation steps with the food, whichever appliance performs the later processing.^[5][6]

The measurements matter too. A blender recipe with a small amount of water cannot simply be poured into this machine and topped up to its minimum line without changing the milk. Use a properly prepared, machine-specific recipe whose quantities work with the basket and fill marks. Keep a blender recipe with its own method when that is what it requires.

The Rich Homemade Coconut Milk for Full GAPS recipe is one example of a separate blender method. Follow its own boiling, cooling, blending and straining directions to make that milk.

Cleaning the Basket and Head

The filter is convenient during milk-making, but it still needs care afterward. Empty the damp pulp and rinse the mesh before the residue dries into its fine openings. Rinse the vessel and the accessible stainless parts around the blade, keeping the electrical top and button area dry. Unplug the machine before cleaning, and take care around the sharp blade.^[2][4]

For clogged basket pores, Almond Cow’s cleaning article describes an overnight soak in two tablespoons of vinegar mixed with two cups of water, with the mesh submerged, followed by scrubbing and rinsing. This is a basket-cleaning step, not a reason to soak the motor head.^[4]

The collector cup gives the head somewhere to stand while remaining liquid drains. Wash it when used. The manufacturer’s ordinary milk-making setup places this stand outside the main vessel; its smaller creamer method is a different arrangement. A concentrated creamer recipe needs its own instructions rather than a guess at a smaller regular batch.^[2][6]

The leftover pulp is another ingredient to plan for, not finished flour. Drying and grinding it is a separate kitchen task with its own method. You can decide before starting whether another pulp-based preparation fits your day.

Materials, Storage and Replacement Parts

The Milk Maker has a stainless vessel interior. The current US Milk Maker listing on Amazon describes stainless-steel food-contact surfaces, while Almond Cow’s own product page lists stainless steel and plastic among the materials in the complete appliance.^[3][8]

Parts have also changed over time. The currently listed replacement basket is 304 stainless steel, and Almond Cow specifically limits that replacement to machines purchased after January 2024. For an earlier machine, the company directs owners to customer support. Check compatibility before ordering a basket rather than assuming every Milk Maker uses the same one.^[7]

For the finished milk, the maker gives a refrigerated storage window of three to five days. Use the storage directions for the particular recipe, and have a clean covered glass container ready before you begin. Natural separation can happen in homemade milk; gently shake the closed container before pouring.^[1][6]

Five or six cups is useful if that quantity fits your meals and drinks. If you only want a single serving occasionally, a blender you already have may be more practical than a separate appliance with a larger minimum batch.

Who the Almond Cow Suits

The strongest reason to choose Almond Cow is regular filtered milk-making with the straining step built in. You can choose the ingredients and keep a dedicated tool for that job. Its value is easiest to see when that is a task you already want to repeat.

I would keep the blender method for a recipe that needs its exact proportions, retains all of the blended ingredients, or serves another purpose such as a smoothie. For a compatible filtered milk, Almond Cow combines processing and separation in one vessel. That is the distinction I would use to choose between the two methods.

If that fits the milk you want to make, take a closer look at the Almond Cow Milk Maker in my Amazon storefront. You can also browse my kitchen equipment reviews for the other tools I use.

More Help With Homemade Milks

My Dairy-Free GAPS Cookbook and Drinks Cookbook are listed in the WFLI Shop. They are the relevant collections to look for if you want recipes that put homemade milks to work in meals and drinks.

For a recipe you can use now, see Hot-Water Homemade Coconut Milk. It is another distinct blender recipe, with its own preparation, quantities and directions.

References

1. Almond Cow. How It Works. Standard Milk Maker workflow and processing description. Accessed October 21, 2026.
2. Almond Cow. Frequently Asked Questions, “The Almond Cow”: cleaning, collector cup, basket fitting, automatic blending cycle and filtration. Accessed October 21, 2026.
3. Almond Cow. Almond Cow Milk Machine. Current capacity and general construction. Accessed October 21, 2026.
4. Almond Cow. How to Clean Your Almond Cow. June 30, 2017. Basket, vessel and collector care. Accessed October 21, 2026.
5. Campbell-McBride, Natasha. Gut and Physiology Syndrome. 2020. “What We Shall Eat and Why, With Some Recipes,” “Beverages”: “Nut/Seed Milk” and “Coconut Milk.”
6. Almond Cow. Milk and Ingredient F.A.Q. Nonheating operation, batch size, refrigeration, separation and distinct small-batch methods. Accessed October 21, 2026.
7. Almond Cow. Filter Basket. Replacement materials and January 2024 compatibility condition. Accessed October 21, 2026.
8. Almond Cow. US 120V Milk Maker listing on Amazon. Selected standalone Milk Maker, five-to-six-cup batch and stated food-contact construction. Reached from the actual WFLI storefront card and checked October 21, 2026.