Strawberry Milk

Strawberry milk was the only way I would drink milk as a child. I’ve always had a dairy allergy – but didn’t figure it out until I did an elimination diet (supervised and recommended by my doctor) in my early 20s.

So even though I ate yogurt, and ice cream, and cheese, a glass of milk was taking it too far, and I’ve never had a glass of plain milk in my life. Did I even grow up on the prairies? Strawberry milk, though, was something special. A rarity, because my mom was sort of anti-sugar, and it was syrupy sweet and a sickly, vivid pink.

This healthier vegan strawberry milk is neither of those things. It’s lightly sweet, and still pink, but not in the questionable food colouring kind of way. It’s also ultra refreshing – maybe not quite as much as strawberry slush – but still, in a slightly richer way.

I have read that strawberry milk is very popular in Korea, but I don’t think what we had on the shelves in my Manitoba supermarket was the same thing. Maybe it’s similar, but I’ve never heard of it other than in the little jugs at the grocery store (and I don’t think they even sell it anymore, maybe it was a weird 90s/early 00s thing).

I’ve made it here with fresh local strawberries, but it works just as well with frozen berries.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Cashew milk: best with almond, cashew, or oat milk, any kind of thinner milk-style drink works well here. Full fat canned coconut milk is a no go but just about any other option is good. A sweeter type like a nut milk is nicer.
• Strawberries: as mentioned above, frozen berries work well, which means you can make strawberry milk all year long – a taste of summer. It will be slightly more smoothie like straight after blending with frozen berries, but that’s fine.
• Vanilla: a tiny pinch of cardamom or pink pepper are nice substitutions if you want a hint of spice.

Notes and Substitutions

It’s best to use milk straight from the refrigerator to ensure this is cold and refreshing right off the bat, especially if you’re using fresh strawberries. It will keep for a handful of days, though, so don’t worry about drinking it all at once.

An immersion blender works very well for this if you don’t have a full-sized blender, or don’t want to dirty it. I use an immersion blender.

How to Store

Storage: the drink will keep for 3-4 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator, but is best served fresh.

Freezing: while I imagine this could be frozen, I don’t think that the taste would be as good after thawing.

Expert Tips

• Sweeten to taste: the maple syrup (or honey) is optional and should be added only after tasting the drink to see if it’s sweet enough for you.
• Use sweet berries: if the strawberries are very good, you probably won’t need to add any maple syrup or honey. Look for the smallest, reddest fruit you can find.

More Strawberry Recipes

Strawberry Elderflower Scone Cake
Pink Power Watermelon Smoothie
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Chocolate Coconut Pie with Strawberries

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This was first posted in July 2016. It has been updated with new photos and improvements to the recipe and text as of May 2021.

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by Alexandra Daum

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