Basic Recipes for Dairy-Free, Vegan Ingredients

Why would I bother with this post when clearly most of my selections for baking are nowhere near the realm of vegan or dairy free? Well, the truth is that many people are allergic to milk or milk products. Dairy allergies are different from lactose intolerance. A dairy allergy is an extreme sensitivity to the proteins in dairy products, while lactose intolerance is caused by a lack of lactase enzyme, which helps the body digest dairy products. Dairy allergies can range from mild indigestion to anaphylaxis, which is life threatening.

Personally, I'm fortunate enough to only have a mild milk allergy as part of my multiple intoleraces, which gives me a fair bit of nausea, gas and indigestion when I consume it. I stick to fortified, organic soymilk and cannot eat cheese or drink milk at all, and I can only take a tiny amount (about 100g or whatever the tiny pots of Source are) of yogurt before I start feeling the affects. I also take a calcium supplement every morning, as well as many other non-dairy sources of the minerals and nutrients found in milk.

So, in order to make my and other's lives a bit easier, I have recipes for evaporated and sweetened condensed "milks". They are painfully easy:

Sweetened Condensed Soy- or Rice-Milk

3 cups plain, unsweetened dairy free "milk"

1/2 cup sugar (or equivalent)

1 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Put 'milk in a saucepan.
Add sugar.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until volume is reduced to 1 cup.
Add vanilla and salt.
Cool. Store covered in fridge.

For Evaporated 'Milk:

Omit sugar and vanilla.

1. Cook until volume is reduced to 1 & 1/2 cups.
2. Store covered in fridge.