Every day you encounter plant-based beverages (milk) — with different tastes and aromas — and with a variety of uses. Oats, soy, almonds and others – the choice is huge and can satisfy every taste and preference. Whether you pour it over your breakfast in the morning, add it to your coffee or make a smoothie with it – there are options suitable for every purpose. What they all have in common is that they do not contain lactose, casein and other milk proteins.
Although we continue to refer to plant-based beverages colloquially as “oat milk” or “soy milk,” the legally correct name is drink. Here are which drinks are most suitable for which purpose, what advantages the individual variants hide and how to distinguish them:
Soy
The application of soy drinks is probably the most diverse, because they can be added to any dish or drink. They also come in different flavors (vanilla or chocolate). Since soy is a legume, its drink contains as much protein as cow’s milk, but less fat. The complete vegetable protein ensures a thick creamy foam in your favorite coffee or for anything else – the soy drink is universal.
Oats
It has a sweetish, slightly grainy taste, which arises during its production, and more precisely during the fermentation of the starch contained in the oats. In case of gluten intolerance, however, make sure that the drink does not contain gluten. It is suitable for cooking and baking and especially for topping cereals. The oat drink does not foam much because it is poorer in proteins. If you’re craving an oat latte, it’s best to make it with an oat drink barista.
Almond
With its mild nutty taste, the almond drink is very popular because it goes well with any cereal breakfast. It can also be added to delicious smoothies or coffee. Almonds contain complete plant proteins, which is why almond drinks foam up wonderfully. That is why you can easily prepare a creamy macchiato or cappuccino with them. The nutty note enriches recipes for bread or sweets. A bonus to this is that almonds are gluten-free.
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