The Historical and Culinary Journey of Almond Milk and Oil in Medieval Arab Cuisine

Almond milk is made by soaking ground almonds in water and then extracting the liquid, which means it isn’t technically ‘milk’. In medieval Arab cookbooks, it is often called duhn al-lawz (دهن اللوز, ‘almond oil’), but sometimes referred to as mā’ al-lawz (ماء اللوز, ‘almond water’) or halīb al-lawz (حليب اللوز, ‘almond milk’). This should not be mistaken for modern ‘almond oil’, which is the extract left after pressing dried almond kernels.