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.

A 13th-century North African culinary text describes making almond milk (or oil, as it was known then) by crushing high-quality peeled sweet almonds in a mortar, including their thin outer skin, until they reach a brain-like consistency. Then heat fresh water in a clean, glazed vessel and add one ounce of hot water for each pound of almonds. Rub the almonds vigorously with your hands until their oil starts to emerge. Place the almond mixture in a thick cloth and gently squeeze out all the oil. Crush the remaining sediment with a bit of hot water, let it absorb, and then squeeze again to extract all the oil. Typically, one pound of almonds yields about a quarter to a third of its weight in oil. Some recipes distinguish between almond milk and oil.

According to the 11th-century pharmacologist Ibn Jazla, almond oil is made by grinding almonds and extracting their oil with hot water, or by pounding almonds into a dough, adding hot water, and kneading until the oil is released. The second method produces what we now recognize as almond oil for cooking, though there might have been a third method without using water before extracting the oil.

Historical sources indicate that the use of almond oil and milk in Arab cuisine declined over time, although almonds themselves remained popular. In the earliest known cookbook, likely written in 10th-century Baghdad, almond oil/milk was used in a wide range of dishes, both savory and sweet, including one of the oldest marzipan recipes, often serving as a binding or thickening agent. By the early 13th century, another Baghdadi cookbook mentions almond oil in only a few sweet recipes. In 13th-century Muslim Spain, almond oil/milk appears in a few recipes for frying sweets such as ka’k, bread pudding, and qatā’if (a type of crepe). Ibn Jazla included it in sweet dishes like jūdhābs and khabīs. Egyptian cookbooks from the 14th and 15th centuries feature almond milk in about a dozen recipes.

Sweet almonds depicted in an Arabic translation of Dioscorides’ materia medica (Bologna-Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 2954, fol. 57r

Bitter almonds (Bologna-Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 2954, fol. 56v)

Sweet and bitter almond oils were significant in both Greek and Islamic medicine. Ibn Jazla noted that sweet almond oil was effective for treating various ailments such as headaches, kidney and bladder issues, dysuria, womb pain, chronic coughs, colic, and even rabid dog bites, though it could be harmful for those with weak bowels. Bitter almond oil, on the other hand, was beneficial for the spleen, headaches, colic, earworms, and could help increase menstrual flow. The renowned Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) recommended almond oil for colic. He also used almond oil to treat sprains, tinnitus, and even to promote beard growth.