Just when you thought milk couldn’t be crazy anymore, here comes the pea, the hemp … and the camel!

You are now used to the idea of ​​sprinkling oats, almonds and soy milk on your breakfast cereal. To create confusion, a new set of alternative milks has arrived. Potato milk, who? And a camel?

The alternative milk market shows no signs of peaking. Leading brand Oatly estimates that nearly a third of UK households now buy dairy-free “milk”. According to figures from last month, the UK market for soy-free plant milk has grown by 130% in five years.

Some new products have improved green certification over well-established plants such as soybeans and almonds. Soybean production clears large areas of the Amazon rainforest and requires 6,000 liters of water to produce 1 liter of almond milk under drought-prone conditions. California (don’t worry about Air Miles to get it here).

Potato milk requires 56 times less water than almond milk and uses half the soil required for oat milk. In addition, self-cultivated crops like cannabis emit very little carbon dioxide.

Fiona Hunter of nutrition consultancy Hunter Kellow points out that cow’s milk costs 7p per 100ml, while most plant-based milk costs 20p per 100ml, almost three times the price.

And few people get all the vitamins and minerals from milk. “Beef milk is a nutritionally perfect product,” says nutritionist Dr Sarah Schenker.

But if you want to try a new milk, which one would you choose? Here we are testing a few options …

Gragable Stud

Original Potato Dairy Digging Free, £ 13.50 for 6 x 1l, amazon.co.uk

The idea of ​​drinking mashed potatoes for some reason is strange, but in reality, it is a patented emulsion of potatoes and canola oil, says developer Professor Eva Tonberg. at Lund University in Sweden.

It doesn’t taste like potatoes – in fact, it doesn’t taste so much as I liked the tea-drinking family.

With a creamy texture and a mild aftertaste, the varistor version is now a reliable matte white.

Potato protein is naturally nutritious and fortified with many vitamins and minerals naturally found in milk, but it is nutritionally quite healthy as it does not contain iodine or potassium.

“It contains calcium, vitamin D, B12, vitamin B, riboflavin and folic acid. This is interesting because milk is not a good source of folic acid. But I would like to have iodine on the ingredient list. “Says Fiona Hunter. Sustainability is a big plus of potato ‘milk’. Manufacturers claim that 0.27 kg of CO2 per liter is the lowest carbon dioxide emission of any plant-based milk (for products British dairy products, this is 1.25 kg).

taste: 4/5

Nutrients: 4/5

Eco points: 4/5

Desert favorites

Camelicious Long Life Whole Camel Milk, 235ml for £ 3.05, asda.com

Desert nomads have been drinking it for centuries, but given the camel’s milk, I felt squeaky. Fortunately, it does not smell or taste like “camel”. It is very creamy and has a very light aftertaste.

Saturated fat is lower than that of whole milk (1.7g versus 2.4g) and is said to be rich in vitamins C and B, calcium, iron and potassium. It’s also easier to digest because it contains less lactose than milk (although that’s not a big selling point because you can buy lactose-free milk).

However, as it is imported from Austria, it contains stabilizers, emulsifiers and acidity regulators, resulting in significantly higher carbon dioxide emissions. But the biggest downside is the cost: 1.30 pounds per 100ml (cow’s milk costs 7pence per 100ml).

taste: 4/5

Nutrients: 5/5

Eco points: 2/5

Hemp splash

Good M * lk Hemp Seed, £ 1.50 per liter, sainsburys.co.uk

It’s beautifully white, a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, and is useful for vegans who don’t eat oily fish. In addition, no sugar is added and it is not sweet. But it has a strong vegetal taste. The best results have been with muesli instead of drinks.

No vitamin, mineral or calcium is added and the amount of protein is very low at 0.1 g per 100 ml.

“You get nutrients from the cannabis seeds, but they are only 4% of the ingredients,” says Dr. Schenker.

taste: 2/5

Nutrients: 3/5

Eco points: 4/5

STRIPED RIVAL

Rude Health Tiger Nut Drink, £ 2.24 per liter, hollandand barrett.com

For centuries, the Valencian people of Spain have soaked and then crushed tiger nuts (in fact wrinkled tubers) to make “milk”. Horchata de Chufa is often served over ice.

The fact that tiger nuts grow underground may be the reason this “milk” has a slightly earthy tinge. It’s too creamy for tea or coffee to taste, but it has a pleasant sweetness. With only four ingredients (water, rice, tiger nuts, and salt), it’s not fortified and unsuitable for milk, the main source of calcium, says Dr Schenker. This percentage is made up of tiger nuts, so it’s actually like rice milk. “

taste: 3/5

Nutrients: 2/5

Eco points: 2/5

pea

Mighty Pea M.lk, £ 2 for 1 liter, ocado.com

No, it’s a yellow pea, not a green variety from the garden. It’s surprisingly brown, like the milk left behind Coco-kun’s bowl of chocolate. Creamy and almondy, with a Werther’s Original finish.

For me, it was too strong and too sweet to combine with tea or coffee, but it was the only plant-based milk my teenage son could put in Shreddy and it tasted delicious in granola.

“Enriched with iodine, vitamin D, B12 and calcium, it has a good protein profile,” explains Fiona. The sugar is added in the form of grape juice concentrate (2g per 100ml).

taste: 4/5

Nutrients: 4/5

Eco points: 4/5