Soak (germinate) the almonds for about 8 hours (see this page for directions). Add the 2 cups of water and the almonds to a blender (the high-speed Vitamix^® blender works perfectly), and blend at high speed for a moment, until the almonds are in small pieces and the water has turned to white milk. Strain the mixture with the finest mesh strainer* (chinois, see picture below) or fine mesh bag** (see picture below).

The almonds will expand during germination, as they absorb water. As such, what was once one cup of almonds will be more than one cup after germination. When I make milk, I germinate eight cups of almonds in a large glass bowl. When I am ready to make the milk, those eight cups have become about 12 cups. So, I put three cups of the expanded almonds into the blender and fill the blender with water to the 8-cup mark. That requires about 5.5 cups of water, which is slightly less than the 1-to-2 ratio of almonds to water indicated above. This makes a nice almond milk, which I usually use to make Almond Shakes. However, note that less water can be used to make a richer, creamier milk, or more to make a thinner milk.

Store refrigerated in a sealed container (see below). Keeps for about 3-4 days, refrigerated at 40°F.

Note that the milk will separate with time. This is natural; the fat content separates from the water, much as the fat content of cow's milk does. This isn't usually seen with today's cow's milk, due to homogenization, which came into widespread practice in the 1950s or 1960s (truly, it is another form of denaturalization, along with pasteurization). I use the pitchers as shown below and shake or swirl the milk to remix prior to using. While separation is normal, when a golden-colored water is seen as the top layer, it has probably been 4+ days since it was made, and should be discarded. Outdated milk will smell and taste a little sour. Various white layers of separation are fine.

Nuts other than almonds may be used as well.