Frugal Tip: Paint Strainer Bags for Almond Milk, Home Brewing and More

In my post on how to make almond milk, I linked to a video by Kardena Pauza of Kardena's Kitchen.  In it she mentions using paint bags to use for straining the almond pulp.  She said she found them at the hardware store.  After some searching, I found that they're called strainer bags and found in the paint section of hardware stores like Kardena mentioned.  Painters use them to strain old and sometimes new paint.

SuperTuff brand of paint straining  bag

  

I've seen almond milk bags for sale on Amazon and elsewhere for upwards of $6 apiece.  I've found what seem to be the same thing with elastic instead of drawstrings in a pack of two for $2.28 at Home Depot.  You could make your own easily enough.  I thought of this but couldn't find the exact material I wanted on sale.  These seem to be a fine mesh nylon material and are reusable and cheap, so I let go of the idea of making my own.

One gallon size strainer bag

I've just used them so far with almond milk, but I assume you can use them for any nut milk and soy milk.  I've seen them mentioned on home brewing sites as well.  I'm not sure about using them with herbal tinctures and oils, but I may try as an experiment.  I don't know if the herbals mixes would stain the bags, but as long as they don't leave a scent after washing the fabric, I guess it's not a big deal.  While I won't be getting rid of my cheesecloth for straining other things any time soon, these are definitely handy to have around.

Related reading:

• How to Make Almond Milk
• Powdered Milk and Milk Substitutes for Long-Term Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness

© P.J. Deneen