Korean Banana Milk

Before you start

Banana-flavored milk is a famous convenience-store drink in South Korea: sweet, mellow and pale yellow, sold in a squat bottle. The commercial version is flavored milk with only a small amount of banana. A homemade version uses real banana, which gives a fresher, rounder taste and a creamier body, then strains it so it drinks like milk rather than a smoothie.

The essentials are a very ripe banana with plenty of brown spots, cold milk, a little sugar and a pinch of salt to make the banana flavor pop. A drop of vanilla rounds it off. Straining is optional, but it is what turns a banana smoothie into banana milk.

Ingredients

• 1 large (about 130 g peeled) very ripe banana — heavily freckled
• 400 ml (13½ oz) cold whole milk
• 1½ to 2 tbsp (20 to 25 g) sugar — or 1½ tbsp honey
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 small pinch fine salt

Method

1. Peel the banana and break it into chunks. The riper it is, the stronger and sweeter the banana flavor.
2. Add the banana, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt to the blender. Blend on high for 30 to 45 seconds, until completely smooth and frothy.
3. Taste. It should taste clearly of banana and be sweet enough to feel like a treat; add up to 1 tsp more sugar if needed and blend again briefly.
4. For the smoothest, drinkable texture, pour through a fine sieve into a pitcher, pressing gently with a spoon. Discard the small amount of fiber left behind.
5. Chill for 30 minutes, then stir and pour into glasses or bottles. Serve cold.

Tips for success

• For a deeper color like the bottled drink, add a pinch of ground turmeric before blending; the amount is too small to taste.
• Blending warms milk slightly, so the 30-minute chill makes a real difference in flavor.
• If your banana is underripe, roast it in its skin at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes, cool, then use it. Roasting softens and sweetens it.

Substitutions

Whole milk

Oat milk is the creamiest dairy-free swap and its natural sweetness suits banana. Low-fat milk works but tastes thinner.

Sugar

Condensed milk, about 2 tbsp, adds sweetness and richness together, giving a fuller dessert-like drink.

Fresh banana

Frozen banana makes a colder, thicker drink that skips the chill time but is harder to strain.

Variations

Strawberry milk

Swap the banana for 150 g ripe strawberries and strain well to remove seeds.

Banana latte

Pour the banana milk over ice and float a shot of espresso on top.

Troubleshooting

It turns gray or brown

Banana oxidizes in the air. Drink within a day, keep it covered and cold, and add a few drops of lemon juice if making ahead.

It tastes bland

The banana was not ripe enough. Use a heavily spotted one, and add the pinch of salt, which sharpens the flavor.

It is too thick

Add more cold milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, and strain it.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed bottle and drink within 24 hours; banana darkens and the flavor fades after that. Shake before pouring because it separates. Do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.