How to Make Soy Milk

Soy milk, also known as Soya or soybean milk is a type of milk produced from natural soybeans.  It is an alternative to cow or goat milk.  Soy beans are high in protein and naturally grown in China.  They are a complete protein low in saturated fat and high in good fat.  Soy milk is favored by women for its healthy natural ingredients as well as people who are lactose intolerant.  Soy milk and the process of making soy milk have its origins in China and Japan.  The century old process involves harvesting the soy beans and soaking them.  Once soaked, the soy beans are ground and pressed to remove the milk from the bean.  Soy milk and soy milk products have become widely used in Eastern and Western cultures.  Some consumers opt to buy store brands of soy milk like Silk while others chose to make it from scratch at home.

How does one make soy milk at home?  It is actually a very easy process that involves the use of an automatic soy milk maker.  Some brands to use are Vegan Star and Soyajoy.  To make soy milk, you will need approximately 125 grams of soy beans.  One hundred and twenty-five grams of whole soy beans makes approximately one liter of milk.  Begin making soy milk by rinsing the soy beans.  They will need to soak in water for about ten to sixteen hours.  It is not necessary to remove the skins from the soy beans prior to soaking them but if you choose, they can be removed by rubbing the soy beans and then rinsing them again with water.  Soy beans without their skin require less time to soak to soften them.

Once the soy beans have soaked for the allotted amount of time, the next step is heating them.  You can heat them using a microwave oven.  Set the oven to approximately two minutes.  Heating the soy beans removes the enzymes that produce the beany taste.  After soaking and heating the soy beans, grind them along with one liter of water in a grinder.  The product that comes from the combination of ground soy beans and water should then be siphoned through cheese cloth.  What is left can be used for baking.  After the mixture has been sieved, the soy milk should be heated and brought to a boiling stage.  Let the mixture continue to boil for another five to ten minutes.  When done, let the soy milk cool and refrigerate.  The refrigerated soy milk is good for at least three days after being made.

The last step to making soy milk is to add flavor if desirable.  Soy milk can be consumed as it is although most people tend to like it flavored with either vanilla or chocolate flavoring.  To make flavored soy milk add either vanilla or chocolate extract or syrup or feel free to add fresh fruit.

Tags: make soy milk, soy milk, soymilk