Does anyone make soya milk?

Mumstheword

Does it taste like the bought soya milk?

How much of a pain is it to make daily?

Is it really much cheaper than buying it?

What's features should I look out for in a machine, and have you seen any good prices?


Sorry about the quiz, lol!! but any help would be appreciated. DS1 and DH have milk protein allergies, so we have to buy quite a bit of soya milk, and I am considering making it.

TIA, Mumxx

juno

My friend makes soya milk, and doesn't seem to use anything special machinewise.

This is a post she wrote on another forum, which you might find helpful:

Well you get 115g of soy beans. Put them in about 570ml of boiling water for 1 minuet, drain them then put them in a container of water to soak over night. Drain the beans & wash them thoroughly. Put about 1 cup of beans in a liquidizer add about 570ml of hot water & blend them thoroughly. Pour through a clean cloth of some sort (tea towels do) squeezing to extract all the liquid. Repeat until all beans are used. Bring the milk to the boil stirring frequently. Simmer the milk over a low heat for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool then keep in refrigerator. You can add vanilla essence, sugar or other sweetening to taste. I also add more water than it says to as I find it tastes too strong otherwise because of the store bought stuff i'm used to when i do have it.

You can use the pulp for savoury dishes which is nice to as it can save you even more money .

It is rather difficult to make at first but the more times you do it the easier it becomes.

If you have any questions, I can ask her but I'm not at home currently so I won't be seeing her for a while (she's a real life friend, but we both go on a forum where she wrote that)

Mumstheword

thanks Juno, I had assumed that I would need a machine to make it, but that sounds quite simple. Maybe the machine just makes the process easier by extracting and simmering for you.

thank your friend on my behalf, please!

Caterina

I have made soya milk and basically the process is the same as described by Juno, but after whizzing the soaked beans I cooked the milk together with the pulp and squeezed it all afterwards, because the pulp is more digestible when cooked.

The pulp makes very nice and convincing 'sosmix-type' burgers and sausages, just add finely chopped onion, breadcrumbs and a bit of oil to amalgamate. Shallow-fry and serve with ketchup (homemade of course!).

I also made tofu with the soya milk, which is a bit fiddly but fun to make. Just strain the milk, then put back to simmer and when hot add lemon juice or vinegar (or if you want to do it 'properly' you can buy Nigari from Japanese shops or health food shop websites - I never bothered).

Have ready a heat-resistant colander lined with a muslin, and tip the curds gently into it. Save the whey, it is very good to feed plants with and apparently in Japan some people use it for washing dishes (untested by me).

Let the tofu drain with a weight on top of it and then use as per shop-bought tofu.

Now that I remember, there is a firm that makes 'soya milk makers' and also sells tofu making kits, will do a search and post here again if I find it, they changed name a while back and I can't remember it offhand.

Edit: FOUND IT! http://www.ethicaljuicers.co.uk/milkmaking.php

Caterina

Doom_and_Gloom

juno wrote:

My friend makes soya milk, and doesn't seem to use anything special machinewise.

Heya Juno!! Haven't seen you in ages have I .
To OP yes that's how you can make it it's quite simple takes around 1-2hrs though so can take up your time. A soya milk machine would take up less time as they can do it all in about 20min.

This is the cheapest 1 I could find that is very good http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4432296136&ssPageName=MERC_VI_ReBay_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT (about £11 less than from the place who makes it) it would also cost even less as it only needs 70g of soya beans I think. I've been thinking of getting one as I don't always have time to spend making the stuff.

Caterina - I've been wanting to make tofu for so long. I have a recipie book with how to do it. It says you can use nigari, lemon juice or epsom sault. I didn't know you could use vinegar though. I really have to try and make it now. The one I really want to learn how to make is soya yogurts as I have them quite a bit and they are rather exspencive.

Caterina

Doom_And_Gloom, if you look under the 'yoghurt making' thread in this forum, you will find all the various techniques. I have made soya yoghurt using regular soya milk but a starter of dairy yoghurt (organic Yeo Valley) but if you are vegan you can start it with the Alpro natural soya yoghurt.

I make it using an electric yoghurt maker with 5 small cups, it is very low-consumption and I paid it all of 10p at a jumble sale many years ago!

Best of luck

Caterina

malamala

I use a soyabean milk machine and it's fab! Just put the soaked beans in, add water and press the button. Voila! After about 8 minutes, and we have hot, fresh soyabean milk which tastes so much better than those in a carton.

It's not difficult to clean as long as you wash it right away and not let it stand.

I bought that from abroad and it's a good kitchen gadget. Although it's easy to make soya bean milk with a blender or liquidiser but I found it messy squeezing the juice out.

Thanks Caterina for the method of making Tofu, I have wanted to do it for a long time but never got round to it. Also I love Soya Yoghurt and would love to make my own too.

Mumstheword

thank you all for your input, thanks for the links - i'llhave a look.
and thanks for the comment re the taste. taste is strange as it is different for everyone, but no-one seems to be saying home made stuff is yuk compared to shop bought!

Jolaaled

has anyone got a recipe for rice milk? I've googled, but can't find anything!

thanks

Yikes

I have a soy milk machine, and I think it's great! Here's the website for the company I got it from (and they have a UK distributor, as well):
http://soymilkquick.com/

The website has instructions for making other kinds of "milk" as well -- almond, rice, oat, etc.

A machine is not strictly necessary, at it can be a bit of a bother to clean, but I'd rather deal with that than with cooking, pureeing, and squeezing the pulp by hand!

I don't think it tastes like a lot of the commercial varieties I've tried, but if you've ever bought unsweetened soy milk from an Asian market, you'll have a good idea of what it's like. It does have a somewhat "beany" taste, but feel free to experiment with sweeteners or flavourings to get what you like. I haven't done much more than add a couple drops of vanilla extract. Although I have also discovered that soaking a spoonful of fenugreek seeds, and adding those to the beans, makes for a nice flavour! :rolleyes:

I've made tofu, which is very easy to do -- I haven't gotten it quite as firm as what I'd buy at the store, but the taste is so much better, it's unbelievable! And I've tried yogurt, but had much better luck with a spoonful of dairy yogurt as a starter than with the non-dairy soy yogurt I tried once...

I also use the okara (pulp) -- to make veggie burgers, etc., or in soup (especially potato!), or even on its own, as a porridge! Just add a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, and it's delicious!

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

Zziggi

Just a few questions, if anyone can help me....

How widely available are soya beans to buy? cost?

Anyone know how to make rice milk please?