Does anyone make soya milk?

Pandora123_2

These are from the book Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak. They taste really good on their own, with breakfast cereal or in lattes. The only thing is that they don't foam (for lattes) the way soya milk does. But they're a lot easier to make than soya milk, especially if you don't have a soya milk machine. I haven't tried using another sweetener (besides maple syrup), but they should work fine with sugar or honey.

Basic Nut Milk

1. Grind nuts in a liquidiser to a fine powder.

2. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the liquidiser, plus sweetener and flavouring extract, if using. Process the mixture to make a smooth, thick cream.

3. Gradually add most of the remaining hot water and blend until creamy. I find this easiest to do by removing the "hatch" in the liquidiser lid and pouring the water in while it's running. Otherwise it tends to make a mess. I don't add ALL of the remaining hot water at this point, because I don't want it to splash out the top.

The original directions at this point say to strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. I don't do this, but you tend to end up with a bit of "sludge" at the bottom of the jug unless you remember to stir it before each time you use it. You could strain it through a paper coffee filter, that would probably get rid of most of the small particles.

Cashew Milk
1/3 cup RAW (unroasted) cashews [50g]
3 cups almost-boiling water [750ml]
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Almond Milk
1/3 cup RAW (unroasted) whole almonds [50g], blanched & peeled (see below)
3 cups almost-boiling water [750ml]
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Note: To blanch almonds, place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to loosen their skins. Drain in a strainer and allow them to cool until they can be handled. Slip off the skins by pinching the nuts between your thumb and forefinger. IMPORTANT: Pat the almonds dry with a clean tea towel or paper towels before proceeding with the recipe.

Zero

Thanks for that Pandora, that's great!

I'll have a look in Sainsburys to see if I can buy cashews or almonds there andI'll try making these types of milk also.

I was also reading more about the soya milk and apparently it's possible to add some brown rice and this makes it a bit thicker. So I might try this as well.
Thanks again for the help. Much appreciated! :hello:

Zero

I left the soya beans to soak for 14 hrs and I tried taking the skin off them. Hmmm, that has proved quite difficult!

I was trying for about 30 mins and didn't really manage to take the skin off too many. I tried a few beans at a time and it didn't really work well, but seemed more effective if taking the skin off one at a time.

Maybe I'll try leaving them to soak for longer and I can try again.

I suppose this is the only way to take the skin off?

It'd be quite good if I could purchase already skinned soya beans! :think:

Pandora123_2

They seem to be easier to remove the longer they've soaked. I've had them soaking for several days (just be sure to keep them in the fridge if you are going to do that). You should just be able to squeeze one between your fingers and the skin pops off. I used to separate the skinned beans from the skins in two containers as I was doing it, but actually find it faster to just put the skinned soybeans with the skins into a large pot and then add water and pour off the skins (they float, the beans sink).

:A

Zero

I used 6 pints of water with 200 grams of dehusked soya beans and I also added 4 tablespoons of sugar.

I used a sieve to separate the okara from the soya milk. I sieved it several times to ensure there was no okara left in the milk.

What I've noticed though is that the milk does not taste as creamy as even the basics soya milk from Sainsburys.

I wonder if they leave some of the okara in the milk to make it slightly thicker? Or maybe the proportions I am using has too much water?

Have you ever compared the home made soya milk side-by-side supermarket-bought soya milk? Do you find much difference in the creaminess or thickness of the milk?

Pandora123_2

I use 100g soya beans to make 1.5 litres (which I think is around 2.6 pints), so that's a bit of a higher proportion of beans to water than what you tried.

I've come across some different recipes for nutmilk that suggest adding flaxseed to make the milk creamier. May work with soya milk as well. They also suggest lecithin as an emulsifier; if you leave a bit of the okara in the milk, this should help it stay mixed together.

I've never tried HM and commercial soya milk side by side, but we usually just use it for lattes, not for drinking straight.

:A

Zero

Thanks for that, I must have a look for some flaxseed or lecithin to see if that might help. Thanks again

Pandora123_2

Zero, if you try the flaxseed, be sure to grind it first in a dry liquidiser before adding it to the soya milk and blending again. I don't think the whole seeds will blend very well in the milk.

:A

moanymoany

I am trying to increase my soya intake to help my hot flushes. The stuff you buy is expensive and as I don't use much I don't finish it before the number of days it can be kept and I end up throwing some away.

I've googled how to make soya milk, but there are several ways of making it. Before I launch into testing the recipes I wonder if anyone has made their own.

Seakay

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=515949&highlight=soya+milk

Lots of ideas in this thread - my own recipe is #10! Hope that this helps.