Homemade Soy Milk Recipe

Homemade Soy Milk

You can quite easily and cheaply make soy milk at home. There is no rocket science involved in making or producing any kind of milk, even cows milk. However making soy milk in your kitchen is a little easier than cows milk so today we will only talk about soy milk.

I checked a number of recipes  for soy milk and the procedure is more or less the same – soak beans, blend, filter and boil. While the procedures are quite simple there are some details worth knowing:

1. If you’re going to soak the beans for more than 8-10 hours, it is probably better to put them in the refrigerator. Warm temperatures can start the fermentation process, unless you are after fermented soy milk!
2. I read that the beany taste can be reduced by removing the skins before blending. I didn’t do this and didn’t find the beany taste annoying at all. Personally if I was averse to beany taste I would not choose milk made from beans. 
3. Many recipes suggest adding salt and sugar to improve the taste. I found it a bit odd to add salt and sugar but then considering that cows milk naturally has salt and sugar it does not sound like a bad idea at all. I’ve had it with and without salt and sugar and both version seem good to me. Some recipes also suggest adding other sweeteners such as honey and even vanilla. I guess you can add pretty much anything to suit your taste
4. Boiling the milk and simmering is important since raw soybeans contain tripsin inhibitor. As a result the protein in the beans cannot be properly absorbed by the body unless the beans or milk is cooked. Different sites suggest simmering for 5-20 minutes. I don’t know what is the right time, I simmered for 10 minutes
5. I read that letting the soy milk cool completely before refrigerating it will reduce the beany taste. I haven’t tested this but I know in general it is good practice to cool down food items before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer
6. It is better to store milk in a glass jar. I guess the same can be said for many other drinks
7. I saw a number of references being made to Laura variety of soy beans being ideal for making milk. This is too much detail for me and I haven’t noticed different varieties of soybeans at the supermarket. Laura can be found for sure but personally I don’t think its worth the hassle. If you are aiming for a near perfect soy milk perhaps you can try to find Laura
8. After you have squeezed out the milk from the soy beans, you are left with okara. Okara is high in fibre, protein and other things. You can discard it or use it in cooking. There are many okara recipes on the internet. There is even this site dedicated to okara recipes.
9. I saw a suggestion to add rolled oats to soybeans before blending as it makes it creamier. I like this suggestion and will try it next time
10. If you look at different sites you may get confused with the amount of beans required since it is either in grams or cups. Do not let this bother you. An easier approach is measuring the amount of water needed based on the amount of soaked beans. ping suggests 1½ cups of water for every 2 cups of soaked beans. This will produce a thicker than normal milk. I used 1½-2½ cups of water for every cup of soaked beans. Using 2½ cups will produce milk with normal consistency.

125 grams of dry soya beans will produce 1 liter of soy milk. A liter of homemade soy milk cost me about half compared with the cost of regular dairy milk based. I bought organic beans which was slightly more expensive.  

The recipe below is for the more common method. I've read about another method on tinyurbankitchen . The process suggested there involves steaming the beans for 45 minutes and pureeing the beans and water in about a 1:2 ratio. I tried this method and the milk had a much milder soya taste. Also I didn't filter the milk and it was fine. The milk had all the protein and other nutrients from the beans.

The information above and the recipe below is compiled from many different sources. For the recipe pings pickings and Smoky Wok have nice and simple procedures.

Ingredients

Soy beans 

Water

Salt and sugar to taste

Strainer, cheesecloth, filter etc

Directions

1. Soak the beans for 8-24 hours.
2. Once soaked, drain the water and add the beans to a blender. For every cup of soaked beans add 1½-2½ cups water (see note 10 above)
3. Blend for a few minutes until you get a smooth mixture
4. Strain the mixture using a cheesecloth. You might have to do small batches at a time.
5. Bring the milk to a boil and simmer for 10-20 minutes. The soy milk may stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir with a spoon. I think
6. Store in a refrigerator. I think it can be kept for a few days, I am not sure.

Homemade Soy Milk

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