I am soy serious about how simple it is to make your own milk from beans. None of those additives, such as thickeners or preservatives, that commercial brands use... just pure fresh tasty soy milk strait from your own soy cow.
A note about the soy controversy: While soy does contain phytoestrogen's that act similar to estrogen in the body, there is no hard evidence that consuming low to moderate amounts of soy is harmful for most people. Research shows that phytoestrogen's don't seem to effect men in the same way as women because the male body processes estrogen differently. The demographic that's most influenced by these pseudo-hormones are females with a tendency to have hormone imbalances or hormone-related conditions. In these cases, soy can make things worse. Get actual facts about soy from the Mayo Clinic. If you're interested in making milk from nuts instead, keep a look out for upcoming articles here.
Now that that's been addressed, moving on...
All you need are dried soy beans and water. As with most ingredients I do recommend using the cleanest available to you. Organic soy beans are the best option if you can find them. Distilled water is also preferred (our home built water distillation system project will be coming soon). But if all you have available is regular GMO soy beans and tap water, well, we all use what we've got. Although, be aware, depending on where you live, the tap water in your area could contain minerals that can cause the milk to curdle or separate. These two ingredients make plain unsweetened soy milk – which is perfect for making tofu and soy yogurt. I will also discuss sweetening and flavoring your milk a little further on.
As for equipment, you'll need:
~ Large bowls (I use two; one for soaking beans and one for holding the water after heated)
~ Blender
~ Measuring cup
~ Stirring spoon
~ Heavy bottomed stockpot with lid
~ Mesh strainer
~ Piece of cheesecloth big enough to line the strainer with some overlap around the edges (I often use unbleached broadcloth and I've know others who have used clean kitchen towels or mesh straining bags also)
Let's jump right in!
1) Soak soy beans. I usually soak 2 cups dried soy beans, which makes about 12 cups of soy milk as the final product. Many people prefer to make a smaller fresh batch of soy milk daily or as needed. If that's the case, then 1/2 cup dried beans will yield about 3 cups milk.
For un-sprouted beans: Place dried beans in a large bowl, adding 4-6 cups water, and allow to soak over night. I often soak for 2 nights, draining and refilling with fresh water the day in between. Use your hands to loosen the hulls from the beans. Then, drain and rinse.
If you would like a much higher nutrient content in your soy milk, try sprouted beans: Place dried beans in a large bowl, adding 4-6 cups water. Allow to soak for about 4 hours or until soft, checking every couple hours (don't soak too long or they'll fall apart). As soon as they're soft, drain off the water and rinse beans. Place beans in either a sprouting bag, commercial sprouting container, a mesh strainer set atop a bowl, or a mason jar with no lid – again, use whatever resources you have. Place your sprouting apparatus in a place where it will receive indirect light from windows or artificial light bulbs. I usually use a sprouting bag that hangs above my kitchen sink, but if the bag is busy sprouting something else, I use the mesh strainer method and just keep it sitting on my counter. Soy sprouts take anywhere from one to a few days to start sprouting. It's important to rinse and drain your sprouts 2-3 times each day. You'll know your sprouts are ready when you see a tiny tale (up to 1/4-inch) growing from most of the beans. Drain and rinse one more time and let's make milk.
Don't waste a drop: All water used for soaking is now basically a nutrient-rich tea that I use to water plants, both in containers and raised beds. Don't waste this natural fertilizer if you have even a single house plant.
2) Heat the water. Just before blending, heat about 15 cups of water (or 4 cups for the smaller batch) on the stove, but don't bring to a full boil. This warm water will facilitate extracting more substance from the beans during blending. Remove water from the stove and set to the side.
Get set up: Take a moment to set the stockpot on the stove with the mesh strainer on top lined with cloth. Now...
3) Bring on the blender! Whether soaked or sprouted, use the 1:3 ratio. Add 1 cup of beans and 3 cups of heated water to the blender. Blend on high for about 2 minutes. The mixture should be white to yellowish and frothy. Pour the blender's contents into the lined strainer. Add the next 1 cup of soy beans and 3 cups of water to the blender. Repeat this process until all the soy beans are used.
Generally, 2 cups of dried soybeans swell up to about 4 cups of soaked beans, which uses approximately 12 cups of water with the 1:3 ratio. For the smaller 1/2 cup dried beans batch, you should have about 1 cup soaked beans which pairs well with 3 cups water.
4) Work it through the strainer. Let the mixture drain into the stockpot for about 10 minutes. Then, scrape the edges of the cloth-lined strainer, trying to get as much liquid into the pot as possible. I like to use a silicon spatula but a large spoon can work as well for this. Toward the end, I gather the edges of the cloth and twist to squeeze out as much milk as I can.
Jargon alert: The solids leftover after straining the liquid off is called "okara" and can be used in numerous ways. In cooking, I use okara in one variation of my homemade garden burgers, added to soups, or any recipe that could benefit from a bean. After all, it's just finely chopped legumes. Dehydrating okara and running it through a food processor turns it into a flour that allows for even more versatility and longer storage. I've even given extra okara to my mom as part of a healthy diet for her parrots. And, at the very least, it's a nutritious addition to the compost bin. We always use whatever resources we have in any way we can.
5) Time to cook the milk. Raw soy milk has an undesirable bitter taste and has also been known to upset some people's digestive tracts. Cooking the milk destroys the enzymes responsible for this. Bring the pot of milk to a boil on medium-high heat. Then cover, reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Some people like to skim any foam off the top, however, it does not effect the milk itself. At the end of this cook time, taste to make sure the bitterness is gone. Remove from heat. From here you can move right into making tofu or soy yogurt.
Note: If you're flavoring the milk with a dry or solid ingredient that needs to be heated and softened – such as a dried vanilla bean, tamarind pod, star anise seed, or cinnamon stick – add these types of items to the liquid before boiling and remove after simmering is complete.
6) Savor or flavor. If you're planning on drinking this fresh soy milk or using it in cooking you can leave it plain, or this is the time to season with soft, soluble, or liquid ingredients.
Salt your milk: If you're using this milk for cooking in savory dishes (as I do in some creamy sauces, for example), then adding a pinch or two of salt can boost the flavor profile. I use kosher salt, but sea salt works well to.
Sweeten your milk: Most people prefer drinking sweetened milk, which is also great for smoothies and cereal. Some common choices include sugar, honey, molasses, agave nectar, or pureed dates. Add these sweeteners while the milk is warm and stir until dissolved. If using pureed dates, Place dates in the blender along with some of the warm milk and blend on high until smooth, then add to the rest of the milk pot. You may want to strain remaining date pulp from liquid after if cools for a smoother texture (although when using this milk for smoothies I just leave the pulp in). How sweet you want your milk is entirely up to you.
Add flavor to your milk: Aside from flavoring with a dry and solid substance (as discussed above), other flavor treats include liquid extracts, cocoa powder, or fresh pureed fruits. Cocoa powder can be added while the milk is still warm, but for everything else (especially liquid extracts such as vanilla or almond) allow the milk to cool first before adding. Have fun with flavors and remember to stir well.
7) Viola! You have soy milk. Use your milk right away or store it for later.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Be sure to use a tightly sealed container to reduce oxidation. If at any time your milk starts to smell or taste funky, or take on a curdled or thick consistency, it's time to feed it to the plants and make a new batch. Remember, we're not using unwanted preservatives here. Fresh really is best and I recommend using it up within just a few days.
Store in the freezer for up to 2 months! Here's an idea: fill ice cube trays with freshly made soy milk and freeze. Keep cubes in bags or containers in the freezer until ready for use. To thaw, place cubes in a container with lid and allow to melt at room temperature. Cubes can also be blended into smoothies, dropped into coffee or tea, or used as is in cold beverages with a complimentary flavor. The only downside to freezing this way is that if something else in the freezer has a strong odor, it could affect the taste of the soy milk.
Tell me: how did your soy milk turn out?
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