Thursday, April 15, 2010

How to Make Your Own Soy Milk

I found a number of recipes for homemade soy milk online, most with only slight variations. Many of them called for the use of a soy milk making contraption, however, which I'm guessing that most people don't have on hand. I neither have one, nor do I intend to get one--I've got too many electric kitchen gadgets as it is, and want to scale back on what I already have and use. I found a number of videos, as well, using the same. I ended up finding this one below on YouTube and really liked it. It shows how easy it is to make soy milk from scratch using nothing but the most basic kitchen tools, a blender and your stove (or other source of cooking heat).

Given the relative ease with which most people can find soy milk in stores these days, the idea of making it yourself may not seem that appealing. The cost-saving benefit is worth noting: Dried organic soy beans are cheaper to use and you will indeed save money making it yourself--up to half or more of what you'd pay for the commercial soy milk. When you make it yourself, you get to flavour it however you like it. Also, remember the energy and resources wasted during the manufacturing of commercial soy milk and of its packaging, and of where that packaging often ends up even if it may be recyclable. Another thing I've been noticing is that the availability of organic soy milk seems to declining somewhat, with brands like Silk switching from organic to beans that are almost certainly genetically modified, and then sometimes even reintroducing organic versions at higher prices.

So do indeed use organic beans and give this recipe a try. Save that soy pulp (also called
"okara"), since it's incredibly nutritious and there are innumerable recipes available on the internet, particularly Asian recipes, in which you can use it. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Cathy at Silk said...

Hi Mylene,

Cool video on making soymilk! Rest assured, Silk is dedicated to using certified non-GMO soybeans. All of our soymilk undergoes rigorous testing to make certain it does not contain any genetically modified ingredients. In addition, all of our beans are grown here in North America.

Regards,
Cathy at Silk

M said...

According to your website FAQs:

Is Silk soymilk natural or organic?

Both! Silk offers both organic and natural options. We offer organic options in Plain, Vanilla and Unsweetened refrigerated half gallons. We also offer our full refrigerated line of natural soymilk made with non-GMO soybeans. Silk Live! soy yogurt and creamers are made with organic soybeans.

So silk offers "organic options" but also options that aren't certified organic. Considering that the overwhelming majority of soybeans that are grown in the US are GMO, I'm not sure why Silk chooses to source non-organic soy for its cheaper milk or why the aversion to having your beans certified by an impartial third party. Also, although I'll check again tonight, last time I looked, I'm fairly sure that none of your soy milk containers here in Canada at the supermarket I frequent mention anything about your beans being GMO-free. I'll double-check that tonight, though.

Anonymous said...

hej,

found your blog through a podcast of G. Francione. Great posts, hope to see more!

I have posted a story about making soy milk and working on do your own Tofu too. It's so easy and great!

I used a machine and it worked great!

all the best, keep the energy!
Paul