Homemade Soy Milk: Enjoy Huge Savings

Equipment needed
Soy milk can be made using a blender or a soymilk maker ($119 from Soy Quick at http://www.soymilkquick.com/soymilkmaker.php). Both methods are explained below.

Where to buy soy beans
Soy beans are very inexpensive if purchased from a grain elevator or rural grainery. For example, as of this writing, one bushel (60 pounds) of organic soy beans from the Town & Country Coop in Smithville, Ohio (330-669-2801) costs 10 cents per pound, or $6 per bushel. Other large-volume grain suppliers in other parts of the U.S. should have similar prices. Soy milk produced from beans at this price costs about 15 cents per gallon.

If you do not live near a large-volume grain supplier, soy beans can be purchased at most health food stores, and grocery stores that have a bulk food section.

Preparing soy beans for milk making
Measure out 2/3 cup soy beans and soak them in water for 8 to 12 hours. Soaking the beans is necessary for both methods of making soy milk (either the blender or the soymilk machine method). Note: soymilk machines vary, use quantity specified in manual. The 2/3 cup quantity is a fairly standard measurement for soymilk machines, but not all.

After soaking, rinse the beans until the rinse water is clear.

Soy milk machine method for making soy milk
Put the pre-soaked beans and an optional 1 tablespoon of uncooked white rice into the machine with the amount of water recommended by the manufacturer (usually about a quart). Turn the machine on. Normally, the milk will be finished within 15 to 35 minutes. When finished, add the following ingredients to give it some extra flavor: 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Note, if making a low carb soy milk, omit the white rice and sugar. The white rice adds just enough thickness to give the soy milk a cow's-milk consistency. The small amount of sugar adds just enough sweetness to mimmick the very slight sweetness of real cow's milk.

Blender method for making soy milk
Cook the pre-soaked beans in a stovetop pot in 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain. Place into blender with 1 cup water and 1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch, and blend until smooth and creamy (2 to 4 minutes). Add 3 more cups water. Also, add these optional ingredients for a more "milk" flavored soy milk: 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Blend thoroughly until all ingredients are mixed well. If making a low carb soy milk, omit the sugar.

Pour the mixture through a strainer and into a pitcher for refrigeration and serving. One method of straining that works well is to pour the mixture through cheesecloth, then squeeze the cheesecloth to extract out as much milk as possible. This method makes approximately one quart of soy milk.

What should I do with the stuff that's left over?
The remaining pulp is called okara (pronounced Oh care' uhh). It is highly nutritious, packed with protein and great dietary fiber. There are thousands of recipes using soy okara that can be found on the internet. To find these recipes, visit google.com and search for soy okara recipes.

Why drink soy milk?
Soy milk contains zero cholesterol, is usually about 2/3 the calories of 2% milk, has less fat than 2% milk, does not contain the harmful hormones commonly found in milk, does not contain casein (dairy protein known to accelerate the growth of malignancies²), contains as much protein as milk, is a good source of lecithin and vitamin E, contains omega-3 fatty acid, and contains isoflavones (protects against cancer).

Resources:

1. http://www.soymilkquick.com/soymilkmaker.php
2. Book: "The China Study" by Dr. Colin Campbell