Soy milk is the most preferred milk by lactose intolerant people. It is healthier for the body on account of its nutrients and lactose-free nature. Soy milk is extracted from soy or soya beans. This can be made at home as it requires only little effort and minimum ingredients. If you are lactose intolerant or just willing to get a taste of soy milk, you can follow the below guide and make delicious milk at home.
How to make soy milk – Step-by-step process: If you have decided to make soy milk, it is certain that you know about the benefits of soy. Unlike cow’s milk it does not carry animal proteins or all the dangers associated with germs from cow’s intestines. It need not be pasteurized to be disease free and hence, can be made at home at a small level too. Below are the steps to make soy milk:
1. Get everything ready: Ingredients include soy beans (125 g can make 1 liter of milk) and flavorings (if you plan to add flavors to your milk). You need a blender, a large pan, water, cheese cloth, stirring pot etc. to cook and make the milk refined.
2. De-hull the beans: You can do it by cracking the beans or soaking them in water for sometime. De-hulling makes your soy milk smoother and also, reduces the beany flavor.
3. Soak the beans: Soak the soy beans (125 g) for about 10 to 16 hours in water. If you had already de-hulled the beans, soak them only for 6 to 8 hours. Soaking increases their sizes 3 or 4 times and helps in cooking the beans.
4. Heat the soaked beans (optional): This removes the beany flavor to a great extent. If you feel that you don’t need the beany smell or flavor, microwave the wet beans for about 2 minutes. This will destroy the enzymes that create the beany flavor.
5. Blend the wet beans: Add the wet beans to a blender with 1 liter of fresh water. Blend for a minute or so till you get a paste-like consistency.
6. Sieve the blend: Sieve the blend in a large pan with a cheese cloth. The pulp that collects in the cloth is called Okara and can be used as an ingredient for bread-making or as cattle feed.
7. Boil the soy milk: Boil the collected milk for about 20 minutes. When it reaches the boiling point, it will form a frothy structure. Remove the structure and continue boiling.
8. Add flavorings: Plain soy milk is not unpleasant but flavored soy milk tastes pretty good. All the soy milk brands in the market only sell flavored soy milk. You can add vanilla or chocolate for flavors. The Chinese often use savory flavorings to flavor their milk. Add your favorite flavorings when the milk starts to boil.
9. Refrigerate: Once the boiling is over, remove from heat and refrigerate for 3 days.
10. Use after refrigeration: After 3 days of refrigeration, you can use your soy milk just like ordinary milk. Since it is homemade it is free from artificial preservatives or flavorings, low in cholesterol, high in proteins and above all, lactose-free.
