I started doing it because I was, as an experiment, eating vegan on $3/day for a week and I could make a quart of soy milk for a fraction of the price of store bought. I’ve continued making soy milk just because I like to do it and I like my own. A quart of soy milk can be bought for $1.69 at Whole Foods or $2.69 at my local grocery. (This is one occasion when Whole Foods is cheaper than elsewhere, probably because they buy in greater volume.) A half gallon (which is too much for me) can be bought for $2.69 to $3.20. Made at home, it costs about $.30 using cheap soy beans or about $.80 using expensive ones. I realize that I am not saving huge amounts of money and I’m making about $1/hour for my labor but for some unexplainable reason I enjoy doing it.
I’ve tried different recipes and have settled on one that I think is tasty. At its most basic, all you need is water and soybeans. However, that can be a little bland and slightly beany tasting. This is okay if you are using it for baking but there are things you can do to improve the flavor if you are going to drink it or use it on cereal. One is the choice of soybeans. I bought cheap, conventional soybeans at the international grocery at $.69/lb. for a 5 lb. bag. One pound of beans will make approximately 3 quarts of soy milk, so you can make soy milk for about $.23/quart. It will be bland and slightly beany tasting but it’s decent enough, especially for cooking but also okay for putting on cereal where the cereal will obscure the taste. One way to improve the flavor is to use Laura soybeans. They are a particular variety of soybeans that have an exceptionally mild flavor and are great for soy milk. They also cost about three times as much. After shipping, I paid $2.13/lb. but I decided, since it seemed I was going to continue doing this and beans will keep, to try them and see if they were worth it. I’m impressed with the mildness of the flavor. It will increase the cost of a quart of soymilk to about $.71, excluding other optional ingredients. Whether it’s worth it or not is a personal decision.
There are other things one can do to improve the flavor. The addition of oats mellows the flavor and thickens it just slightly, giving it a nice texture. A little salt, sugar, and vanilla also improves the flavor. Recently I tasted some store bought soy milk for the first time in a few months and compared it to my own. Store bought “plain” soy milk tasted about twice as sweet as mine.
I also add malt extract powder (not malted milk powder or malt syrup), available at places that sell supplies for making home made beer. I have once or twice added about two chopped dates to a recipe when I was grinding the soaked soybeans. That’s good, too, though it darkens the color. I have not continued adding dates.
Regarding the oats: ideally, the rolled oats should be soaked overnight at the same time as the beans in a separate bowl or cup and then added to the blender when grinding the beans, but I often forget to soak them. In that case I put some rolled oats into a dry blender, grind them until they are like flour, and add two tablespoons to the blender with the soybeans and water.
Making soy milk leaves you with a quantity of pulp, called okara. You can use this to make granola (my preferred use), add it to beanburgers, incorporate it into baked goods. It is high in fiber and protein. Okara is an added bonus that will compensate for some of the cost of the soy milk.
Making soymilk involves the following steps: soaking the beans, grinding the beans with water, cooking the soy milk (either before or after straining), and straining the soy milk. If the pulp is cooked with the milk, then it is already partially cooked. There are a number of ways one can go about the process besides the one I’ve settled on. This recipe makes a pretty rich milk. Some recipes call for a little more water in proportion to the soybeans.
You’ll need the following equipment: two good sized pots (or a large pot and a good sized container for containing the milk); a blender (heavy duty ones are great but not necessary); a strainer and/or colander; a few layers of cheesecloth, a square of muslin, or some sort of cloth for straining; a wooden spoon.
Soy Milk Recipe (makes about 1 quart)
Soak 6-8 hours or overnight: 1 cup soybeans (or up to three days in the refrigerator; if you do this, change the water each day)
In a separate cup or bowl, soak overnight: 1-2 Tablespoons rolled oats (or alternatively add 1-2 Tablespoons of dry rolled oats blended to a flour to the beans later when you grind them)
Drain water from soybeans.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil.
Put soaked, drained soybeans and the soaked oats (or oat flour) into a blender (if this is too much for the blender, do half the beans at a time) with 2 cups of the boiled water and blend until the beans are well ground.
Place a fine sieve over a large pot and pour the soybean/water slurry into the sieve. Push the liquid out by pressing into it with the back of a wooden spoon. When a good portion of the liquid is pushed out, return the bean pulp to the blender and blend again with 2 more cups of the boiled water. Pour the bean/water slurry into the pot. Pour the last 2 cups of water into the blender and whizz for a few seconds to clean out the blender and then pour the water into the pot.
Bring the soy milk to a simmer over a medium flame. Note: once it begins to simmer, it will want to rise up and boil over so watch it carefully! Using a large pot that is bigger than you think you need will help. Stir the soy milk frequently with the wooden spoon to keep the bottom from scorching. Once the milk begins to simmer, reduce the heat and continue simmering for 15-20 minutes.
Place a clean pot into the sink. Place the sieve or a colander over it. Line it with a few layers of cheesecloth or similar. Pour the soymilk into the cloth-lined collander and let it drain. Pick up the corners of the cloth, gather them together, and squeeze the liquid out of the pulp. (You either need to wear rubber gloves if it’s still hot or else wait til it cools.) When the liquid has been squeezed out of the pulp, set the cloth and the pulp aside. (Note: if you have a potato ricer, it’s especially good for squeezing the liquid out of the pulp.)
You can use the soy milk as is or add the following and whisk it to blend:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon malt extract (optional)
Taste and adjust as desired. Pour into a quart jar and refrigerate. Soy milk will keep for about a week. You can use it as a substitute for regular milk in baking, pour over cereal, make shakes or smoothies, or drink as is.
From start to finish usually takes me about an hour.
The leftover okara (pulp) can be used to make granola, incorporated into baked goods or bean burgers, or used to make gnocchi. It can be frozen for later use if you don’t want to use it right away.
I have not tried this recipe for Okara Gnocchi but it looks good. [Note: I did try it on 1/11/16 and I like it. I'd also try incorporating okara into potato gnocchi.]
There are many recipes for okara granola but this is one that I like. I often add 1/2 tsp. maple flavoring and 1/2 tsp. vanilla
I've incorporated okara into beanburgers, too.
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