My first attempt at Making Soymilk

We drink Soymilk all the time here, and eat Tofu...so I figured it is time to learn to make them ;)

This was my first try, so if there are any experienced Soymilk makers out there, feel free to let me know if there is a better way, or if I did anything wrong.

I will not give a recipe until I have one we like best...so after I get good at it.

Anyways, I first rinsed and soaked the beans. When they are dried they look like 6mm bean marbles, fairly round. Then after soaking until they are tender, they look like beans. I think it's magic!

After soaking (it took 24 hours here, so maybe altitude plays a part...though it was cold last night, around 45* F out and 62* indoors), I rinsed and then put them in the blender with some water, on high speed, until they were very creamy.

While I was blending we had a soup pot on a med high heat with a few cups of water as well...

Once they were all blended and in the pot, I cooked until the foam bubbled up. First it was like soft peak egg whites, then it foamed up higher.

At that point I took it off the heat and strained it into a smaller pot, with a strainer and my milk towel.

It's very hot at this point, so I wrap the towel around a wood spatula, then pressed it with another to get all the milk out.

Then I let the pulp (or meat) of the bean cool for a few minutes and added a little water to it...and pressed it out again.

Once all the milk was in the smaller pot, I put it on med heat again, stirring frequently to keep it from scalding to the bottom of the pan. Then brought it up to a simmer and kept it there for a few minutes...

At this point I turned the heat off, and added a little vanilla and some raw sugar to sweeten it a tad...

The last step...continue stirring as it cools to avoid a skin forming...then I bottled most for the fridge, and kept some aside to drink.

This was the creamiest, best Soymilk we EVER tasted!!! SO much better than any store bought soymilk. I am so happy with it!!

It took some effort, and probably twice the time it should, because I was nervous to put the heat up too high. Next time will go easier and quicker because I know what temps to work with.

If you would like to try making it, I found the recipe and instructions in "Asian Tofu" by Andrea Nguyen.

She gives very clear and detailed directions, and there are many other recipes, for making tofu, using the lees (bean pulp) and how to use the whey from tofu, etc...so I will be trying many of her recipes...

I am sure there are many recipes and various ways to make them, but her instructions are where I decided to start :)

#Cooking #Soymilk