It is easy to make soy milk at home. It takes just two ingredients – soybeans and water. The process is straightforward, too – soak the beans in water overnight, crush the beans in a blender to make a slurry, boil the slurry for 15 minutes, and lastly, squeeze the slurry in a nut milk bag to obtain soy milk. Simple, isn’t it?
Now you may ask, if it is so simple, then why would anyone make any mistakes? Trust me; mistakes do happen. Most people who make soy milk at home learn it online by reading one of the many articles or watching one of the videos. The problem is, not all the articles or all the videos tell you everything you need to know.
I am painfully aware that even after reading this article, you may not learn all that there is to make soy milk. But I will honestly try to share what I have learned by making soy milk myself.
I thought I had learned enough from my online study, but when I tried making soy milk, it did not turn out to be the way I wanted it. I was doing something wrong. After a few not-so-successful attempts, I realized the mistakes I was making. Here is the list:
1. I Bought Poor Quality Soy Beans
The soybeans I bought the first time were supposedly organic but not fresh. Many of the beans were discolored or cracked. I removed those and soaked the rest, but my trouble was not over. When putting the beans in the blender, I discovered many more cracked beans that had to be removed one by one. I also had to struggle to remove the skins from the beans.
I knew I was going to get only a sub-par quality of soy milk.
Fortunately, it was easy to correct that mistake. I threw away the remaining beans from that pack and bought another brand.
2. I Used A Shortcut
As you can read in my article – 2 Ways To Make Soy Milk At Home – there is a method to make soy milk that does not require soaking of soybeans. Instead, one can briefly boil the beans. You will find this type of video on Youtube. It was a big mistake. My blender failed to crush the boiled beans properly. I kept trying and ended up turning the beans into a paste.
Extracting soy milk from that paste was too difficult. I only got some watery milk and too much okara.
I learned my lesson. Do not use any shortcuts. Soak the beans for 10 to 12 hours.
3. I Did Not Use Enough Water
I was supposed to use 5 cups of water for 1 cup of dry beans that I used. But when crushing the beans, I miscounted and did not use an adequate amount of water. That resulted in a thicker slurry that was harder to squeeze and resulted in a lesser quantity of milk. That also meant that more milk was left in the okara that was not desirable.
Now, whenever I make soy milk, I carefully use 5 cups of water for every 1 cup of dry beans.
4. I Did Not Boil The Slurry
This is where I found the available online information most misleading. Most online articles and Youtube videos suggest boiling soy milk after it is squeezed out of the slurry. I did the same. I separated the milk from the okara and then boiled the milk.
Later I used that raw okara to make falafel, which tasted ok, but my stomach struggled to digest them.
Raw okara is bad. But it is easy to correct that mistake. Boil the slurry (crushed beans in water) for 15 minutes. That way, both the soy milk and the okara get cooked and become safe for human consumption. This Youtube video on making soy milk and tofu guides you correctly.
5. I Bought Cheesecloth Instead Of A Nut Milk Bag
Because I read it in some article, I bought a piece of cheesecloth for squeezing the milk out of the slurry. It was messy and a difficult process. Later I realized that the same job becomes easier if a nut milk bag is used instead of a cheesecloth. I corrected that mistake by throwing away the cheesecloth and buying a nut milk bag online.
Well, now you know. Avoid these 5 mistakes and enjoy making fresh and healthy soy milk at home.
Happy cooking.
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