Soy milk

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Image:Soy-milk.jpgSoy milk (also called soymilk, soya milk, soybean milk, soy bean milk, or soy drink) is a beverage produced from soybeans.

Soy milk originated in East Asia, a region where soybean consumption in food and beverages is common.

Although its English name uses the word "milk", due to its common use as a milk substitute in Western societies, it is actually a juice extracted from soybeans after soaking, grinding, cooking and straining. It is generally opaque, white or off-white in color, and approximately the same consistency as cow's milk. In some countries, it is marketed under the name soy drink, the term milk being reserved for real dairy products.

Contents

Varieties

Chinese soy milk is, in general, richer and sweeter than Western soy milk, which has historically been aimed at a "health-conscious" market. The Mandarin Chinese term for what English speakers call soy milk is dòu jiāng (豆漿; literally "soy liquid"); however, there is a product in China whose name, dòu nǎi (豆奶), translates literally as "soy milk," which is a powder containing both cow and soy milks.

In the United States, soy milk is commonly available in vanilla and chocolate flavors as well as its original unflavored form.

Prevalence

In China, soy milk is popular enough to warrant its availability at Western restaurant chains such as Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks.

In Japan, the consumption of cow's milk now exceeds that of soy milk. Cafés that offer soy milk tend to be foreign franchises. It is, however, almost always available at Japanese tofu shops and supermarkets.

Soy milk has increased in popularity in the West as a substitute for cow's milk. In Australia it is available upon request at most cafés and coffee franchises as a cow's milk substitute, usually at an extra cost.

Health

Soy milk is nutritionally close to cow's milk, though most soy milk commercially available today contains artificially added vitamins such as Vitamin B12 not naturally present. It naturally has about the same amount of protein as cow milk. Natural soy milk contains little digestable calcium as it is bound to the okara of the bean, which is insoluble in a human. To counter this, many manufacturers artificially enrich their products with soluble calcium. Notably it has no saturated fat (considered good).


Soy milk is promoted as a healthy alternative to cow's milk for reasons including:

However, the soy industry has also received similar criticism from the dairy industry for reasons including:

Soy milk is safe for people with lactose intolerant or allergy.

Although in general soy milk is not suitable for babies or infants, there are babies formulas based on soy protein, i.e. soy milk, that are used mostly in case of lactose intolerant, allergy to cow's milk or parents preference for a vegetarian diet. These are commonly named "soy milk", but contain extra carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals.



Preparation

Soy milk is manufactured by first washing and then soaking mature dry beans in water for 8-10 hours. The husks (testa) are then removed by gently pressing the soaked seeds. The husked seeds are then washed thoroughly and ground into a thick paste. Alternatively, the beans may be steamed and then ground. The beans are then boiled and strained, then reboiled.

The milk can be kept for five days in a refrigerator. Periodic boiling will increase the storage life.

The characteristic "bean flavor" of soymilk can be removed by soaking the beans for half an hour in hot starch water (5% starch solution or kanjivellam). Soaking the beans and then rinsing with a continuous stream of cold water may also give the desired results.

Commercial products labeled "soy drink" in the West are often derivatives of soy milk containing more water or added ingredients.

Cooking

Soy milk is found in many vegan and vegetarian food products and be used as a replacement for cow's milk in most recipes. Such substitution has a low impact on foods like pancakes, but there is a noticeable difference when making foods such as macaroni and cheese or quiche.

"Sweet" and "salty" soy milk are both traditional Chinese breakfast foods, usually accompanied by breads like mantou (steamed rolls), youtiao (fried crullers), and shaobing (sesame flatbread). The soy milk is typically sweetened by adding cane sugar or, sometimes, simple syrup. "Salty" soy milk is made with a combination of chopped pickled mustard greens (搾菜), dried shrimp and, for curdling, vinegar, garnished with youtiao croutons, chopped scallion, cilantro, pork floss (肉鬆; ròu sōng), or shallot as well as sesame oil, soy sauce, chili oil or salt to taste.

Tofu is produced from soy milk by further steps of curdling and then draining.

Ecological impact

Using soybeans to make milk instead of raising cows is said to have ecological advantages, as the amount of soy that could be grown using the same amount of land would feed more people than if used to raise cows. Because the soybean plant is a legume, it also replenishes the nitrogen content of the soil in which it is grown. This however is not valid in many parts of the developing world where feed for cows and buffaloes is not cultivated separately but is often the by product of rice or other vegetable cultivation intended primarily for humans. Infact excessive soy cultivation is often counterproductive in such countries. In countries like Brazil, the explosion of soyabean cultivation has led to losing large tracts of forest land leading to ecological damage. WWF

Manufacturers

See also

References

External links

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