I made soymilk today for the first time......it has a funny taste, kind of astringent. I soaked the beans, drained and rinsed. I blenderized them, a little at a time, with boiling water, and drained off the pulp. I brought the soymilk to a boil, then simmered for 20 minutes. I added a bit of honey. I read that the boiling water/blender method would destroy the enzyme that gives it the odd taste. Any suggestions for my next attempt? I'm gonna use this batch, but there must be a way to make it taste better. Any way to fix this?

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), January 10, 2001

Answers

I don't make soymilk from soybeans...I use the silken tofu. I add about a quarter teaspoon of salt (or less) and a capful of vanilla extract, and the honey like you mentioned.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 10, 2001.

Thanks, Shannon; once again I'm looking for a way to save money. I can get organic soybeans sooo cheap, so I'm gonna work at this til it tastes good. I added a pinch of salt, a little vanilla, and a little more honey, and it was drinkable, but still needs ?? something.

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), January 10, 2001.

Probably needs a little fat. Most low or non fat soymilks really taste awful. Don't know how you'd add fat to a water-based liquid, but perhaps you could add a little real cream (unless you're avoiding dairy). Any ideas, folks?

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), January 10, 2001.

Cathy, what reference are you using? I have the book "The Book of Tofu" that I got back in 1990 that has a bit on soy milk. It was written by William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi. They are quite adament about not using soy beans more than a year old. For flavoring they suggest honey-vanilla, carob-honey, granular malt, mocha, orange juice, strawberry, grated ginger root, cinnamon, anise, nut butters or coconut. I never got into it because I had the goats. Back then they suggested using vegetable oil and puree at high speed for added richness or for extra thickness, add 1/4 teaspoon granular lecithin.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 10, 2001.

I agree with Diane, it needs a bit of fat, try organic expressed canola oil, olive oil would have too strong a taste, although would be healthier. Add a scant teaspoon or less of liquid lecithin, I don't think the granular would dissolve properly. Another idea would be to use a stronger flavor of honey, like alfalfa or buckwheat honey, to give it the missing "taste". Good luck, I really like the "Silk" brand of organic soymilk, and it is GMO free, something that really matters to me additionally, and Giant Eagle has the half gallons on sale for 2.50 this week, stocking up, as it keeps a long time! They use sea salt as the salt in theirs, maybe that's the missing "it" !

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 14, 2001.