Soya / Soy Milk Makers

[Snowdrift]

Sorry if this topic has already been covered....

I feel a strange sense of acheivement and, um, pride I suppose, having just drunk my very first glass of home made soya milk...from a Soya Milk maker.....Just 25 mins after DHL delieverd it from Soya Fresh... :D

I would appreciate any tips and hints please.

a couple of points I would like to know more about....Is using dried beans or soaked beans preferable? ( This latest one from SF does both methods ) , and what do you flavour it with??? I've only thought of apple juice concentrate so far :rolleyes: :)

Thanks

Andy

[Gorilla]

hi Andy, i have a soya milk maker from Soya Fresh but it's the old model, i'm planning to upgrade to the new model a.s.a.p.

the old model only uses soaked beans, so i don't know what the difference is with dry beans. i sweeten my milk with concentrated apple juice, i put about 4 tablespoons into the water before starting the process. i was using agave syrup at first but it was quite a bit more expensive.

glad you like your machine, there are others on here who can probably offer more advice, i only use it for the very basic milk really. when i get the new model i'm hoping to try other milks such as raw hemp seed. :)

[cedarblue]

i have got the same machine as that gorilla so same goes for me. i do make nut milks with it though, the almond was good on cereal. :)

[Snowdrift]

Hi gorilla & cedarblue,

I was going to order the 'old' model but didn't have the money!! then, lo & behold, about a month later, when i had the money I went back to the website and found the old one had been discontinued :eek: My heart sunk, but then after speaking with them and finding out the advantages of the new one I didn't mind spending the extra......but then only to find out they were sold out!!!

Anyhow, my teaspoon of apple juice con. wasn't quite enough sweetner :D .....and the almonds + other nuts are an excellent idea :)

btw, I am very pleased with the maker......it seems well put together. I paid the extra and got an additional stainless steel jug. This jug is of better quality than the see-through one, it has 5 circular rubber feet , feels solid but does have a plastic handle, albeit quite a comfortable one.


bandwith exceeded when trying to post this reply originally

[Gorilla]

i was a little annoyed that i shelled out for the old model in July, and they didn't mention that they'd be bringing in a new better model only a couple of months later. luckily they're giving a discount on the upgrade for people who have the old model, and i've found someone who wants my old machine. :)

i keep meaning to make rice milk, as i have loads of brown rice and i bought some rice syrup to sweeten it with, but i've got quite used to the soya milk now. i used to use Rice Dream on my cereal and i think it'd still be good to try making my own when i get round to it. ;) the soya milk though is quite different to the cartons i used to buy so i'm not sure home-made rice milk would be like Rice Dream either. there are usually a lot of extra ingredients in shop-bought milk that make it taste quite different.

are you using the liquid calcium & magnesium supplements from Soya Fresh, or do you take another supplement? i've been adding a tablespoon of the liquid supplement to my cereal every morning.

[Snowdrift]

This is all new to me, so I've got some catching up to do!!!lol, I had some liquid calcium delivered with the milk maker but havn't used it yet....it seems a good idea to use it seperatley, I'll try it.....but my son won't remember so I think I'll end up adding to each batch of milk I make.

Is the magnesium important? i hadn't thought of that one :rolleyes: , the other supplement I got was B12, yet still waiting that as it was out of stock.

I'm rather fortunate here as I have my own Bore hole for my water supply....with no argricultural land or human habitation higher up the mountain...So i was expecting a big taste difference to shop milk. But i like it even unsweetened :eek: , its got a lovely taste....I shan't miss shop milk one bit. Rice milk will certainly come, do you know any instructions for making it??.....Soya fresh have totally changed their website and i can't find any advice on it anymore :( .....they've been split up or taken over or something !!!......If I just use dried rice as i use dried soya beans it will be easy ;)

My next, and I suppose main leap forward is to start making my own tofu.....I can't wait!!!

[snaffler]

All you need to know about Tofu and Soya Milk making over here Soyafresh (http://www.soyafresh.co.uk/)

[Snowdrift]

Hi snaffler,

They tell you where to put the seeds in but not which programme to use ( except for soya )....I could make a logical guess however!!!:).....

[snaffler]

More info and direct suppliers of this are these people http://www.ethicaljuicers.co.uk/ they also give discounts to a variety of people depending on income or other needs....

As for the operation they all come with full instructions and now you can get a stainless steel jug to add on.

[K4J]

hi Andy, i have a soya milk maker from Soya Fresh but it's the old model, i'm planning to upgrade to the new model a.s.a.p.

the old model only uses soaked beans, so i don't know what the difference is with dry beans. i sweeten my milk with concentrated apple juice, i put about 4 tablespoons into the water before starting the process. i was using agave syrup at first but it was quite a bit more expensive.

glad you like your machine, there are others on here who can probably offer more advice, i only use it for the very basic milk really. when i get the new model i'm hoping to try other milks such as raw hemp seed. :)



Gorilla,

This sounds good, I'll have to get into this more in the near future!! Thanks 4 UR advice that ya gave someone else here, as it bennifits some of us others.

K4J

[Gorilla]

i've recently upgraded to the new model, and i'm sure i have a faulty machine. every batch of milk i have made so far has gone wrong one way or another, despite my following the instructions exactly every time. i've been trying to get hold of Soya Fresh/Living Earth or whatever they're calling themselves these days, and nobody will get back to me. so far i'm not very happy with my new machine. :(

[Gorilla]

if anyone is interested, these are the things that have gone wrong with my soya milk maker so far. i need a moan LOL :o

1. for my first use of the new machine, i tried to make raw hemp milk. this is supposed to take about one minute. i followed the instructions to the letter, of course ;) the machine ground up the seeds for a few minutes and a large amount of liquid overflowed from the top of the jug. then the machine froze and wouldn't complete the cycle. i had to switch it off and the resulting milk was horrible

2. i made my first batch of soya milk in the new machine with dry beans. the programme seemed to work normally but the milk turned out badly. i'd put apple juice in at the beginning like i always used to with the old machine, as recommended in the old machine's instructions, and this time the milk was very curdled and brown. it doesn't seem to be a good idea to put the sweetener in at the beginning but the manual doesn't tell you that. another batch of wasted milk.

3. i tried the soya milk again, and the programme froze halfway through. it wouldn't do anything and i had to switch the machine off. the milk looked ok but as the programme hadn't completed fully i was reluctant to drink the resulting milk as i've heard raw/part-cooked soya can be poisonous.

4. tried again and the grinding stage seemed to be working on greatly reduced power, the water turned a nasty yellow instead of milky and when i opened the machine up at the end the beans were still whole. nothing edible this time either.

5. tried one final time and the machine kept heating the water for ages without progressing to the grinding stage. i eventually turned it off because it had been heating for much longer than it should and i was worried about the machine breaking any more than it obviously is already, possibly exploding or something!

despite emailing Soya Fresh/Living Earth twice and leaving messages on their answerphone they don't get back to me. i've had to resort to buying soya milk in cartons again. sorry i know there are more important things in the world but this is really annoying. :mad:

[cedarblue]

gorilla, i remember you saying that you added the apple concentrate at the beginning of the cycle but when i did that it was nasty and curdled.
tried it again and added at the end when milk was well cooled but the milk still separates in the fridge, top inch watery and bottom milky.
did you have this?
to be honest i am a bit disappointed with the whole thing, everytime i have another go and make some there is something wrong, my only real success wasl almond milk.

i am buying in cartons again :(

[Gorilla]

sorry to hear you haven't been having much luck with your soya milk cedar. the milk i made in my old machine always used to be pretty good with just a little lumpy bit settling at the bottom. my new machine hasn't given me any decent milk though. :(

Soya Fresh finally got back to me last night and they think there's a problem with the circuit board of my machine, so i've got to send it back to them for repair. goodness knows how much that's going to cost me, and it's not going to be easy to lug down to the post office. i bought myself a carton of soya milk yesterday, i went to use it this morning and it was all sludge so i've got to return it to the shop :mad: i'm not having much luck with soya milk at the moment! :(

[tails4wagging]

Sorry to hear your bad luck with the new soya milk maker, Gorilla, I used the one you gave me yesterday for the first time, a little bit diluted so trying again today.

[snaffler]

sorry to hear you haven't been having much luck with your soya milk cedar. the milk i made in my old machine always used to be pretty good with just a little lumpy bit settling at the bottom. my new machine hasn't given me any decent milk though. :(

Soya Fresh finally got back to me last night and they think there's a problem with the circuit board of my machine, so i've got to send it back to them for repair. goodness knows how much that's going to cost me, and it's not going to be easy to lug down to the post office. i bought myself a carton of soya milk yesterday, i went to use it this morning and it was all sludge so i've got to return it to the shop :mad: i'm not having much luck with soya milk at the moment! :(

Gorilla you have just bought it though, I thought you only bought your new one in the last 12 months they should not charge under the Parts Gurantee....I would check that out with your local C.A

[Gorilla]

Tails it does take a bit of getting used to but hopefully it won't take you too long to get it just right. :)

i'm not sure if they'll charge me anything for the repair Snaff they didn't mention either way. i'll just have to wait and see. :rolleyes:

[tails4wagging]

Gorilla, do you add any flavouring to it, seems to have no taste to it. First lot I made was too dilute, second lot was better.

[Trendygirl]

Oh dear! You have all put me right off. I was thinking about a Soya milk maker and I was going to ask you guys if you thought they are worth it? Does the milk taste nice, is it much cheaper than shop bought milk and is it convenient? I was also going to ask if anyone uses there home made milk to make tofu? If so what is it like? However I don’t think that you are going to convince me that they are a good idea after all the problems you have had.

I also had what could be an interesting thought! I understand that you can make milk from a number of things like nuts, rice, soy beans and hemp seeds; can you therefore make milk out of other pulses and then make that milk into a tofu type thing? Imagine chick pea tofu, would it be nice?

[tails4wagging]

Must admit I have been disappointed with the taste of the soya milk I have made so far.

I am going to have a go making nut milks and see how I fare with that.
The soya milk I have made so far, I have made into a rice pud, or used it in cooking.


Going back to an earlier comment from gorilla, Can I ask do I need to soak the beans first?. Because I havent been!

[Gorilla]

oh dear Tails, you need to soak the beans for 6-12 hours before you make the milk with the machine i gave you!!!! that's probably why you've been disappointed with the milk you've had so far! :eek: i'm sure it said that in the instructions i gave you with the machine - my sincere apologies if it didn't :o

Trendygirl, sorry you've been put off but my soya milk making was fine until the teething problems with the new machine. it tastes ok and it's not too much trouble, and it saves a lot of packaging waste. it costs about 8p per litre made with the machine, and cartons cost anywhere between 65p and £1.40 round here so it's quite a saving. i don't know if you'd be able to make 'tofu' with other pulses etc. i have a tofu making kit but can't be bothered to use it yet! :o

[Kim[ba]]

Well, I read Gorilla say that he makes his own soy milk. That sounds very interesting, nutritious, and delicious! I have a crappy $15 blender from wal-mart. On it's highest setting it's capable of making things chunky... So then I found this....

http://www.ethicaljuicers.co.uk/milkmaking.htm

AND they have a TOFO maker! I drink a lot of soy milk. I've actually acquired the taste, and now I drink close to half a gallon of soy milk a day. But, this is a good bit of money for me too. Do you guys think it would be worth it? What are the full advantages/disadvantages to making your own soy milk? Has anyone else usesd this milk maker? It can also make nut, and rice milks....hmmmm yummy. I could make hemp/soy/almond milk :)

I'm just not sure if it's worth it? Would it really save me a lot of money?

[1vegan]

"close to half a gallon of soy milk per day".

I'm no expert on this, but that seems a bit too much to me.

And for the saving of money..... what would soybeans cost (imho you need certified organic soybeans for it)
Plus the cost of the machine...I didn't see a price on the site that quickly, but I remember the vegan society selling them once, and they weren't cheap.

[1vegan]

hm.... 8 pence per litre, that sounds cheap, but is it only the soybeans they take into account ?

70 pounds for the machine, add, 10 pounds for the stainless steel cup (which I would do)

80 pounds = 120 euro = 155 usd *thinks*

let's say it last three years....about a us-dollar a week, plus soybeans and electricity....

Maybe it's not a bad deal after all.

[Gorilla]

heh heh, that Gorilla's a girl BTW ;)

yeah that's the machine i've got. are you planning to buy that exact machine? do you live in the US? it'll cost a lot of money to get it shipped out there won't it, that's if they'll even ship outside the UK. unless you can buy organic soya beans near where you live, it won't be as economical. the 8p a litre is only accurate if you buy their soya beans in a huge 25kg bag. i bought one of these bags not realising quite how much would be in it, and it's currently taking up a very large space in my kitchen!

if you're not lazy like me ;) you should find it ok. it's not that much hard work, especially if you get a model like that one where you can use dry beans so you don't have to remember to soak them beforehand. it needs a fair bit of cleaning afterwards though. it only makes a litre at a time, which if you keep drinking that much every day won't last you long. although i would tend to agree that you're perhaps drinking a bit too much...

i had some trouble with mine as the machine i got originally was faulty and it took over two weeks for it to be repaired and returned to me. it seems to be working ok now hopefully.