Soy milk
From Wikinfo
Soya milk or soy milk is processed from soy beans. Soya milk looks like dairy milk and tastes similar. It has similar protein content to homogenized milk but is nutritionally different in other ways. Notably it has no calcium unless this has been artificially added, considered bad, and no saturated fat (considered good).
For a more detailed discussion see Soybean.
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.
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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 d�u jiāng (豆漿; literally "soy liquid"); however, there is a product in China whose name, d�u 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. [[Caf�]]s 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.
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.
Soy milk is promoted as a healthy alternative to cow's milk for reasons including:
- Less antibiotics, hormones, fat, cholesterol, excess protein, or links to cancer, diabetes, and other diseases
- Phytochemicals reduce the risk of cancer
- Soy protein reduces the levels of cholesterol and lessens the incidences of atherosclerosis
- Diabetes management through its ability to control blood sugar levels
- Source of lecithin and vitamin E
- Lacks casein
- Soy milk is kosher and so may be freely consumed by Jewish people
However, the soy industry has also received similar criticism from the dairy industry for reasons including:
- High levels of phytic acid
- Hemagglutinin content
- Processing of soybeans, including genetic modification, which may result in lysinoalanine or nitrosamines
- Trypsin inhibitors content
- Soy phytoestrogens as antithyroid agents
- Aluminum content
Soy milk is not suitable for babies or infants, but is safe to consume by people who are lactose intolerant.
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; r�u 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. Soybeans also replenish the soil in which they are grown.
Manufacturers
- AGD So Natural [1]
- Alpro [2]
- Eden Foods [3]
- 8th Continent [4]
- Kikkoman
- Nutrisoya [5]
- Plamil [6]
- Silk [7]
- Soy Dream [8]
- Yeo's [9]
See also
References
External links
- American Soybean Association[[cs:Sojov� ml�ko]][[vi:Sữa đậu n�nh]]
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Soy_milk" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_milk, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
