A soy milk maker is a
small kitchen appliance which automatically
cooks soy milk, a non-
dairy beverage
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...
made from
soy beans. Soy milk makers work similarly to a combination between a
home blender and an automatic
coffee maker. Some soy milk makers can also be programmed to make
almond milk, rice milk, and other
vegetable-based
steeped
Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour a ...
beverages.
Homemade soy milk can be made to the drinkers' tastes and
nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficien ...
al requirements.
Soy pulp, a by-product of soy milk preparation, can be used as an ingredient in many
recipes and food products.
Ordinary methods for making soy milk at home are often very labor-intensive (requiring beans to be soaked, ground in a
blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
, strained, and then cooked). Soy milk machines perform many of these steps automatically, simplifying home-based soy milk production.
Standard operation
Before use, dried beans are rinsed with water to remove particulate debris, soaked for 6–10 hours to moisten and soften the dried beans, and then rinsed again before use. The moistened soy beans are placed into the grinding chamber, where they are ground into a fine paste, and fall into a finely screened strainer chamber immersed in a pot of water.
The paste is
steeped
Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour a ...
in the water in a process similar to that of
tea making; the pot of water is
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
ed, fully cooking both the dissolved soy milk and the strained soy solids, which become
soy pulp. The new models on the market now have no filter cup — soy beans are placed directly inside the machine jug.
Most soy milk makers include a mechanism to stop the
boiling soy milk from overflowing. The heater is turned off as the
water level approaches the top of the chamber, and then turned back on as the soy milk returns to an acceptable level. This process is repeated for the length of the cooking period, which lasts for approximately fifteen minutes.
When the soy milk has fully cooked, the machine will automatically turn off, leaving the
soy pulp in the filter cup and the soy milk in the water chamber. Many machines will beep to inform the user of the soy milk's completion.
See also
*
List of cooking appliances
*
Plant milk
*
Soy milk
References
External links
Review of soy milk makersReview of soy milk makers by Vickilynn Haycraft
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soy Milk Maker
Cooking appliances