soymilk makers

[sherijohnson]

today I was shopping in a local health food store and happened upon a soy milk maker.

If you have one, I would love to hear from you. The model I was looking at is called SoyMilker - in the store its price is $140.

Additionally I would love to hear about sources for soybeans in bulk. I am in the metro Atlanta, GA area, but have no problem ordering by phone or internet if you know of a great source.

I wanted to make sure I could get a real good deal on the soy beans before I invest in a machine and of course would solicit your advice on what machines are good and which ones are junk.

Thank you for your time.

[Muzicfan]

I dont have a soy milk maker, but I heard from someone that it was more problems than not. Most of the people I know that tried to make milk, stated that it was easier to just buy.

Maybe this particular machine makes it easier. I just find buying powdered soy milk to be economical enough for me.

I would be interested in what everyone else says about it.

[Kreeli]

this company has won all kinds of awards, has EXCELLENT customer service (i just dealt with them last week and have never been happier), and the milk is definitely good. remember, though, that homemade soymilk will taste beanier and less "creamy" than storebought stuff because it is a whole, natural food, free of preservatives, sugar (unless you add some), and thickeners. i find the flavour more palatable if i add some maple syrup, a dash or two of vanilla, and a pinch of salt.

check them out!

http://www.soylifeca.com

they even include a free tofu making kit!

[Kreeli]

oh, and i just buy my soybeans from my local hfs' bulk section. they charge about 39 cents per hundred grams for organic (that's canadian dollars). you're still saving tons of money over purchasing storebought organic soymilk that way.

also, just an fyi, sheri, we don't really like to encourage people to post the same questions/topics in different forums here, so i've merged the two threads you started on soymilk makers.

[sherijohnson]

thank you for your reply! I am looking at it right now...

[Kreeli]

ah, here's the link to the thread i started when we bought ours last year. as you will see, my family and i are very happy with our purchase but another vb'er wasn't with his...

http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2026

i just want to reiterate how impressed i was with this company's customer service...i've never been treated so well by any company before. we took our machine on vacation with us since we were going to a very remote island with limited food availability. a well-meaning relative dunked the whole unit into a sink full of water while trying to clean it for us and afterwards it would not run properly. i emailed the company in a panic and the fellow there (joseph) gave us some excellent advice. he said even if the advice he gave didn't work, he would be happy to send us a demo model of the machine for a very good price so that we wouldn't be forced to shell out more money due to an accident. luckily his advice worked! i called him when we got home to let him know, and he then offered to send us the tofu making kit (which we didn't get when we originally bought the machine), and some other freebies, like a new filter cup, and some new cleaning brushes and pads! this guy is the greatest! i can't say enough good things about them.

[sherijohnson]

thank you for the additional link and about your experience, this machine looks very similar to the one I am interested in. I love making things as all natural as possible and experimenting with foods. I find it very rewarding to have good results and to see others enjoy things that I have made.

[PixieMagic]

*sighs* I just typed out a long reply to your post, and when I hit "submit," I received the "You are not logged in page" and lost it all! I guess I took too long to type it out. I hate when that happens. :mad: One more time...

I use the SoyaJoy soymilk maker that I bought on the internet 3 years ago. Paid a total of $125.00 U.S. through a holiday special they had. I had a problem with my first machine, (damaged by UPS) and customer service was wonderful! They sent me a second machine (brand new, no extra cost) within 7 days of my emailing them. I'm really happy with it, and have been using it without any problems, whatsoever. The one thing that I dislike is that it's a bit of a pain to clean, so I usually make large batches of soymilk at once. We found that we like it at double strength, and usually add some real maple syrup and vanilla. It's not as creamy as the store brands, so it might take some getting used to.

That said, you don't NEED a machine. You can make soymilk on the stovetop with a pot, blender, and some cheesecloth. In fact, I did just that for about 2 years, and it was fine. It all depends on the person, I guess! You still need to presoak your beans, whether you have a machine or not. Oh yes. Almost forgot...I purchased the Laura soybeans from Fairview Farms. (online) Anyway, hope this helps.

Looks like Kreeli's posted quite a bit of info, so you should be fine. :)

[PixieMagic]

Kreeli,
The Soylife looks identical to the SoyaJoy! I wonder if it's the same thing? Does anyone know? Just wondering... :)

The SoyaJoy site is www.soymilkmaker.com, if you want to see the picture and compare.

[Kreeli]

Originally posted by PixieMagic
Kreeli,
The Soylife looks identical to the SoyaJoy! I wonder if it's the same thing? Does anyone know? Just wondering... :)

The SoyaJoy site is www.soymilkmaker.com, if you want to see the picture and compare.

yep, they are exactly the same! i picked the soylife one because it is available locally.

[sherijohnson]

I purchased the Laura soybeans from Fairview Farms. (online)

can you direct me to this site?

I did some online searches and found some other sources for bulk, 25 lbs, etc., which sounds promising...

[sherijohnson]

what is the procedure for making soy milk on the stove top??? I might try that to see how it goes...

[cookingVeg]

Try this link for making soymilk at home: http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/faq/faq.pdl?project_id=1&faq_id=132.

[PixieMagic]

Originally posted by sherijohnson
Can you direct me to this site?

The homepage is www.fairviewfarms.com, and the page with the soybeans is here (http://store.yahoo.com/fftosteds-store/higqualnonfo.html).


Originally posted by sherijohnson
what is the procedure for making soy milk on the stove top??? I might try that to see how it goes...

I didn't follow an exact recipe. If you click here (http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/124096.html), you’ll get a very detailed description. Scroll down the page a bit, until you get the stovetop method. The link mentions using a flame tamer, but I never did. Just stuck to the basics. The simpler, the better. I also found an easier method here (http://home.earthlink.net/~kimcof/archives/LV102002.html#soymilkbyhand). This is almost identical to how I made soymilk. The only difference is that I used more soybeans, and strained the liquid pulp through cheesecloth after boiling—not before. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Hope I didn’t confuse you even more! ;) Let us know how things go. Good luck!

-Edited to fix links.-

[sherijohnson]

after extensive reading on the options available I have concluded that I am going to go with the SoyaJoy soymilk maker and there were 2 great sources for soybeans in bulk and I believe I am going to try the Laura beans.

I may also try to make the tofu as directed on the site, just requires a few more things.

I will return to let you know how it goes after I get all my gear and supplies.

Thanks for your help so far.

[punkmommy]

I have a Soymilk maker, but every time I make it, it tastes too beany to me. I've tried adding vanilla and maple syrup but bleah..any ideas?

[zimngir]

Which one do you have?
Here is a recipe from Marie Oser to make it taste like Silk. She uses the Laura Beans and the SoyJoy Soy Milk Maker
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/soy/messages/14555.html

[sherijohnson]

well, I did it, I ordered the maker and the beans....so now I just have to wait for it to get here. they do offer a 30 day guarantee, but I have a feeling I won't want to part with it...I will post update after I give it a try.

[punkmommy]

Originally posted by zimngir
Which one do you have?
Here is a recipe from Marie Oser to make it taste like Silk. She uses the Laura Beans and the SoyJoy Soy Milk Maker
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/soy/messages/14555.html

I wish I could remember off the top of my head. We're moving, so it's packed away right now. I haven't used it for a while, I always get Edensoy Extra for my toddler since it's fortified.

[sherijohnson]

punkmommy - what kind of soybeans have you used when you made soy milk, and how long did you soak them? According to what many people have said this is important as well as what you might add to the milk. Since I have yet to make it, I can't say much else, but I am sure I will have a plethera of information very soon as I start making it.

[Kreeli]

i have tried soybeans from several different sources since we bought our soymilk maker. nothing seems to really make a difference in the beany flavour. i don't see why the brand of beans would make a difference...a soybean is a soybean. :confused:

really, i think that getting used to homemade soymilk is much like getting used to storebought soymilk after you make the switch from cow. it takes dilligence, a desire to change, time and exposure.

[sherijohnson]

Kreeli,

have you tried the Laura beans? just curious, they say they give a more mild flavor and this is from multitudes of people who have tried them, just curious if you have tried them too?

[Kreeli]

no. i don't have the money to spend on shipping, especially since i live in canada. it doesn't matter to me, though, because i've grown accustomed to the beanier flavour of our homemade soymilk. i just think a lot of people have unrealistic expectations from their soymilk makers...no matter what you do, unless you prepare it the way the big manufacturers do, and put sweetener, salt, carageenan, and all the other additives into your homemade soymilk it just won't taste like the prepackaged commercial stuff.

[PixieMagic]

Originally posted by Kreeli
really, i think that getting used to homemade soymilk is much like getting used to storebought soymilk after you make the switch from cow. it takes dilligence, a desire to change, time and exposure.

I'm with Kreeli. The soymilk will be beanier than what is available commercially, and not as creamy. I am using Laura soybeans from Fairview, as it is cheaper for me to buy from them. (Even with the s/h costs. I'm in the U.S.) I haven't used any other soybeans, so I can't say whether the Laura is less beany than other varieties. But honestly, I don't really think the variety of soybean would make that big of a difference.

[sherijohnson]

well.........it's here, it arrived today. I made the first batch of soymilk and the machine was easy to use and to clean. I will wait till morning to try it since it was so hot coming out of the machine. I did taste it, then I added some extra ingredients to make it taste a little better for my step daughters... I tasted it again to see what it tasted like and I think it might have tasted better before I added anything. I am sure this will take some experimentation to figure out how we like it and what and how much we might add for flavor...

now if the rest of the beans will get here....