Blog Update!


Saturday, June 16, 2007


SoyabellaWell, I did it. I threw down for a soy milk making machine (it does other things as well, but it's main function is to produce soy milk).

Since it looks like we'll be going through about a gallon and a half of soymilk a week, I thought that making our own would be somewhat fun as well as cost saving. I can easily get organic soybeans for less than $1.50 a pound and you only need a cup of soybeans to make a quart. And it takes a mere 15 minutes.

I did find a local producer of organic soy milk at my favorite co-op store today, but at almost $8 a gallon, I'm thinking this thing will start paying for itself soon.

I'll let you know how it works out!


everydaytrash said...

Whoa, I had no idea you could make your own soy milk!

debby said...

First the soap and now this! I've been investigating this option myself. Please let us know how it goes.

Our Lovely Life said...

I had no idea that there was a machine out there for home use!! That's great. You'll have to let us all know how it does!! Are you all going vegetarian? I've been trying to do that, but it's very hard sometimes. Especially because my hubby loves meat and would never stop eating it!! I think my kids could go either way though.

QT said...

I had no idea you could make soymilk yourself! Luckily, we don't consume much milk around here, except to make yogurt, so this is not an issue for me - I could see with two kids, tho, it would make a difference.

DumpsterDiva said...

Hi Crunch,
I was wondering exactly why you decided to forego cows milk. I have heard a lot of negative things about consuming lots of soy. We drink raw cows milk that comes from a biodynamic farm. It is a small family farm, the cows have names, are pasture grazed and well cared for. We have 2 coolers each with four 1/2 gallon glass ball jars and each week we get a cooler of milk and exchange it for the cooler with the empties. If you quit cows milk because you did not want to support the Big Organic farms then check out It is a site that promotes raw milk and tells you where all the farms are that sells it. It seems there are about 100 places to buy it in Washington. You may find one near you.

Crunchy Chicken said...

Yeah, I didn't know:

1. that you could make soy milk yourself (duh - I figured it was some big industrial process or something)

2. that there even existed machines to make it

I stumbled upon the machines as I was researching local organic soymilk sources and thought, holy cow! (or should that be holy soybeans!), this fits in with my "make it yerself" plans.

qt - we'll still be buying milk for making our own yogurt. Maybe one of these days I'll try to find a recipe for making soy yogurt. Does anyone know if you can just substitute soy milk for cow's milk in making yogurt????

dumpsterdiva - I've read negative things about soy. And I've read negative things about cow's milk. No matter how you slice it, the impact on the environment from raising cattle sustainably versus raising soy sustainably is still confusing as to which one comes out ahead. It all depends on the grower and the method of transport.

I don't know much about raw milk, but the idea gives me the willies. Maybe I read too much 18th century literature...

Debbie said...

Bryanna Clark Grogan has a recipe for soy yogurt at her Vegan Feast site and Susan Voisin has one at her Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog.

rhonda jean said...

Does the soy milk maker heat the liquid to get rid of that bean taste you sometimes get with homemade soy milk?

You make soy yoghurt the same as cow's milk yoghurt, except if you want to sweeten it, you add the sweetener at the beginning and not at the end, like cow's milk yoghurt.

This is a site I help administer, there is a soy milk yoghurt thread there:

Enjoy your new machine.

Chile said...

rhondajean, check Bryanna Clark Grogan's site for ideas on not-so-beany soymilk. Someone else linked to it. Basically, she recommends using mostly soybeans but also adding in some rice and rolled oats. It's good but the problem I had with making my own soymilk was that the cleaning was very time-consuming and labor-intensive. I may go ahead and give it a whirl again for July's Local Food challenge, though.

mabeutle at said...

I hope I win! My former boss has brain cancer and could really use this.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Cool giveaway!

:) Jennifer B. of Bellevue, NE