When people think of milk, they usually associate it with goats, cows, or carabaos. Seldom will anyone think of plants as a source of alternative milk like soya milk.
Soya milk is cheaper than dairy or animal milk. It is also low in fat or lactose, whereas cow’s milk can have as much as 4%-5% saturated fat. What’s fantastic about soya milk is that it is high in protein and free from cholesterol.
According to the book Tofu & Soya, soya milk has the same protein content as goat’s milk and the same level of calcium as cow’s milk. A 100 ml of soya milk contains 0.63 mg riboflavin, 3.2 mcg vitamin B, and 1.5 mcg vitamin D, and has a total energy of 430 kilocalories.
Soya milk is just one of the popular products of soybean. Our Asian neighbors, especially the Chinese, have known about the value of soybean for over 400,000 years. But for most of us Filipinos, we only realized its value these past few years.
For instance, in Negros Oriental, our province, there have been soybean farms there since the `60s. But what farmers only knew about soybean then was that it was used to make plastics, soy sauce, or feeds for poultry and pigs. They did not know then that it was a highly nutritious food that can be processed into milk.
Another instance was during the height of Imelda Marcos’ Green Revolution Program. Our school was growing soybeans, and a German agriculture consultant gave us seeds to grow. He was probably thinking that being Asians we were familiar with the uses of soybeans. Unfortunately, due to the ignorance of most, our soybeans werejust wasted for nobody knew back then how to prepare it either as food or beverage.
As for me, I only learned how to make soya milk when I worked in Hong Kong in the `90s. And here’s how.
1. Wash 1/2 kilo of soybeans for two to three times. Put it in a large basin and add water of about thrice the volume of the soybeans. Soak overnight and then drain.
Soya milk is cheaper than dairy or animal milk. It is also low in fat or lactose, whereas cow’s milk can have as much as 4%-5% saturated fat. What’s fantastic about soya milk is that it is high in protein and free from cholesterol.
According to the book Tofu & Soya, soya milk has the same protein content as goat’s milk and the same level of calcium as cow’s milk. A 100 ml of soya milk contains 0.63 mg riboflavin, 3.2 mcg vitamin B, and 1.5 mcg vitamin D, and has a total energy of 430 kilocalories.
Soya milk is just one of the popular products of soybean. Our Asian neighbors, especially the Chinese, have known about the value of soybean for over 400,000 years. But for most of us Filipinos, we only realized its value these past few years.
For instance, in Negros Oriental, our province, there have been soybean farms there since the `60s. But what farmers only knew about soybean then was that it was used to make plastics, soy sauce, or feeds for poultry and pigs. They did not know then that it was a highly nutritious food that can be processed into milk.
Another instance was during the height of Imelda Marcos’ Green Revolution Program. Our school was growing soybeans, and a German agriculture consultant gave us seeds to grow. He was probably thinking that being Asians we were familiar with the uses of soybeans. Unfortunately, due to the ignorance of most, our soybeans werejust wasted for nobody knew back then how to prepare it either as food or beverage.
As for me, I only learned how to make soya milk when I worked in Hong Kong in the `90s. And here’s how.
1. Wash 1/2 kilo of soybeans for two to three times. Put it in a large basin and add water of about thrice the volume of the soybeans. Soak overnight and then drain.
2. Rinse the soybeans and drain again.
3. Put 1 cup soybeans in the grinder. Add 2 cups boiling water. Grind or blend until transformed into a puree. Repeat until all the beans are pureed.
4. Put the puree into the muslin cloth then squeeze it to extract the milk. After squeezing all the puree, add 1-2 cups of boiling water to the pulp then squeeze again to extract more milk.
5. Pour the extracted milk into the big pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Put the soya milk in a clean container or bottle. Cool and then refrigerate.
Because soya milk has a bland taste, add sugar or honey. You can also add fruits to it, or if desired, add flavoring. And one more thing, after extracting the soya milk, the pulp need not be thrown away as it still contains nutrients. Mix it with little flour and seasonings, and fry it as patties or meatballs.
Because soya milk has a bland taste, add sugar or honey. You can also add fruits to it, or if desired, add flavoring. And one more thing, after extracting the soya milk, the pulp need not be thrown away as it still contains nutrients. Mix it with little flour and seasonings, and fry it as patties or meatballs.
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