Soy Milk

[Pat]

In these parts soy milk is $7/gal (actually $3.49/half gal) give or take a few cents depending on the store and brand. This has sparked an interest in making our own. There are a plethora of soy milk making appliances for sale on the internet. Any of you fellow rural types "into" soy milk making? Pros? Cons? I can see the advantage of freshness and lower cost, even while amortizing the cost of the machine and the disadvantage of the effort in the process.

I don't want to end up with a machine that never gets used... like the yogurt makers of years back, jilions sold and often resold at yard sales since they were, for any number of reasons, not used.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Hakim]

Interesting idea. I buy soy milk, but I buy MORE rice milk. I am wondering if the machine used to make soy milk, could/can make rice milk as well???

[Bird]

When you click on the link at the top of this page, you get this soy milk maker and it claims you can use it for rice milk, as well as milk from other grains. Personally, I've no experience with either the machines or those kinds of "milk".

[Pat]

Hakim, Acocording to the advertising copy for the soy milk machines I found on the web, you can make rice milk, almond milk, and all kinds of milks. I didn't see anything about pigeon milk (just kiding.)

The prices seem to be all over the place from below a hundrred bucks to several hundred.

There seem to be good units available at $100 with free shipping.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Hakim]

Thanks for the feedback. I have done a little research by now, and as you say, I see that most of the automated soy maker units also claim to do rice milk.

I use about 4 quarts a month, mainly for cereal in the morning. It costs me around $6 a gallon -- I buy "Organic Rice Milk" at Trader Joe's. My wife says Costco may carry rice milk; they do have soy milk.

I also see that there is a lot of negative opinions about some of the commercial soy milk makers, having to do with cheap/flimsy construction, hard to clean, noisy, etc.

The one that seems to get the best reviews was the SoyaJoy or the SoyaJoy or the SoyaPower (same company) that I found here: SoyaJoy Link.

[Pat]

Hakim, We are paying $7/gal for soy milk. I ordered a milk maker last night. Given the cost per year for store bought I could toss it and buy another if need be and still amortize it in an accceptably short period of time.

Ever drink Horchatca (sp?) It is, as far as I know, a Mexican rice drink typicaly served cold. If rice milk is anything like that, flavor wise, I may try rice milk on my cereal too. I am lactose intolerant ( I JUST WON'T PUT UP WITH LACTOSE!!!) so I use lactase enzyme capsules whenever I use milk.

I'll trade observationls with you. I will report back our initial experience with the milk maker when we get it in hand and make a batch or two.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Hakim]

Pat,

I am not sure I want or need to make my own rice milk. My experience with all kinds of foods is that the commercially-made products often taste and appear superior to home made. Sometimes of course homemade is better.

With soy or rice milk, I have read of various problems with inexpensive home units--- liquid too thin, too chalky, too gritty, burnt taste, etc.

Multi-thousand dollar machines used in commercial production likely make a more appealing product.

I really like most Trader Joe's products. We are here in their home state of Calif. Lots of fresh organic products, which I like.

I tried juicing my own oranges, for example. First you have to get a "juicy" orange. Navels just don't work. Valencia's are the best I have found around here. Then, you have to hope the specific batch you buy is in fact sweet enough.

Organic juice oranges sell for up to $2.50 a pound in some seasons. I have an Orange-X juicer, a commercial unit. It makes great juice. Three oranges per 8 ounce juice glass. In my experience, I usually save nothing in cost, and sometimes pay more for oranges than the Organic fresh squeezed from Trader Joe's. And sometimes the hand squeezed is really bitter.

I expect that my experience with rice milk will be similar to orange juice, in terms of cost and flavor.

Right now I use a pretty small amount of rice milk, and do not feel that I want another messy task to do every day or every couple of days.

I like the sound of the Mexican Horchata rice drink... I located the info below, and am going to mix some up. Sounds really fantastic. I'm surprised I never heard of it before, since I have lived in AZ and CA border towns for a long time.

Thanks for sharing your info.

Hakim
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Mexican Horchata

A refreshing cold drink made of rice, almonds, cinnamon (canella), lime zest and sugar. This drink is frequently served at breakfast time. Even though the drink has a milky appearance it is completely dairy-free.

History
According to Sophie Coe in America's First Cuisine's, horchata was an old-world drink brought to the new world by the Spaniards and later enjoyed too by the Aztecs. In Spain horchata was made with with ground melon seeds but given the seeds were not available in the new world the Spaniards substituted the readily available squash seeds. Later almonds and rice were brought to the new world and incorporated into the drink as it is prepared today.

Serves: 6 - 7

I N G R E D I E N T S
6 tablespoons rice
6 ounces (about 1 1/4 cups) blanched almonds
1 inch cinnamon stick (canella)
3 "2-inch" strips of lime zest (rind only, not the white pithy part) 3/4" long
1 cup white granulated sugar

I N S T R U C T I O N S
The traditional way to make horchata is with a metate y mano. For those of us less adventurous, or simple those with less time, we can use a blender.

Pulverize the rice using a metate y mano (rock slab used to grind corn and for mashing ingredients to make salsas) or your blender. Grind the mixture as smooth as possible. Combine the rice with the almonds, cinnamon and lime zest. Let this mixture stand overnight (minimally 6 hours).

Place the mixture in the blender jar and blend for at least 3 - 5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and no long has a gritty texture. Add 2 cups of water and blend again for just a few seconds.

Place a large sieve over a mixing bowl. Line the sieve with 3 layers of damp cheesecloth.

Pour in the rice mixture, a little at a time and keep stirring to help the mixture go through the sieve.

Once all the liquid has passed through to the bowl gather the cloth together at the top, give it a twist and squeeze out any additional liquid.

Now add 2 more cups of water and stir in as much sugar as you'd like, to taste. If the mixture is too thick, add some additional water.

Cover and refrigerate. The drink should keep several days, refrigerated.

Serve in a tall glass over ice [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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