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Soy milk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to:navigation, search A can of soymilk poured into a glass.

Soy milk

(also called

soya milk

soymilk

soybean milk

, or

soy juice

) and sometimesreferred to as

soy drink/beverage

is a beverage made fromsoybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them withwater. Soy milk contains about the same proportion of proteinas cow's milk: around3.5%; also 2%fat,2.9%carbohydrate, and 0.5%ash.Soy milk can be made at home with traditional kitchen tools or with asoy milk machine.The coagulated protein from soy milk can be made intoTofu, just as dairy milk can be made intocheese.

Contents

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7 Nutrition and health information

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8 Ecological impact

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9 Potential medicinal use

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[edit] Origins

The oldest evidence of soy milk production is fromChinawhere a kitchen scene provinguse of soy milk is incised on a stone slab dated around A.D. 25~220.

[1]

It also appeared ina chapter called Four Taboos (Szu-Hui) in the A.D. 82 book called

Lunheng

byWangChong, possibly the first written record of soy milk. Evidence of soy milk is rare prior tothe 20th century and widespread usage before then is unlikely.

[1]

According to popular tradition in China, soy milk was developed byLiu An for medicinal purposes, although there is no historical evidence for this legend.

[1]

This legend appearedin the late 15th century inBencao Gangmu,where Li was attributed to the development of tofu with no mention of soy milk. Later writers in Asia and the West additionallyattributed development of soy milk to Liu An, assuming that he could not have made tofuwithout making soy milk. However, it is likely that Liu An has been falsely attributed tothe development of tofu by writers 1000 years after his time.

[2]

[edit] Cultural terms

The most commonChineseterms for soy milk are "

豆漿

" (Pinyin:

dòu jiāng

; lit.

bean

a thick liquid

) and "

豆奶

" (Pinyin:

dòu nǎi

; lit.

bean

milk

).TheJapanese term for soy milk is

tōnyū

(

豆乳

).InKorea,"

두유

(

豆乳

)" is the word for representing soy milk. "

두

" and "

유

" representsoy and milk respectively.InSingapore, it is known as

tau-huey-tzui

(

豆花水

) in the local Hokkien dialect while inMalaysia it is known as "susu soya" or "air tauhu" in the local Malay language.

[edit] Prevalence

Greek Café Frappé prepared with soy milk, topped with additionalcinnamon Plain soy milk is unsweetened, although some soy milk products are sweetened. Salty soymilk is prevalent in China, while it is non-existent in other cultures.

[3]

The drink is very popular in thehawker culture of Malaysia, with it being a standard offering accompanying meals atMalaysian Chinesestalls. In Malaysia, soybean milk isusually flavoured with either white or brown sugar syrup. The consumer also has theoption to addgrass jelly, known as

leong fan

or "cincau" (in the Malay language) to the beverage. Sellers of soybean milk in Penang usually also offer bean curd,a related custard-like dessert, known to the locals as

tau hua

which is flavored with the same syrupas the soybean milk. In Indonesian is known as "susu kedele".Yeo's, a drink manufacturer in Singapore and Malaysia, markets a commercialized tinned or boxedversion of soybean milk.

[4]

In the West, soymilk has become a popular alternative to cow's milk, with a roughlysimilar protein and fat content.

[5]

Soy milk is commonly available in vanillaand chocolate flavors as well as its original unflavored form. In some Western countries whereveganismhas made inroads, it is available upon request at cafés and coffeefranchises as a cow'smilk substitute,usually at an extra cost.

[edit] Health

[edit] Health benefits

Soy milk is nutritionally close to cow'smilk . It naturally has about the same amount of protein(though not the sameamino acidprofile) as cow's milk. Natural soy milk contains little digestiblecalciumas it is bound to the bean's pulp, which is insoluble in humans. To counter this, many manufacturers enrich their products withcalcium carbonateavailableto human digestion. Unlike cow's milk, it has littlesaturated fatand no cholesterol. Soy products containsucroseas the basicdisaccharide, which breaks down intoglucoseand fructose. Since soy doesn't containgalactose, a product of lactose breakdown, soy-based infant formulas can safely replace breast milk in children withgalactosemia.Soy milk is promoted as a healthy alternative to cow's milk for reasons including:

•

Source of lecithinandvitamin E

•

Lackscasein

•

It is safe for people withlactose intoleranceor milk allergy