Is soy milk in America similar to the type in East Asia?
Finding soy milk in the States isn't very difficult - it's generally stocked in supermarkets and used as an alternative to dairy. However, I'm not sure if the flavour of typical American soy milk (even the "unsweetened" variety) is sufficiently similar in taste to the soy milk I've had in East Asia.
As an example - in Hong Kong, if I remember correctly, Vitasoy sells unsweetened soy milk with the ingredients listed as:
Water, soy beans
Comparatively, the Silk brand that sells non-dairy alternatives lists additional ingredients on their soy milk (even the "original" variety or the "unsweetened" one), such as additional vitamins and sea salt.
Is the soy milk commonly sold in supermarkets in the US (outside of places such as Asian supermarkets) similar in taste to the type found in East Asia? I've heard that there might be some differences, but I don't have enough "experience" with this to judge if those accounts are correct.
Best Answer
East Asian soy milk and American soy milk taste very different, and not just because of added ingredients like sugar and emulsifiers.
Soy beans contain an enzyme called lipoxidase, which breaks down unsaturated fatty acids into shorter chain lipids. For American markets, manufacturers presoak the beans in solvents such as calcium hydroxide in order to destroy this enzyme. After the enzyme is gone, the solvent is deactivated with an acid to form a neutral pH product. In East Asian markets, no one bothers with this added step, and just leave the lipoxidase in there.
Why the difference? Taste, mostly. Remember The shorter chain lipids mentioned before? They taste, well, bean-y. Soy milk manufacturers like Silk found through trial and error that Americans want their soybean milk to taste more like milk, and less like soybean, so this bean taste must be neutralized.
For East Asian people who grew up drinking soybean milk, soybean milk needs to taste like, well, soybean.
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Quick Answer about "Is soy milk in America similar to the type in East Asia?"
The differences would be pretty stark in some regards: US soy milk is much thicker (like cow's milk), and generally sweetened, which the East Asian soy milk will not be. One version of soy milk made like this in the US is "West Soy Soymilk, Organic, Unsweetened", the ingredients are purely "Water, Soybeans".What cultures drink soy milk?
Soy milk is a common beverage in East Asian cuisines.- In Chinese cuisine, "sweet" soy milk is made by adding cane sugar or simple syrup. ...
- Japanese cuisine uses soy milk to make yuba and as an occasional base for nabemono.
What country does soy milk come from?
1 Soymilk. Soymilk is a traditional vegetable protein beverage, which is made from whole soybeans. It is originated in China and is now becoming more and more popular in the diets around the world. As it is named \u201csoymilk,\u201d its protein content is close to that of cow's milk.Do the Japanese drink soy milk?
Soy milk drinks are notoriously popular in Japan, due both to the abundant use of soy bean based foods and drinks enjoyed in Japan in general, and to their being high in essential nutrients while also being lactose free. Take a look at Japan Centre's amazing range of soy drinks available to buy online.Does all soy milk taste the same?
What does soy milk taste like? Soy milk typically has a mild and creamy flavour, but this can vary between brands. It's typically sweeter than other milk alternatives. If you want dairy free milk that tastes like milk, this is probably your best option.How to Make Soy Milk นำ้เต้าหู้ - Hot Thai Kitchen!
More answers regarding is soy milk in America similar to the type in East Asia?
Answer 2
Most of the popular soy milk in the US is sweetened, thickened and flavored. It's also may have ingredients added as stabilizers, preservatives, the usual.
East Asian style soy milk is simply the result of grinding mature soy beans (usually dry ones that have been soaked in water) and water and then straining the result.
The differences would be pretty stark in some regards: US soy milk is much thicker (like cow's milk), and generally sweetened, which the East Asian soy milk will not be.
One version of soy milk made like this in the US is "West Soy Soymilk, Organic, Unsweetened", the ingredients are purely "Water, Soybeans".
Other than buying this type of soy milk, your other option is to make it. To do this, follow this procedure (Adopted from "Modernist Cuisine"):
- Soak dry soy beans in a 1:1 mass ratio with water for at least 14 hours. Drain.
- Puree drained soybeans with in 3:1 mass ration (water to dry bean weight). Puree until mixture is fine particulate, almost "creamy and grainy" in texture.
- Pour mixture into sauce pan and add boiling water in a 1.5:1 (boiling water to dry soy bean mass) and simmer about 20 minutes. Let cool.
- Strain mixture through cheese cloth.
The resulting components will be soy milk (the strained liquid) and okara (soy bean pulp). The okara has several culinary uses, so you may want to save it, or you can toss it. The yield of this will be about 1 kg of soy milk for 250 g of dried soy beans, or about a half of a gallon per pound.
Answer 3
What I noticed, is that I'm invariably allergic to all soy milk based products produced in Western countries (I live in Europe), whatever the brand, but that I have no allergy to soy bean based Asian products (Soy sauce, tofu, fresh soy beans, soy milk of Asian origin).
I'm also allergic to vegetable milk made with almonds or rice. There must be a difference in production.
Answer 4
Typically most (American) Unsweeteneded Soy Milk probably taste different because it contains very little soy beans and have other ingredients added where as (Asian) Unsweetened Soy Milk bought from the Asian supermarkets simply have soy beans and water. It's a thicker, beanier(that is not a word) flavor. I think it tastes more natural.
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