Today, I started my soy empire…haha just kidding.
Actually, I made homemade soy milk. I was going to make tofu as well but there was some difficulties.
Soy transformation is one of the pillars of PC work here in Cameroon (in my opinion). Almost everyone knows how to transform soy into milk, yogurt, flour, and tofu. We also know how to make homemade wine (that will be another post). If you are going to be talking about nutrition, you will most definitely talk about the power of soy.
Especially here in the West. The West has the perfect climate almost anything can grow here (which is why I’m one of few volunteers to enjoy a kale salad every once in a while). Soy is planted just like any bean and it’s a nitrogen fixer which means its great for the soil. Winner all around.
I know in the US there is always some debate about whether soy is good for you. In my opinion, everything is good in moderation. So back to my soy milk.
I soaked the beans overnight in my marmite. A marmite is just a dutch oven but they call them marmites here. I think it was roughly about 3 ½ cups after soaking. I just poured half my bag of beans in and didn’t measure. After I soaked, I drained.
Soaked soybeans after draining
This is when difficulties began. Most volunteers take the soaked beans to a grinder and pay to have them grinded. But I have a blender, so I went that route. I heard horror stories about the engine of the blender being blown because its not strong enough but I risked it. My engine wasn’t the problem. My blender was cracked. I didn’t realize it until I was halfway through and I noticed the puddle of milk surrounding it but I powered through and finished and got this.
This is what I got after I blended the beans with water. Milk!
So, there are two ways to make the milk. Most volunteers without a blender are trained in the following: 1) get the soybeans grinded, 2) in your marmite mix 1 cup of the soybean paste, with 3 cups of water. You want a 1:3 ratio with your soy and water 3) boil it for 10 -15 minutes, that kills the toxins that all beans have 4)strain it through a colander or some kind of cloth and then you have your milk.
That’s a very good method but I don’t prefer it because you can’t really press it because its hot so you lose some liquid.
I combined steps 1 and 2. In my blender, I put the beans and water and blended it until I got a puree. I then poured that puree into my colander and pressed it. I repeated that about 4 times until everything was done. By that point, I had all liquid and I just had to boil it before storing it.
My jars ready for their milk
I boiled for the recommended amount of time and came out with 5 jars of soy milk.
Final Product
If my blender wasn’t cracked I might have had enough milk to make tofu. I still have a fair amount of beans left so once my milk is gone, I will make some more milk and make some tofu.
I really want to try to make tempeh but Google tells me I need to order a starter kit online so it will ferment correctly. All in all, its fairly easy to make the milk and the other stuff.
Oh and according to Google, the milk should last in my fridge for about a week but I doubt it will last that long for me.
Growing in Cameroon 