WHOA----AN ELECTRIC COW?!?!?! : SoyaJoy Soy Milk Maker
Written: Aug 04 '03 (Updated Jun 30 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy, fast, saves lots of money, small footprint
Cons: takes a while to get used to fresh flavor
The Bottom Line: In all of the years I spent laboring over soy milk, it is truly awesome that this the SOYAJOY does the job in 1/20 of the time-truly a miracle!!!!!
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| Caprig's Full Review: Soyajoy Soy Milk Maker |
For over 20 years, my family has made much of our food from scratch, and eaten as healthy as possible. Many a year has been spent making our own flour, breads, tofu, baked goods, meat substitutes, and yes, even our own soymilk (half of the population makes this one word and the other half two- I will mix and match for this review, I guess to be fair-grin).
For anyone familiar with the arduous process of making your own soymilk, you will know that the time taken alone is quite a chore.
So important is the timing of adding cold water to the hot water in the middle of the processing, that the entire flavor of the batch of milk can be altered greatly from waiting just a bit too long....
WHAT LEAD US TO FIND THIS PRODUCT?
I have to be honest with you. It has been many a year that I have spent making things that most other people would never give a moment to even think about let alone do. However, given the time that many of those people spend in doctors offices, health clinics, hospitals, and cancer treatment centers, I have to say that the time I have saved in the last few decades has been quite significant.
However, knowing this, I have to say that I have grown tired of such lengthy tasks as soymilk making. Hot water, Vita Mix, cheesecloth, rubber gloves- the process has a lot of clean up and the flavor is, well, not as nice as I would like.
So, for the last few years we have spent a lot of money purchasing soymilk in the container weekly. We have tried almost every brand out there. Although we have purchased boxed soymilk for years, we never had the large quantity consumed as we have in the last few years.
I wished that there was another alternative, but we did the best we could buying in bulk, but still using at least $20 a week in soymilk alone.
VEGETARIAN TIMES?
It was after getting a fabulous deal last year on the VEGETARIAN TIMES MAGAZINE that I noticed a new contraption I had never seen before. A soymilk maker.
Hmmmmmm.
Sounded suspicious to me. And at over $200 I was not jumping to get one.
Later that year at Christmas time, however, my parents had given us some money to purchase our own Christmas present this year. Every year it had been a tradition to us to try to get some kind of kitchen gadget to make our ever increasing jobs in that room just a little bit easier.
This year, however, we really did not NEED anything in the kitchen.
It was at that time that I began to look around for soymilk makers.
SOYAJOY
As always, before I purchase a product I did a ton of research and reading about soymilk makers.
Our primary concern was stainless steel touching the milk only, easy cleaning, and fast convenient usage. Of course, taste had to be a big part too.
What I kept coming back to was the SOYAJOY SOYMILK MAKER by SANLINX. The reviews I read about it were glowing and positive and very numerous. The price was also right- $99 at Christmas time.
So after debating, emailing the company and discussing, I sent for the unit.
Wow, were we shocked.
WHAT IS THIS UNIT LIKE?
The SOYAJOY unit is unlike anything I have ever used before. It is like a very large milkshake maker (from the 50's and 60's except free standing.
A huge stainless steel pitcher with white plastic handle sits on four rubber feet on the counter (about 6"diameter). A bulbous plastic cover sits down on the top of the pitcher. The top has a handle molded into it. There is a half moon hole on the side where the soybeans go. A plug with a handle in it plugs it for usage.
There is a stainless spindle with a serrated blade on it which goes down into the unit. That will chop up the soaked beans, making a pulp inside a screen cup which strains the milk. A metal sensor also is in the lid which tells the unit when to make each stage work.
It is much like a coffee grinder and maker in one.
With the unit comes a plug which detatches completely. A cup to measure the beans with, a sample of soybeans, a sample of cleaner (WHICH IS INVALUABLE FOR CLEANING ANYTHING WITH BUILT UP FOOD-CRUD ON IT), and a brush for cleaning with.
There is a nice recipe pamphlet with it that has recipes not only for the maker but the pulp- also called OKARA.
There is a touchpad on the cover of the unit for a one cycle soymilk making and also one for a separate cycle of making milk which does not grind or does not cook.
This is especially valuable when making raw nut milks such as almond.
HOW DO YOU USE THIS THING?
Here comes the fun part- THIS THING TRULY IS AS EASY AS THEY SAY!!!
To use this soymilk maker, all you have to do is take the cup, measure out the soybeans. You put them in a medium sized jar, fill the jar with water. Soak the beans for anywhere from 5 - 10 hours.
If it is hot out, soak them in the refrigerator. STrain the beans, put them in the hole of the unit. Put water in the pitcher up to the MOLDED line in the metal (it does not wash off) and then plug it in and press the green button.
If you use hot water (which I usually do) the cycle takes about 8-10 minutes tops. If you use cold, it takes about 15 minutes.
When the unit is done, I pour the milk directly into a 2 quart canning jar, wash the pitcher out with hot soapy water. I then remove the screen cup, and scoop out the okara (pulp). I wash the unit off, making sure not to get the upper motor area wet at all.
Then I run water through the hole (and wash the plug). I put the cover back on the pitcher which is by now dry. I then scrub the cup and put it in an enzyme soak so that it is completely clean for the next round.
Clean up time? About 5-7 minutes.
The enzyme cleaner that comes with the package is invaluable. Soybeans make a very hard glue like substance which will build up over time.
This stuff is only a Tablespoon in a small bucket of water, and you can use it over and over for about 3-4 months. I am still using my first bucket and it is just now needing replacement. It has been 8 months since we purchased this unit.
MY COMMENTS
This is my most important kitchen helper. I guard it with my life. No one is allowed to touch it. I LOVE this thing.
TASTE?
The milk that comes out of it is fresh- very clean tasting and you can make it any way you want it to be. We just drink it straight now with a little honey added if we remember while it is hot.
The milk will keep from 1-2 weeks in sealed glass depending on the weather and the batch.
Do you like a certain store bought soymilk? Keep a box with ingredients and try to copy it. Quite frankly, once you get used to the fresh taste of the soymilk made with this machine, you will never go back to that other stuff again.
We occasionally will open a box of milk left from a while ago in emergencies, and we can all taste the other stuff in it (including the aluminum) and it is really gross. We used to LOVE that stuff.
WHAT ELSE HAVE I MADE WITH IT?
I have used this unit to make rice milk and almond milk (non-cooked). The rice is best mixed with sweet brown (short grain) and long grain rice, soaked just like soybeans. My four year old begged me for the rice pulp to have as farina type cereal with honey and butter.
WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE PULP?
We put this pulp in anything from bread, to cookies, to shakes, and even make vegan meat substitutes with it. The chicken fingers recipe is excellent. It behaves a lot like eggs and can be used to tenderize just about anything cooked or baked. I also make a vegan tollhouse cookie from it with vegan carob chips that is fabulous. The pulp adds a sort of coconut flavor to the cookie.
HAVE I SAVED MONEY?
Have I saved MONEY? HAVE I SAVED MONEY? BOY, HAVE I SAVED MONEY.
I have to tell you, folks, this soy milk maker has saved us a LOT of money. At about $20 a week for soymilk, we can probably get a full gallon of soymilk for about, let's say $.50 worth of beans.
So, take $19.50 and multiply that out to be approx. 32 weeks, and we have saved approx. $624 in the 8 months that we have been using this machine.
DO I ACTUALLY LIKE IT?
All of the family drinks it, and all of us like it, including me. I do not have the problems with drinking it that I used to have with our other method of making the milk. We are using the exact same bag of beans.
Everyone has their own way of fixing this milk. My son loves to make Indian Lassis with it (rosewater milkshake in essence). My daughter loves to mix it with anything at all because she loves to mix things. My husband loves to make carob shakes from it and just blending it gets a beautiful foam on top just like those foamy drinks people pay a ton for. I like it with just a little honey and vanilla if it is just to drink.
WHERE CAN YOU GET THIS?
www.soymilkmaker.com
Here is what the site says about this machine:
Micro-processor controlled cooking, no "bean" taste!
Easy to use - add water and soybean, press one button!
Fully automatic plus manual settings for max flexibility.
Stainless steel construction - lasting quality!
Seamless stainless steel filter - made to last!
Six-glass, 1.5-liter (50 oz) capacity - feed the whole family!
Choose your favorite flavor - vanilla, chocolate... you name it!
Pays for itself quick - soymilk as little as $0.20 per gallon!
Makes almond milk! Helps you make tofu too!
The best machine, the best seller - read independent reviews!
One month full refund. One-year warranty!
Five-year warranty on blade, filter, and pitcher!
Free recipe booklet, cleaning kit, sample soybean, and more
Specifications
Size - 7.4" x 9.2" x 13.6"
Weight - 6.5 lbs.
Capacity - 1.5 liters (0.4 gallons)
Stainless steel construction
Permanent stainless steel filter
Cycle time - 15 minutes
Max power - 800W,
Available in 110 V, 60 Hz, and 220-240V, 50 Hz.
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Here is where you can find a picture of this unit:
http://www.soymilkmaker.com/soymilkmaker.jpg
I highly suggest that if you are considering this unit that you read through the entire site. The owner is very friendly and easy to talk to.
There is a considerable amount of information on that site that is very valuable. It is well worth the time spent to read it.
CLOSING COMMENTS
I feel that this unit by SANLINX is the most sturdy and efficient of the soymilk makers out there right now. It is so quick and easy to use that I still marvel after 8 months of continual use at how wonderful it really is.
If you do buy this unit, I would HIGHLY suggest that you purchase the cleaner with it. It is expensive but lasts so long- it actually cleaned off a few juicer parts that were impossible to clean- the enzymes just eat away the mineralized food remnants that sometimes come on metal kitchen instruments.
With care, and INSTANT cleaning every time, this SOYAJOY SOY MILK MAKER will last a long time and serve you well.
I would be glad to talk to anyone out there interested in this unit if you like- just email me from my personal page.
UPDATE as of April 23,2004, we are still going strong with the SOYA JOY SOY MILK MAKER. We just love this machine and we are so amazed at this company's care for its customers. We received an email a while ago asking if there were any questions or problems with our machine, well over a year after buying it!
Very few companies care about customers like that! Worth considering if you are interested in buying a soy milk maker.
I will try to keep this updated as time goes on.
UPDATE: As of June 30,2005 this unit is still doing a great job. We really love having the Soyajoy soymilk maker it sure has made our lives better and saved us tons of money.
What is strawberry shortcake without using the soypulp added to it? Makes the most fabulous shortcake and flatbreads in the world.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Caprig
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Location: NE US- 2 email me delete REMOVETHIS
Reviews written: 448
Trusted by: 214 members
About Me:
Product-Evaluation/Information-Specialist. Too Busy to Be KIND to Others? You are TOO BUSY.
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