Is chewing gum vegan?
From the Vegetarian Resource Group:
“Most chewing gums innocuously list 'gum base' as one of their ingredients, masking the fact that petroleum, lanolin, glycerin, polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, petroleum wax, stearic acid, and latex (a possible allergen) may be among the components. Because of standards of identity for items such as gum base and flavoring, manufacturers are not required to list everything in their product.
According to Dertoline, a French chemical manufacturer, their adhesive 'dercolytes' are used as a label and tape adhesive, as well as a chewing gum base. Many brands also list glycerin and glycerol as ingredients on the label. Both of them CAN be animal derived, so you would have to write to the manufacturer."
But there is help for vegan gum-chewers?
Yes! A friend of mine wrote to me about one gum which appears to be vegan,
"Epic". My friend wrote: "I called and asked as to what "gum base" was in their ingredients
list. I was told it is plant based and that they use no animal products in their gums.I ordered some and am enjoying it."
I previously posted that Glee Gum was not vegan. However, here is some new information from the company:
" Glee Gum has recently been certified vegetarian by the American Vegetarian Association. Our resinous glaze is made from the secretions of the Lac insect, accrued in a manner which does not harm the insect. I am attaching a copy of a recent email the American Vegetarian Association sent a curious customer about this very issue. If you wrote us in the past, we may have been under the impression that our resinous glaze WAS harmful to insects -- we have since learned (happily!) that we were mistaken. Therefore, though our gum is NOT vegan, it is indeed vegetarian."
Here is a letter from the American Vegetarian Society:
From: amerveg@aol.com
January 2, 2008 3:45:54 PM EST
Subject: Glee Gum Inquiry
Regarding your inquiry about the resinous glaze ingredient in Glee Gum; this particular ingredient is treated similarly as honey from a bee. The glaze 'shellac' is harvested from trees, and the insect is not specifically harmed as a result of this collecting process. Therefore, a 'vegetarian' status is the universally accepted claim for this product. Thank you for your inquiry,
Regards,
Len Torine
Executive Director
American Vegetarian Association
Why do you always call for organic chocolate and cocoa? Is non-organic not vegan?
Good question! It's not that the non-organically-grown is not vegan, but there are ethical issues around the production of chocolate and cocoa. For more about this, see the article by John Robbins here. Organic is not necessarily fair-trade (see the article), but, if you can't find fair-trade chocolate and cocoa, organic at least does not endanger the workers with pesticides.
Alot of us use chocolate chips for for cooking and baking. Cocoa butter is vegan. If the chips are not vegan, they will have milk powder, whey or milk solids in them.
Here is some information I have gathered:
Check out Cloud Nine chocolate chips-- they are featured on the Sunspire website http://www.nspiredfoods.com/cloudmn.html
They are definitely slavery-free, according to John Robbins, whereas it is unclear about the Sunspire ones.
http://www.nspiredfoods.com/nsprbkmn.html
Another brand that I have found in healthfood stores that is quite reasonably priced AND dairy-free (may have traces from the equipment, though) AND organic, GMO-free, AND slavery-free is Endangered Species.
Dark Chocolate Bug Bites and Semi-Sweet Baking Chips: "These products contain no dairy ingredients and are casein free, but are processed on the same machinery as our milk chocolate. Although we thoroughly clean all equipment between uses, there is the slight chance that there may be traces of dairy and casein in this chocolate." (This is true of alot of vegan chocolate. BCG)
"Fair Trade Cocoa
We have always supported and only purchase our cocoa through the Fair Trade Initiative. The Free Trade Initiative was created in an effort to support smaller farm co-operatives. In supporting the smaller farm co-ops we encourage the indigenous people to harvest what is naturally grown in the area rather then clear-cutting the rainforest to make way for more destructive uses of land. Fair Trade also stipulates that equal money be paid to the smaller co-ops as would be to larger cocoa plantations, thus insuring that the co-op is not being taken advantage of. All of our chocolate comes from sources that support Fair Trade and our suppliers assure us that absolutely no child or slave labor is used in the harvesting of the cocoa Endangered Species Chocolate Company uses."
You can check their website at:
http://www.chocolatebar.com/
Other slavery-free chocolate companies:
Newman's Own:
http://www.newmansownorganics.com/food_chocolate.html
Rapunzel:
http://www.rapunzel.com/
Green and Black's:
http://www.greenandblacks.com/home/
Denman Island Chocolate;
http://www.denmanislandchocolate.com/
Rapunzel, Ah!Laska, Cocoa Camino, and Green and Black's make organic baking cocoa.
I notice that you don't call for many bananas, and, when you do, you specify organic now. Why?
Well, not only for health reasons, but also for ethical reasons. For more information go to the following articles;
What about sweeteners?
This is complicated and won't be solved overnight. There are a whole raft of articles on sugar in New Internationalist #363, December 2003; go to http://www.newint.org/ and go to "Back Issues" to find it.
There are two issues (besides the health and environmental issues): the issue of sugar being vegan or not, and the issue of human right abuses in the sugar industry. There are quite a few sugars now being produced organically and unbleached (cane sugar is bleached with beef bone ash; beet sugar is not, so it is always vegan) and fairly traded, though that is the toughest area. If it's organic, at least the workers are not being poisoned. Go to http://www.transfair.caor http://www.transfairusa.org for information on fair trade sugar. It should be more available as time goes on.
Alot of beet sugar is produced in the USA and Canada. I have not researched beet sugar workers in these countries, but they probably are superior to those in Third World Countries. I don't know if any beet sugar is organic yet.
I personally do not think sugar is any worse for you than other so-called "natural sugars", and I will give you my reasons in an essay below. You may wish to avoid sugar altogether, or use stevia another plant substance, but there may be some health problems associated with that, too, plus many people (including me) don't like the taste, and also using other sugars requires different recipes (sugar affects the structure of baked goods, etc., as well as the taste). So, moderation in all things is the best way to go! Humans like sweets, and always will. The main thing is not to eat them on a daily basis.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT SUGAR AND OTHER SWEETENERS
By Bryanna Clark Grogan
I know that many in the vegetarian and health food movements will disagree with me, but I think that depending upon so-called "natural" sugars is a mistake. Many consumers think they can eat large quantities of dessert foods made with fruit and grain syrups, but researchers have found that ingesting ANY type of sugar, even that in orange juice, leads to a significant drop in the white blood cell index of the body, reducing the effectiveness of the immune system. All sugars, indeed all refined carbohydrates, can effect insulin levels.
In fact, the worst case of low blood sugar I ever experienced, shaky legs included, was after eating maple butter, which is just cooked-down natural maple syrup. Actually, maple syrup isn't necessarily a better choice than sugar, although I love it. You may prefer it because it can be locally produced. There are many reasons for our choices. But, if it is a health choice, please read on:
I have been reading up alot on sugars because my husband has a high triglyceride level, which is complicated, but suffice it to say that he has "blood sugar challenges" as registered dietician Brenda Davis puts it, similar to someone worried about diabetes.
In her new book, "Defeating Diabetes" (an excellent book!), she explains sugars. Sugar is about 50% fructose and 50% glucose (commercial fructose is extracted from sugar). Frustose registers low on the Glycemic Index and sucrose higher. Table sugar is about middle on the Index, lower than white flour! Commercial fructose is nasty-tasting in my opinion and highly refined. Also, fructose can adversely effect blood lipid levels, so it shouldn't be used by those worried about cholesterol levels! (Talk about complicated!) (see articles about fructose below this one.)
Anyway, maple syrup is 90-100% sucrose! It only contains trace amounts of minerals and vitamins and registers about the same as sucrose on the GI.
Blackstrap molasses is the only sugar with any significant nutritional value, but is obviously limited in the ways it can be used. It provides lots of calcium and iron, though.
"Natural" sweeteners with a glycemic response similar to sucrose:
"raw", turbinado or unbleached sugar:
Sucanat (which I was surprised to hear is made by mixing refined cane juice and molasses!)
Barley malt (very small amounts of nutrients and only 40% as sweet as sugar)
Brown rice syrup (ditto for the nutrients, only half as sweet as sugar)
Is there anything else we can use?
Well, date sugar is very expensive and doesn't dissolve, and dates are pretty high on the GI too.
Rapadura is what Sucanat USED to be-- dehydrated cane juice. It can be used cup for cup with sugar, is the most nutrient dense of cane sugars (still not high in nutrition like molasses, but some nutrients) and "may provide a slightly lower glycemic response compared with sucrose" (Brenda Davis). Tastes more like light brown sugar.
For people concerned about blood sugar response, the answer might be agave syrup. It has some vitamins and minerals and is 90% fructose, so it has a very low GI. 1/2 a cup replaces 1 c. sugar (reduce liquid by 1/4 c.). It is not cheap and can be hard to find in some areas (I'm still looking for it around here, so I haven't experimented with it yet). CAUTION: because it is mainly fructose, it could adversely effect blood lipids (fats) if used alot!
So, you see, there is no ideal. Even excess natural fruit juice as a sweetener could adversely effect someone with cholesterol problems because of the fructose! My take on the whole thing remains this-- use sugar of any kind moderately and save desserts for a once a week and celebration treat. I use whatever kind of (vegan) sugar fits the bill. We eat desserts probably less than that, and we have a little sugar in our tea and on our oatmeal, and use low-sugar jam. That's the compromise I have made.
It stands to reason that such a concentrated, refined carbohydrate as sugar, stripped of its natural ingredients, may not be particularly good for us, but I don't believe that you are contributing to good health by eating desserts made with "natural" sugars every day. Boiled-down fruit juice, maple sap, or grain syrup are all very concentrated sugars, and the origins of them are no more natural than sugar cane (and usually not organic, either).
Furthermore, so-called “natural” sweeteners are not powerhouses of nutrition—one should not depend on ANY sweetener (except perhaps blackstrap molasses, a good source of both iron and calcium, but so strong-tasting that it cannot be used in many desserts) for nutrition. The nutrition in your desserts will come primarily from fruits and whole grains, as well as perhaps nuts and seeds. Just to illustrate this, let’s compare 1/4 c. serving of various sweeteners and their calorie, iron and calcium contents (information from Secrets of Fat-Free Baking, by Sandra Woodruff, RD [Avery Pub., Garden City, NY, 1994]):
SWEETENER (1/4 C.) CALORIES CALCIUM IRON
Brown rice syrup 256 3 mg 0.1 mg
Brown sugar 205 47 mg 1.2 mg
Date sugar 88 10 mg 0.4 mg
Fruit juice concentrate (apple) 116 14 mg 0.6 mg
Fruit juice concentrate (orange) 113 23 mg 0.3 mg
Fruit Source (granules) 192 16 mg 0.4 mg
Fruit Source (syrup) 176 15 mg 0.4 mg
Honey 240 0 0.5 mg
Maple sugar 176 45 mg 0.8 mg
Maple syrup 202 83 mg 1.0 mg
Molasses, blackstrap 170 548 mg 20.2 mg
Molasses, light 172 132 mg 4.3 mg
Sucanat 144 41 mg 1.6 mg
White sugar 192 1 mg 0
(There’s not a lot of difference in the nutrient content between brown rice syrup and white sugar!)
Sugar is the easiest and most affordable sweetener to work with and is now available in a variety of forms unbleached. This is a concern for vegetarians because most cane sugar is bleached by filtering through bone ash, and brown sugars like demerrara may be simply bleached sugar with molasses added. Consequently, I, as a vegetarian, use only cane sugar products that state on the package that they are unbleached, or for which I have the assurance of the particular company that they are unbleached, no matter what the color. Or, I use beet sugar, which I can get (for a price) at my health food store (I live in the West, where cane sugar is the norm.) The most common unbleached sugars are turbinado and granulated sugar cane juice (Rapadura is one brand, and it is similar to brown sugar—some varieties are organic and some are not), but there are other products with different names that specify they are unbleached. A light unbleached sugar that is commonly available in bulk is called turbinado, but the lightest-colored unbleached sugars that I have seen are Florida Crystals and various brands of organic unbleached granulated sugar (I have seen Richdale, Rogers and President’s Choice, all Canadian brands, very light and very finely granulated). Taikoo is a brand of unrefined sugar from Hong Kong which makes light, medium and dark unbleached sugars, and also unbleached sugar cubes.
Here in British Columbia, where I live, Rogers best Brown Sugar is unbleached and available everywhere. They also have unbleached sugar cubes, as does Taikoo.
If you can get beet sugar (we have to pay a higher price for it here in the west, but it's common east of the Rockies), that type is NOT bleached with bone ash, so should be vegan. You can contact the manufacturer to find out what type of sugar it is if it's not on the package.
"Raw" sugar is a misnomer. No truly raw sugar is allowed in North America for health reasons and it usually refers to a light golden sugar, which may or may not be bleached, so you have to do your homework.
Re: the confectioner's sugar question. If it's made from beet sugar, it's vegan. If it's made from cane sugar it's not. If you live west of the Rockies, your sugar (of all types) is probably cane sugar; if you live east of the Rockies, it's probably beet, but maybe phone the manufacturer to make sure if it doesn't say on the package.
You can make powdered sugar (not as fine, but it works pretty well) out of turbinado sugar or unbleached light-colored granulated sugar. Grind it in a DRY blender (preferably a good one with nice sharp blades-- and keep the lid on) with a little starch of some kind (I use cornstarch, but you could try others)-- about 1 T. starch to 1 c. sugar. Grind it as fine as you can. (One poster wrote in that she uses a small electric coffee grinder and that this works even better.)
Wholesome Foods or Florida Crystals are two brands of unbleached powdered sugar found at most health food stores in the U.S.. Hain makes organic powdered sugar and organic brown sugar, available at veganessentials.com and differentdaisy.com.
Food grade molasses is not bleached through bone char. Sucanat makes organic molasses.
Grade A light maple syrup is used in some recipes where even light unbleached sugar leaves a faint molasses taste where a liquid sugar is preferable. It is expensive, but easily available and still cheaper and sweeter than brown rice syrup. Grade B maple syrup is darker and less expensive, and the best choice when you want a nice, mapley flavor. You can use brown rice syrup in place of corn syrup, which many people prefer not to use now because of it may originate from genetically-modified corn. Brown rice syrup is expensive and not as sweet as many sweeteners, but it has a pleasant caramelly taste—I like to use it in Latin American desserts instead of “dulce de leche” (also known as “manjar blanco”), the cooked down sugar and milk product used frequently in Latin America.
Let's use some common sense when it comes to sugar and desserts. I have heard sugar referred to as ”toxic”, but sugar and other refined, concentrated sweeteners have been consumed by healthy populations in many parts of the world for centuries-- it is only when they are OVER-consumed, as they are in the modern North American diet with so many processed foods, that they become a problem.
COOKING NOTE: Sieve dark unbleached sugar and mix it (or any coarse sugar, like turbinado) with the liquid ingredients, preferably in a blender or with a hand blender. If you want to mix coarse sugar with the dry ingredients, it should be blended in a DRY blender with a little of the flour from the recipe, until it is more powdery and will mix well with the dry ingredients. Otherwise, it may sink to the bottom of a thin batter.
ABOUT FRUCTOSE:
Think fructose is a good “natural” substitute for sugar? Think again:
Here is what Dr. Andrew Weil says about fructose,:
"Fructose is fruit sugar, a simple sugar that makes up one-half of the molecule of sucrose or table sugar. (The other half is glucose, usually called grape or blood sugar.) Fructose tastes sweeter than sucrose but has fewer calories because the body does not metabolize it well. This has led some people to recommend crystalline fructose as a low-calorie alternative to regular sugar. I do not agree with that recommendation.
The body doesn't handle large amounts of fructose well. You can maintain life with intravenous glucose, but not with intravenous fructose; severe derangement of liver function results. There's also evidence that a high intake of fructose elevates levels of circulating fats, (serum triglycerides), increasing the risk of heart disease. I never use fructose in my home."
PS from BCG: I tried it one time and found that everything taste kind of like bubble gum!
Another article:
http://www.nutritionreporter.com/fructose_dangers.html
I read this article, http://www.vegparadise.com/news53.html, which says that Emes Kosher Jel is not vegetarian. Is that true?
Yes, contrary to what I first thought, I'm afraid it is true! There is a follow-up article here;
http://www.vegparadise.com/news55.html and another:
http://www.vegparadise.com/news56.html
However, there are other brands of kosher jel that ARE vegan. See here for more information.
BE WARNED: follow the directions with the jel you purchase-- not all of them work the same, or work like Emes did.
Agar-agar (another seaweed jel) does not work quite the same either (it doesn't melt well, for one thing), but you can make a nice jelled dessert by mixing it with a starch, such as cornstarch (organic is available), so that it is not overly firm. Below is a basic recipe.
BRYANNA’S VEGAN FRUIT JELL
© Bryanna Clark Grogan 2005
Using agar alone makes a kind of rubbery jell. If you add some starch it makes a more delicate jell.
4 c. sweet fruit juice of choice
OPT: sugar or other sweetener to taste if juice isn't sweet enough
pinch salt
OPT: some grated citrus rind. 1/2 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring , if desired
2 tsp. agar powder (OR 1/4 c. agar flakes)
1 T. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. water
OPTIONAL: fresh fruit to add to jell
Sprinkle the agar over the juice (with sweetener, salt and any flavoring). Let soak a few minutes. Then cook over medium heat til boiling. Agar powder just needs to simmer for a minute; flakes should simmer at least 5 minutes. Add dissolved starch and stir in. Boil cornstarch for 30.
Pour into a bowl or small bowls. Place in refrigerator. When half-jelled, you can stir in fruit. Let set until firm and cold.
I'm allergic to soy, so how can I get natural phytoestrogens to help with menopause symptoms?
It looks like the next best thing to soy in terms of phytoestrogens is flaxseed (or linseed). Here is aPDF article about it:
There is good material about this subject in an excellent book called The Okinawa Program, pps. 123- 129, including a chart of the "Top 50" foods containing healthful phytoestrogens (see also the sister book The Okinawa Diet Plan). Besides soy, flaxseed, kudzu, carrot leaves, onions, cranberry juice, kale, celery, snow peas, broccoli, turnip greens, black tea, green tea, jasmine tea, green beans, fava beans, applesauce, srtawberries, pintos, lentils all have 2mg or more phytoestrogens per serving.
Here are some values per serving of a small sampling from the chart:
soybeans, cooked, 38.2 mg/ 1/2 cup
onion, 35.8
applesauce, 3.0 mg/1/2 cup
kale, 11.2 mg/1 cup
pinto beans, cooked, 1.9 mg/1/2 cup
garbanzos, cooked, 3.6 mg/1/2 cup
flaxseed, 28.9 mg/ 1 Tbsp
cranberry juice, 44.3 mg / 3/4 cup
Other foods that contain phytosterols (some with "estrogenic" qualities, and some with "progesterogenic" qualities) are:
Most seeds and nuts and their oil;, most legumes; green leafy vegetables; sea vegetables; common vegetables such as asparagus, beets, cabbage family, carrots, celery, corn, onion family, garlic, nightshade family (peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes), squash, yam, turnip, cucumber, parsley, and more "exotic" ones such as bamboo shoots, okra, and Jerusalem artichokes; naturally-fermented beer; most common spices and herbs; sprouted seeds and grains; most fruits and whole grains.
These foods have not been studied sufficiently to know what how much phytoestrogen or other phytosterols they contain. Soyfoods have been studied exhaustively and it is now easy to figure how much isoflavone there is in a serving of one soyfood or another. One tablespoon of flaxseed has about an equal portion of isoflavones to one portion of soyfood.
(And, by the way, cooking, baking, and frying do not seem to effect the viability of phytoestrogens.)
So, it looks like a healthy plant-based diet, even without soy, would be helpful.
After reading all the negative stuff about soyfoods, I'm scared to use them!
Inform yourself! I have a whole page called "Soy Concerns", which I keep updated.
I see your link about making soymilk in a machine, but what if I don't have soymilk maker?
**Making soymilk in a machine. **Making soymilk on your stove-top.
BRYANNA'S SOYMILK IN THE MICROWAVE Makes almost 2 quarts or L
Soy milk is so much easier to make in the microwave. The recipe seems long, but I wanted to give exact details. When you know how to do it, it goes very quickly, and you have no sticky, scorched pot to deal with, nor do you have to watch the pot for boil-overs. You need a fairly large microwave for the bowl, and at least 900 watts.
You need a large microwave-safe bowl for this (Pyrex is good). You need at least twice as much room as the milk takes up-- preferably three times-- because of the milk boiling up. I use a Pyrex glass pie pan as a lid.
Soak overnight in plenty of water:
1 c. dry soybeans
The next day, drain them and cover them with hot water (to warm them). (If you soak the beans for more than 8 hours, place it in the refrigerator. They will keep there for a few days.) Drain as you need them.
OPTIONAL STEP FOR ELIMINATING THE BEANY TASTE EVEN FURTHER: BEFORE MAKING THE SOYMILK, rub the skins off of the soybeans-- this is what gets rid of the beany taste. The skins contain some of the bitter flavours and also some inhibiting enzymes, so removing the skins can positively affect the taste, while some "gas forming" or "digestion inhibiting" compounds may be reduced or eliminated. This procedure isn't as arduous as it sounds and only takes about 3 minutes. Place the soaked soybeans in a deep bowl in the sink. Remove the skins (or husks) by rubbing the soaked soybeans between your hands with a back and forth motion. Add lots of water from the tap. Stir the beans in a circular motion, then run off the water into the sink, leaving the beans behind. The skins float to the top and you can float them away while you drain off the water. You need to do this a few times until most of the skins have come off (leaving a few behind is okay).
Whichever way you prepare the beans, drain the soybeans and cover with hot water (to get the chill off)-- then drain as you use them. Cook the milk in two batches.
FOR EACH BATCH:
NOTE: All equipment that will touch the soymilk should be scalded with boiling water, including the gloves and cloth.
Have ready a colander lined with a large clean piece of white cotton sheeting over the microwave-safe bowl. Have clean rubber kitchen gloves, 2 sterilized quart jars or bottles with lids (kept warm), a whisk, oven mitts, and a 1 qt. glass measure or wide-mouth pitcher.
Bring 3 c. water to a boil. Pour this, boiling, into the blender. Add 1/2 of the drained soybeans. Cover the blender (IMPORTANT: leave the plastic center piece of the blender lid out and cover with a folded tea towel to avoid burns). Blend on HI for about 1 minute. Pour this into the cloth-lined colander. Pour about 1/2 c. cold water into the blender, swish it around and pour into the colander also.
With rubber-gloved hands, twist and squeeze the towel to squeeze all the milk you can out of the soy pulp. Knead the lump of pulp as dry as you can. Place the pulp into a storage container and rinse the towel out for the next batch (to make it easier to squeeze the next one).
Remove the colander and rinse off and scald for the next batch (soymilk sticks). Wash and re-scald any other equipment that will touch the next batch of soymilk. You can strain the 2nd batch of soymilk right into the same pot holding the 1st batch.
Repeat the same procedure with the second batch.
FLAVORING THE SOYMILK:
NOTE ABOUT “ADDITIVES”: Soymilk is naturally very low in sodium and sugars, which is why they are added to commercial soymilk. Dairy milk is naturally high in both—a taste most of us are used to, so most people prefer a little flavoring. Some people like to add vanilla, but I don't like the flavor of vanilla in my tea and cereal, etc.. If the milk is to be used only for cooking, you can use it plain.
To the whole recipe add:
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. sweetener of choice (maple syrup is good, but expensive-- unbleached sugar works)
Whisk well. Cover the bowl and place in the microwave. Set on Hi for 4 minutes and 50 percent power for 7 minutes. With oven mitts CAREFULLY remove the lid and pour the milk into the measure or pitcher (THIS IS HOT—be careful!).
OPTIONAL: FOR A RICHER SOYMILK: Add about 1 T. neutral-tasting cooking oil of your choice to the whole recipe. The most efficient way to emulsify the oil is to blend it with about 1 cup of the hot soymilk with a hand immersion blender (or in a regular blender, but, to avoid having hot steam blow the lid off, remove the little inner cap on the blender lid and cover with a clean folded tea towel), then whisk this mixture back into the batch of soymilk.
OPTIONAL: To fortify with calcium: If you like, whisk in 1 T. calcium carbonate powder (buy from your pharmacist) into the whole recipe. (This adds about 300 mg of calcium per cup, or about the same as regular milk.) Pour into a sterilized quart jar or bottle and cap tightly. Refrigerate immediately.
The soy pulp, or okara can be added to granola, or used in cooking, or used for compost-- it must be cooked before eating.
Here are some recipes for using okara.
BRYANNA'S STOVE-TOP HOMEMADE SOYMILK makes 3 quarts or L.
This is a very rich soymilk-- you can dilute it further with water to make 1 gallon (or 4 L),if you prefer. In that case, add 1/4 more of the flavorings that you used.
You need the same equipment as for the microwave soymilk (clean rubber gloves, 2 sterilized quart jars or bottles with lids [kept warm], a whisk, oven mitts, and a 1 qt. glass measure or wide-mouth pitcher, except you need a large (at least 5 qt; preferably larger) stainless steel pot with an aluminum bottom, and a "flame-tamer" (round metal burner cover with holes in it and a handle-- purchase at hardware stores or camping stores). NOTE: All equipment that will touch the soymilk should be scalded with boiling water, including the gloves and cloth.
Soak overnight in the refrigerator:
2 c. soybeans in a generous amount of water (2 qts. or so)
The next day, drain them and cover them with hot water (to warm them). (If you soak the beans for more than 8 hours, place it in the refrigerator. They will keep there for a few days.) Drain as you need them.
OPTIONAL STEP FOR ELIMINATING THE BEANY TASTE EVEN FURTHER: BEFORE MAKING THE SOYMILK, rub the skins off of the soybeans-- this is what gets rid of the beany taste. The skins contain some of the bitter flavours and also some inhibiting enzymes, so removing the skins can positively affect the taste, while some "gas forming" or "digestion inhibiting" compounds may be reduced or eliminated. This procedure isn't as arduous as it sounds and only takes about 3 minutes. Place the soaked soybeans in a deep bowl in the sink. Remove the skins (or husks) by rubbing the soaked soybeans between your hands with a back and forth motion. Add lots of water from the tap. Stir the beans in a circular motion, then run off the water into the sink, leaving the beans behind. The skins float to the top and you can float them away while you drain off the water. You need to do this a few times until most of the skins have come off (leaving a few behind is okay).
Whichever way you prepare the beans, drain the soybeans and cover with hot water (to get the chill off)-- then drain as you use them.
Put water on to boil. Place the colander in the cooking pot and line it with a large square of clean cotton sheeting.
Blend the soybeans in 3 batches (about 1 and 1/2 c. soaked beans each), each batch with 4 c. BOILING water (this is important).
(IMPORTANT: leave the plastic center piece of the blender lid out and cover with a folded tea towel to avoid burns.) Blend on HI for about 1 minute. Pour this into the cloth-lined colander. Pour about 1/2c. cold water into the blender, swish it around and pour into the colander also
Pour each batch of well-blended beans into the colander. Using rubber gloves, squeeze and twist the towel to get as much soymilk out as you can. Knead the lump of soy pulp (okara) as dry as you can. Place the pulp (okara) into a storage container after each batch (to make it easier to squeeze the next one).
When all the soymilk is all squeezed out, flavor the soymilk:
NOTE ABOUT “ADDITIVES”: Soymilk is naturally very low in sodium and sugars, which is why they are added to commercial soymilk. Dairy milk is naturally high in both—a taste most of us are used to, so most people prefer a little flavoring. Some people like to add vanilla, but I don't like the flavor of vanilla in my tea and cereal, etc..
Whisk in:
