The Good Soy

Soymilk is the fastest growing milk in the café scene across Australia and has become mainstream in many households. There's lots of theories and studies available on the good and the bad of soy products and ultimately it is up to the individual, under the guidance of their health practitioner about whether soy, and in particular soy milk is a suitable alternative to dairy milk. However, there are so many soy milks on the market these days, it is difficult to decide which one to choose. My preference is always for one that is made using whole products with no unnecessary additives.

Most soy milks are made with what is called a soy isolate, which is a highly refined form of soy protein derived by a manufacturing method called 'de fatting'. The isolate is made of de fatted soy flour where the non protein part of the soy bean ie. fat and carbohydrates are removed, leaving only the protein part of the bean. This isolate is a powder, high in protein but when made into milk, is watery in consistency. In order to make a creamy milk, the product is bulked out with vegetable oils and flavoured with sugar. It seems like a strange thing to do - take the fat and carbohydrates out of the bean, then add fats and carbohydrates, however, soy beans in their complete form, especially organic, are more expensive, time consuming and more laborious to work with, which is why isolates are popular.

There are a few on the market which have a more unique and traditional approach to making soy milk. Companies such as Vitasoy or Bonsoy use a grading process, whereby the soy beans are selected according to quality, washed, steamed and split into two. Finely ground into a flour with heated filtered water, the natural milk is then extracted and to this, the other ingredients are added. These processes are designed to preserve the essential nutrients found in the soy bean, thereby retaining the unique rich colour that is typical of good quality soymilk.

There are only a few companies that use traditional methods and retain the whole soy product. To me, that's got to be a good thing. The resulting milk is high in protein and perfectly balanced in taste and texture. Soymilk should not be a science experiment, it's just food.

Sometimes in this world of science and technology, real food is hard to find. My recommendation is always to consider not only the chemical make up of food and it's effects on you, but take it back to the source and learn about how your favourite foods are prepared, because the journey from the ground to plate is just as important. Keeping the integrity of the ingredients will always be beneficial to your health.

Comments