Product links on this page go to Amazon. If you buy through them, Milk the Nut earns a commission. How we pick and earn
Almond milk is a cold drink the moment it is made. Soy milk is a raw ingredient until it has been boiled. If you plan to make soy, this changes which machine you buy.
What cooking does
Raw soybeans contain trypsin inhibitors, proteins that interfere with digestion, and lipoxygenase, the enzyme behind the “beany” taste. Both are destroyed by heat. Commercial soy milk is cooked; home soy milk has to be too: brought to a full boil and held at a simmer for several minutes, longer than the first boil. Undercooked soy milk is unpleasant and can upset the stomach. There is no cold-process soy milk.
What a soy program does
A heated maker’s soy program grinds the beans, heats the slurry to a boil while the blade runs, holds it there, and shuts off. The grinding and the cooking happen in the same jug, and the foam that makes stove-top soy milk a boil-over hazard is controlled by the pauses in the program. Then the milk is strained (some machines have a filter in the jug; others strain as you pour) and it is ready. That is the whole reason this class of machine exists, and Joyoung, the brand that built the category, designed its programs around soy first.
Heated soy milk maker, 1.3 L, no filter
Joyoung DJ13U-G91 Soymilk Maker
Joyoung DJ13U-G91 Automatic Soy Milk Maker, 900 to 1300 ml
Joyoung built the soy milk machine category in China and this is its US-voltage 1.3 L model: ultra-fine grinding with no filter to wash, a soy program that grinds and boils in one cycle, presets for time and temperature, and a warming function. Soy first, then grains and nut milks.
- Batch
- 900 to 1300 ml (listing)
- Programs
- Soy milk, grains, nut milks; preset time and temperature; warming function (listing)
- Heats
- Yes: grinds and boils
- Touches the milk
- Stainless (listing; sibling models list 304)
- Power
- 120 V, 1100 W (listing)
- Straining
- No filter: ultra-fine grinding (listing)
- Warranty
- 1-year limited (listing)
Suits: Anyone whose milk is soy, who wants it cooked properly with the least fuss, and who may go on to tofu.
Weigh: Joyoung has no working US website; model names churn (G91, P10, D988SG) and the listing is the only identifier, so match the model before buying. Specs are from listings. No filter means fine sediment in the glass; strain if you mind.
Heated multi-cooker, 51 oz, ten programs
Kidisle 10-in-1 Nut Milk Maker, 51 oz
Kidisle 10-in-1 Nut Milk Maker Machine & Soup Maker, 51 oz
The big pot: 1.5 L a cycle, ten programs that add soup and porridge to the milks, a 24-hour delay start and an 8-hour keep-warm, and an auto clean. Same stainless jug and strainer-plus-bag arrangement as the 32 oz, scaled up for a household that makes soy milk by the pitcher or wants tofu.
- Batch
- 51 oz / 1.5 L (listing)
- Programs
- 10 incl. soy, nut and oat milk, soup, porridge, boil water, auto clean; 24 h delay; 8 h keep warm (listing)
- Heats
- Yes
- Touches the milk
- Stainless jug (listing)
- Power
- 800 W, 120 V (listing)
- In the box
- Fine mesh strainer and nut milk bag (listing)
- Size
- 8.3 × 6.8 × 12.6 in (listing)
- Warranty
- 2-year limited (listing)
Suits: Soy milk for several people a day, hot soup and congee from the same machine, and a counter that can give up the space.
Weigh: Listing-only specs, no maker page, and the model is new enough that only the Amazon listing describes it. Heavy to rinse by hand when full. Two-year limited warranty per the listing.
Soy on a cold machine or a blender
A no-strain machine or a blender gives you raw soy milk. Pour it into a tall pot (it foams to twice its height), bring it to a boil, stirring, skim the foam, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain again if you want it smooth. It works; it is a second job with a pot to wash, and if soy is the milk you drink daily, the heated maker earns its place.
Soak or dry
Most programs accept dry beans, and the makers say so, but soaked beans (8 hours, or overnight) grind finer, cook more evenly and yield more milk. Half a cup of dried beans to a litre of water is the usual ratio; the machines mark a fill line for beans and one for water.
The pulp
Soy pulp is okara: high in protein and fibre, used in Japanese and Chinese cooking in patties, stir-fries and baking. Fresh okara keeps two days in the fridge and freezes well.
Tofu, since you’re here
Hot soy milk plus a coagulant (nigari or gypsum, both sold as tofu coagulant) sets into curds in minutes; pressed in a mold, it is tofu. A 32 oz or 51 oz maker gives enough milk for a block, which is why the big soy makers are bought by people who never drink the milk at all.
The heated makers compared are on the heated page.
