Hi,
I'm new to the forum, but not to raw food.
I'm wondering about buying a soymilk maker to use primarily for making oat milk (and occasionally for nut milk). My questions are:

Do commercial soymilk makers make decent grain and nut milks?
Which makers do you recommend?
Is it worth it to buy a maker or can comparable results come from a blender?
Which type of oats are best to use in a maker? Soaked groats or ground rolled oats?

I know it's difficult to find truly raw oats, therefore for making oat milk I'm not too concerned with a raw final product, but when making nut milks I would like the final product to be raw. Is the water temperature with these commercial milk makers kept below the enzyme-destroying limit?

I've been searching the web for this info without much luck. Any help you could provide would be very appreciated!

I am looking into getting the soyquick soymilk maker myself. It has a setting where you can turn the heat off when making any kind of nut or soy milks. I am wanting to make my own almond milk now and I find this is the best for that. I am not sure where you live, but I think it is about $100 US if in the states. You can google soyquick to find more info on it. I tried the blender and I find when straining the pulp, so much is wasted. With the nut makers I have heard there is much less pulp.
Hope this helps.

Yes, I've heard that some have the option of turning off the heating element, that's nice. I wonder why they make milk with heat in the first place.

I've read some online comparisons of different milk makers, it sounds like some people aren't thrilled with the soyquick. The soyapower by soyajoy seemed to get good reviews, but I still have a lot of questions before I buy one.

I'm in the U.S. and you're right, $100 seems to be the average price range, give or take.

I've tried nut milks in the blender, too. What a hassle! Looking for a much cleaner, simpler way... and a better end result!

Enjoy your milk maker, whichever one you decide on.

I actually found another soymilk maker called the soyabella. I am debating between that one and the soyquick. What did you hear about the soyquick? I e-mailed soyabella to see if their maker has an option to turn the heat element off. For soybeans, the water has to be heated for it to make the milk properly. None of the nut milks require that. Like you, I am looking for a quick and less of a clean up when making nut milk. I also found I had so much pulp leftover and the makers claim that there is very little pulp. Does anybody have an opinion on soymilk makers and which brand is better?

I've done so much websearching that I can't find the sites with reviews on the different makers right now. I do have a site for the soyajoy here:
[www.soymilkmaker.com]
but of course, they're going to sing their own praises.

I think I might try a little experiment today with grinding rolled oats in a coffee grinder and adding cold water, vanilla, sweetner, etc.. I'm so tired of buying box after box of the stuff!

I'll try to find those sites that compared the makers and post back here once I do.

Edit: here's what I came up with when I googled "compare soy milk makers"
[fficial&client=firefox-a" rel="nofollow" >www.google.com]

And I must've been confused, it's the soytoy that hasn't gotten good reviews, whereas the soyquick and soyajoy are usually rated together at the top.

Hope this helps.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2007 01:06PM by cei3339.

Thanks for your input and website addresses. I, too, am just about ready to stick with blended almond milk, as after looking I found many more milk makers, so now I am very confused! Let me know how your experiment of making your own milk turns out. Did you come across any makers that disengage the heating element, other than the soyqick? The soyapower has the added feature of grinding nuts and seeds, but it did not specify that it made raw almond milk, so I am guessing you can't turn the heat off.
Good luck in your search!

So far not too much luck. Rolled oats grind very fine, basically into a flour, in a coffee grinder but mixing with water and spices (cinammon, cardamom..) still makes a very thick beverage. Strained it through a strainer with somewhat better results.

As for almond milk, I soaked some almonds and dehydrated them (under 110) for about 10 hours. They were still too moist to grind properly in the coffee grinder so I may try to double the dehydrating time next time. The moist paste mixed with water had a promising taste (just need to experiment with flavors) but I'm still a looong way to finding a workable solution.

Latest update: the homemade milks aren't cutting it - too much hassle and mess and not a very good texture or flavor. I'm going to be buying a SoyQuick within the next few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes!

I have not had much success making almond or sunflower milk either. The sunflower milk was undrinkable with all the sediment just staying on the bottom of the jar. I had filtered it too. What filter did you use? I agree with you about too much time and hassle. Have you decided on the Soyquick then? Thanks for the updates!

One more added note. I got a reply today from Soyabella, as I had asked them if you could disengage the heating element on their soy makers. They said you can not so that is one you don't want to buy.

Just wanted to post back after buying a SoyQuick milk maker.... I LOVE IT!!! Everything has far surpassed my expectations. First, yes it does have the option to turn the heat off, so I've been experimenting with oat milk, sunflower and almond milk so far. Without exception every batch has been delicious, creamy without any pulp at all. I've been adding some stevia, cinnamon and cardamom, just because I like these flavors together. I think my milk is every bit as good as any store-bought brand.

Operation is simple as can be, only about 5 minutes per batch, and cleanup is a breeze - just rinse, no need to scrub if you don't use the heating element. And I discovered you can use either rolled oats or soaked oat groats to make oat milk, with very little difference in taste.

I highly recommend the SoyQuick for anyone wanting a fresher, cheaper, more creative alternative to commercial milk substitutes.

I just wanted to update everyone on my experience with the SoyQuick milk maker. The machine has been running like a charm for the last 3 months. I use it nearly every day and don't know how I ever lived without it.

Last week it decided to quit working - the buttons wouldn't depress and the heating element (which I never use) would turn on automatically. I emailed SoyQuick customer service and received a prompt and helpful reply. This morning I was on the phone with them so we could trouble shoot live, and after a very brief phone conversation the lady informed me they would be sending me out a replacement, asap, free of charge. She said there was no need to return the one I currently own, that I should be receiving the new one in a few days, and thank you for being a SoyQuick customer.

Wow! I've never had such hassle-free, no questions asked, prompt, friendly service! I can't recommend this product and this company highly enough!

wow that is very cool .. nice to hear a good customer service story once in ahwile ..

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist