soy milk (soya bean milk) resembles cow’s milk in many respects but is produced entirely from the soya bean (see previous entry). In its simplest form it is made by soaking soya beans, grinding them with more water, bringing to the boil, and then filtering. The result is nutritious and digestible but has a taste and odour which is generally disliked by people who are accustomed to dairy milk. The Chinese, who are not so accustomed, have drunk soy milk with pleasure since ancient times. For Western people, however, and for the Japanese market, soy milk has to be treated so as to remove its characteristic taste and odour. This process may be accompanied by adding new flavours, often based on fruits, as has happened with yoghurt.
