Soy milk (or soymilk), also known as soya milk, is a plant-based milk produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Its original form is an intermediate product of the manufacture of tofu. Originating in China, it became a common beverage in Europe and North America in the latter half of the 20th century, especially as production techniques were developed to give it a taste and consistency more closely resembling that of dairy milk. Soy milk may be used as a substitute for dairy milk by individuals who are vegan or lactose-intolerant or have a milk allergy. Soy milk is also used in making imitation dairy products such as soy yogurt, soy cream, soy kefir, and soy-based cheese analogues. It is also used as an ingredient for making milkshakes, pancakes, smoothies, bread, mayonnaise, and baked goods.
Names In some parts of China, the term 豆浆 dòujiāng (lit. "bean broth") is used for the traditional watery liquid, used locally as a drink or broth, produced as an intermediate product in the production of tofu, while store-bought products that are designed to imitate the flavor and consistency of dairy milk (and may contain a mixture of dairy and soy) are more often known as 豆奶 dòunǎi ("bean milk").
Naming in the EU In the European Union, "milk" by law refers exclusively to "the normal mammary secretion obtained from one or more milkings without either addition thereto or extraction therefrom". Only cow's milk is allowed to be named "milk" on packaging, and any other milks must state the name of the respective animal: for example, "goat milk" or "sheep milk". There are exceptions for traditional products such as coconut milk. The usage of the term "soy milk" became the subject of a 2017 court case before the Court of Justice of the European Union after a German consumer protection group filed an unfair competition complaint about a company describing its soy and tofu products as 'milk' or 'cheese'. The Court of Justice ruled that such designations may not be used for purely plant-based products and that additions indicating the plant origin of the products (soy milk) does not influence that prohibition. Major retailers in countries such as Ireland and Italy instead sell products with the label "soy drink" or "soy beverage".
History The earliest record of soybean milk is on a stone slab of the Eastern Han dynasty unearthed in China, on which is engraved a description of the making of soy milk in ancient kitchens. A tofu broth (doufujiang) c. 1365 was used during the Mongol Yuan. As doujiang, this drink remains a common watery form of soy milk in China, usually prepared from fresh soybeans. The compendium of Materia Medica, which was completed in 1578, also has an evaluation of soymilk. Its use increased during the Qing dynasty, apparently due to the discovery that gently heating doujiang for at least 90 minutes hydrolyzed or helped to break down its undesirable raffinose and stachyose, oligosaccharides, which can cause flatulence and digestive pain among lactose-intolerant adults. By the 18th century, it was common enough that street vendors were hawking it; in the 19th, it was also common to take a cup to tofu shops to get hot, fresh doujiang for breakfast. It was already often paired with youtiao, which was dipped into it. The process was industrialized in early Republican China. By 1929, two Shanghai factories were selling over 1000 bottles a day, and another in Beijing was almost as productive itself. Following disruption from the Second World War and the Chinese Civil War, soy milk began to be marketed in soft drink-like fashion in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan in the 1950s. Soymilk was mentioned in various European letters from China beginning in the 17th century. "Soy milk" entered the English language (as "soy-bean milk") in an 1897 USDA report. Li Yuying established Caséo-Sojaïne, the first soy milk "dairy", in Colombes, France, in 1910; he received the first British and American patents for soy milk manufacturing in 1912 and 1913. J.A. Chard began production of "Soy Lac" in New York City, United States, in 1917. Harry W. Miller—an American businessman forced to relocate his factory from Shanghai owing to World War II—was similarly compelled by the US Department of Agriculture and the US dairy industry to use the term "Soya Lac" rather than "soy milk". John Harvey Kellogg had been working with what he called "soymilk" at his Battle Creek Sanitarium since 1930, but was similarly compelled to market his acidophilus-enriched beverage as "Soygal" when it began commercial production in 1942. A string of 40 court cases against Rich Products between 1949 and 1974 finally established that non-dairy "milks" and imitation dairy products were "a new and distinct food", rather than inferior and illegal knock-offs. Cornell researchers established the enzyme lipoxygenase as responsible for the "beany" flavor of soy milk made in 1966; the same research established a process for reducing or eliminating the bean flavor from commercial products. With Tetra Pak cartons extending soy milk's shelf life, Hong Kong-based Vitasoy reintroduced the product to the US market in 1980 and brought it to 20 other countries within a few years. Alpro similarly began production in Belgium in 1980, quickly becoming Europe's leading producer. New production technology and techniques led to soy beverages with an appreciably more milk-like flavor and consistency in the mid-1980s.
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