The quick answer is yes, you can. Read on to learn how to get the most out of your frozen soy milk since it is not the most forgiving of things to freeze.
Soy milk, a plant-based, non-dairy beverage prepared from soybeans, is often used as a substitute for milk in cooking and baking as well as for drinking.
When determining whether to freeze your soy milk, you should keep in mind that many soy milk manufacturers fortify their products. You will often discover that fortified soy milk has additional vitamin D and calcium, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, since adding vitamins improves the nutritional profile to make it more similar to dairy milk. Since every brand and manufacturer will use a different formulation, freezing soy milk may provide varying results.
Soy milk has a creamy consistency while it is fresh, but when it is frozen and then thawed, the components tend to separate and the texture changes. Despite this, freezing soy milk has no impact on its nutritional value or safety.
Soy milk that has been thawed is still quite useful in cooking even if you may not want to drink it straight or pour it over cereal. In light of this, the following are detailed directions for making and storing soy milk for use in a variety of upcoming dishes.
Make sure your soy milk is safe to freeze
Make sure your soy milk hasn’t been opened for more than a few days if you want to freeze it, and always check to see whether the container has a “use by” date.
To reduce the chance of spoilage, it is ideal to freeze soy milk as soon as you open the carton. This will allow you the most time to use it before it begins to defrost. Try freezing half of the carton of soy milk as you open it if you often discard it at the end of the week.
Preparing for the freezer
Before putting your soy milk in the freezer, create a note of all the things you want to do with it.
It is recommended to freeze only that quantity separately if you know how much you will need for a recipe so that you can be sure you have the right amount when you defrost it. While a whole litre of soy milk will take significantly longer to defrost than, say, 100ml, this also aids in thawing.
Remember that soy milk expands quite a bit when it freezes since it is mostly water. Leave a few centimeters to an inch at the top of your containers to allow for this expansion. Never freeze it in a glass jar or other stiff object since the expansion might cause the jar to break.
The ideal containers for me are plastic food-safe containers with a lid that can be sold. Nevertheless, freezer bags may also be used; just make sure to allow enough room within the bag and surrounding it in the freezer.
The best way to freeze soy milk
Soy milk may also be frozen in ice cube trays. Just pour the soy milk into the ice cube trays, and then freeze them for the night. The next day, you can either leave the cubes on the pan or move them into a freezer bag for easy storage.
Since soy milk has a tendency to be a little sticky, you could find it difficult to remove them from the ice cube tray. If possible, use a silicone ice cube tray because of its flexibility. If I just have a limited number, I find it beneficial to utilize the ice cube tray approach since I can just simply take a few blocks when I need them.
Don’t let the color after freezing worry you! It’s normal for soy milk to have a light yellow color when frozen.
Particularly if you are freezing certain amounts, be sure to mark your containers with the date and the amount of milk.
One last point to be made is that because milk that has been defrosted cannot be refrozen, it must either be consumed immediately or thrown away.
How long can you freeze soy milk?
Soy milk may stay in your freezer for up to three months if frozen properly and in accordance with the above instructions.
How to defrost frozen soy milk?
You may put each of your separate containers of soy milk in the refrigerator to thaw when you’re ready to drink it. If left overnight, it should just take a few hours to completely thaw.
Shaking the container briskly after the soy milk has thawed can help recombine the components and restore some of the original texture; while it won’t be completely uniform, this will undoubtedly assist.
Never refreeze thawed soy milk; once it has been defrosted, consume it within two days.
I like to utilize the frozen cubes in milkshakes or smoothies rather than defrosting them at all. Instead, you may move directly from the freezer to a pot or microwave if you need to reheat it.
What to do with frozen or thawed soy milk?
I love to add a few ice cubes of soy milk to my smoothies, as I’ve already stated, particularly if I’m using fresh fruit since it adds texture, cools the smoothie down, and makes it quite delicious.
You may use the thawed soy milk as you usually would in dishes like these delectable vegan hot cross buns or these wonderful peanut and banana pancakes.
As I’ve already said, I prefer to use thawed soy milk for cooking rather than drinking it, since the texture isn’t exactly the same. Nevertheless, everyone is different, so if you still like drinking thawed soy milk, go ahead!