Soymilk as a substitute
Soymilk as a Substitute for Cow’s Milk
Emily Schwichtenberg
Food Science 112
Food Nutrition and dietetics
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Soymilk as a substitute
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Soymilk as a Substitute for Cow’s Milk
For a vegetarian finding a suitable substitute for cow’s milk could be challenging
until the development of soy milk. With soy bean extract combined with other fortifying
ingredients it has proved to be a good substitute. In an experiment cow’s milk was
switched with soy milk to see with the protein difference how the appearance and taste
was affected. This was done using a popular banana cake recipe. The subjects were tested
using a sensory evaluation form 10 people were sampled and the results surprisingly
favored the soy cake. Participants agreed that the soy cake was lighter, fluffier and
sweeter than that with the cow’s milk. However, some said it was too sweet.
With the protein structure and other perks to using soy products I would argue
that soy milk is a good substitute of cow’s milk for baking purposes. All though it does
taste different when it is drunk, when used in baking there is no taste difference due to
milk. It is healthier than cow’s milk along with the fact that it is a complete protein with
all of the essential amino acids to maintain human life. There is more fiber in soymilk
which helps with digestion and would make the cake easier to digest and leave less undigestible fat in ones body. The Isoflavones present in soy products are shown to reduce
the risk of breast cancer among women as well as reduce the symptoms of menopause
(Metagenics Inc, 2004). Also some studies have proven that soy products can lower
cholesterol by 20% (Ronzio, 2003). With these great health benefits soy is a great
substitute for cow’s milk and should not be looked over while in the grocery store.
Soymilk as a substitute
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Method
For the purpose of my experiment I cut the recipe in half of Mother’s Moist
Banana Cake in half. I did this to allow more storage space in the refrigerator so the cakes
could stay chilled. The recipe and modifications are as follows:
1 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
¾ cups sugar
1 egg, beaten
¾ cups mashed bananas (2 to 3 bananas)
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup sour milk or butter the milk
¼ cup cow’s milk / soy milk
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs, bananas and vanilla to creamed mixture. Add flour alternating with sour milk.
Mix thoroughly. Smooth batter into a buttered 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45
minutes or until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool pan on a wire rack and place
in a refrigerator to chill.
To sour the milk I used a ½ cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. This was
applied to both the cow’s milk and the soy milk. I let the mixer cream the butter and
sugar for two minutes for each cake. Once it was fluffy I added the egg and beat that
thoroughly, added the bananas and vanilla and let that mix for five minutes. Once the
bananas were distributed completely in each mixture I added a ½ cup of the dry
ingredients. Once this was completely beaten I added a ¼ cup of the soured milk, with
Soymilk as a substitute
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respect to the modified recipe and the original recipe and allowed that to beat in for about
30 seconds. I added another ¼ cup of the dry ingredients let it distribute completely and
added the rest of the milk. I added the final amount of dry ingredients and allowed the
batter to mix for a full five minutes. Once each batter was complete I filled the cake pans
and allowed them to bake for 25 minutes. At this time they were switched in the oven to
allow each cake to be baked the same way. They were taken when they first appeared
golden brown and tested with a toothpick. Each time they did not pass the toothpick test
they would bake for another three minutes. This happened three times until the toothpick
finally came out clean. Due to time constraints the cakes were not allowed to chill in the
refrigerator so they were tested warm and were not as satisfying as they could have been
cold. The total time of this experiment was roughly 70 minutes; if the cakes would have
been chilled the total time would have exceeded 24 hours.
There is also a frosting that is added to the top of this cake. Either a cream cheese
or a butter frosting is used. I used the cream cheese frosting because it is my favorite. No
modifications were made to this recipe.
8 ounces cream cheese
1 pound confectioner’s sugar
½ cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
This frosting would cover any discoloration or blemishes the soy cake would have had.
Results
After combining all of the ingredients I noted the color difference of the two
batters. The batter made using the milk substitute was a lighter color than that which used
cow’s milk. As shown in the picture below the cake on the left is the regular banana cake
Soymilk as a substitute
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and the cake on the right is the cake with the soy milk substitute.
This made me suspect the taste would be quite different with the finished product. The
different colored batter proved that the cakes would in fact be different. Surprisingly the
cakes looked the same color once they came out of the oven. The cake with the soy
product spread a little more than the cake with cow’s milk and did not rise as much. As
seen in the pictures below. The first cake labeled 894 is the caked with soy milk and the
second cake labeled 962 is the cake with cow’s milk. This was due to the different
protein structure of the milks reacting with the baking soda. The frosting that was used is
not considered a soy product because the cream cheese used was not a soy cream cheese.
Therefore, the frosting holds no bearing on the final results. It does make the cakes look
better and adds a sweeter taste to the top.
Soymilk as a substitute
Ten of my closest friends and family tasted tested the two products and filled out
a sensory evaluation. The results showed that over half preferred the soy cake to the
regular cake. With the sensory evaluation the results differed by how much they liked
each product and which was their favorite. The following visual is the final numbers of
each opinion.
962
894
4
Extremely like
6
Extremely like
3
Moderately like
2
Moderately like
2
Neutral
1
Neutral
0
Moderately dislike
1
Moderately dislike
1
Extremely dislike
0
Extremely dislike
4
Favorite
6
Favorite
6
Least favorite
4
Least favorite
Interestingly a few of the participants only moderately liked or were neutral toward their
favorite cake. The number 962 represents the normal cake with cow’s milk and the
number 894 represents the cake with soymilk.
Soymilk Versus Cow’s Milk Using a Sensory Evaluation
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Soymilk as a substitute
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6
5
4
3
962
2
894
1
0
Emtremely Moderately
Like
Like
Neutral
Moderately
Dislike
Extremely
Dislike
The above graph gives a visual of the distribution among the participants. Overall, 60%
of the participants enjoyed the soymilk over the regular cow’s milk. This is a staggering
number for my friends and family. The hypothesis was there would be a higher majority
that did not like the soy cake.
Discussion
The point of this experiment was to test for taste and appearance differences there
were slight differences in each category but none so much that it was significant. A few
of the participants were biased because they had eaten banana cake in the past and they
knew what to expect from the regular recipe. Another bias that affected the experiment as
a whole was that one person did not like bananas. This caused a slight skew in the
numbers toward the “dislike” side of the graph. The last bias I found was one person
enjoys drinking soy milk. In fact he took the leftover milk home with him. This caused
the number to skew slightly to the “like” side of the graph. These two biases equaled each
other out causing the overall evaluation to be fair. My family which consisted of half the
participants in not fond of soymilk and I was very surprised that my Dad of all people
rated the soy cake above the regular cake. My Mom on the other hand was not fooled she
is the one that gave me the recipe and has been eating this cake since she was a child. She
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could automatically tell the difference of the cakes and she was not pleased. Upon
explanation of the health benefits my Mom was more apt to try soymilk as a substitute.
The fact that nailed her was the Isoflavones that decrease the risk of breast cancer and
heat disease. If consumers were more aware of these health benefits soymilk would have
a bigger role in the American diet.
Conclusion
Soy milk is made to be used as a substitute for people that are lactose intolerant or
for people who choose not to ingest animal products. Being able to substitute soymilk for
cow’s milk allows these people a wider variety of foods to eat. Unfortunately milk is not
the only ingredient that needs to be substituted but it is a start. It is also important to
remember the health benefits to soymilk. If one is having issues maintaining good
cholesterol it would be helpful to use soymilk while cooking and baking instead of cow’s
milk. This experiment supports the switch to soymilk as means to a healthier lifestyle
while maintaining good taste and appearance of foods. Soy manufacturing is growing and
it is an easy way to lower cholesterol as well as prevent cancers and heart disease.
Soymilk as a substitute
References
James, Delores C.S. (2004). Nutrition and well-being A to Z: volume 2., Michigan:
Thomson Gale.
Position paper on soy. (n.d.). Retrieved November, 15 2006. From
http://www.eatright.org
Ronzio, Robert. (2003). Nutrition and good heath: 2nd edition. New York, NY: Facts on
File.
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