Industrial Soy Milk

Also Called

dòunǎi*

Usage

as a beverage

Description

Industrial soy milk refers to products that have been processed and packaged on production lines in food factories. Compared to artisanal soy milk, industrial soy milk undergoes additional processes such as sterilization, packaging, and preservation to meet the long shelf life requirements of modern retail logistics. In contrast, artisanal soy milk is typically a freshly made beverage. Generally speaking, industrial soy milk is often sold at room temperature or chilled, while artisanal soy milk is often sold hot or warm (of course, during summertime, you'll also find chilled artisanal soy milk catering to seasonal preferences). Additionally, we can detect certain differences in their texture : artisanal soy milk often has a fresher and crisper mouthfeel compared to industrial varieties.

*According to linguistic tradition, industrial soy milk is called “dòunǎi” in China, while artisanal soy milk is assigned the name tag “dòujiāng”. The difference lies in the second character in Chinese, with "nǎi" (奶) signifying milk, while "jiāng" (浆) referring to thick liquid. However, it’s worth noting that this is mainly a linguistic phenomenon formed throughout history; it does not necessarily indicate that industrial soy milk is more similar to milk than artisanal soy milk. When we delve deeper into the language, we find that in ancient Chinese, “dòujiāng” (artisanal soy milk) has a synonym, “dòurǔ” (豆乳), with “rǔ” (乳) also meaning milk.