Can YOU solve the mystery of the missing soymilk maker manual?

January 2, 2016 1:03 PM

Bought a used soymilk maker at a thrift shop today. I've never had or used one before. I can't find any information about this model online (ESTAR ESM-1300S). I've emailed the manufacturer, but the company website doesn't lead me to believe response will be stellar. Can you help me find either a manual for this machine, or a generic how-to that will work for most soymilk makers so I can try this out within the return/refund window? Pics at this standalone webpage...
posted by Shepherd to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: I don't own one of these, but I've seen my grandmother use something like this, which was basically her putting soaked soybeans and water into the machine, pressing the button, and letting it go.

That knowledge, combined with my internet research, makes me think that the instructions found here:

Joyoung Soybean Milk Maker Instructions and Recipe Page will work for you. Although the models aren't the same, I think they all work the same way in that it blends the beans, then heats the liquid for you, and it's ready to go after 25-30 minutes.

Looks like 1.5-2 cups of soaked soy beans and 1L of water (there should be a marking inside your machine for the water line after you've put your soybeans in there) is a good recipe to start with, but you may want to experiment to get to a texture you like.

There's also a engrishlicious youtube video demonstrating their products.
Here's another in Chinese showing them making black sesame paste/pudding

Research Trail:
ESTAR appears to be a rebrand of Joyoung soymilk makers, and the Joyoung soymilk makers seem to have a lot of the same markings as the one you have - see: Estar website

Searching Joyoung soybean milk maker instructions then leads me to the first website I linked.
posted by Karaage at 1:40 PM on January 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This manual has some troubleshooting steps and a few recipes on it as well.
posted by jessamyn at 1:45 PM on January 2, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks, all. Bonus question: any idea whether the included "cup" with the unit is a proper 250mL, or if it's like my Zojirushi rice maker, where a "cup" is actually about 190mL?
posted by Shepherd at 7:01 AM on January 3, 2016

Response by poster: The manufacturer got back to me! Colour me shocked. When I asked if the "cup" was actually a cup, they told me they could answer any more questions about such an old machine. Anyway, since this is now the #1 result for searches for this model of soymilk maker, here's the manual, for posterity.
posted by Shepherd at 5:45 PM on January 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Bonus question: any idea whether the included "cup" with the unit is a proper 250mL, or if it's like my Zojirushi rice maker, where a "cup" is actually about 190mL?

This can be easily resolved by comparing the amount of liquid held in your soybean maker cup in a measuring cup with ml markings.
posted by Karaage at 6:06 AM on January 4, 2016

Response by poster: I do not have the cup.

I bought the machine at a thrift shop. I need to know if the cup shipped with the unit holds 250mL of soybeans (as the manual refers to measurements only in "cups", but also expressly says only to use the cup that ships with the unit), so I know how to measure a "cup" properly for use.

It may seem strange, but the "cups" that ship with Asian appliances often don't actually hold a standard imperial cup (250 mL). My Zojirushi rice maker, for instance, insists that you use its "cup" and all its recipes are in "cups" of rice vs. filling water to various lines; its "cup" is only 0.76 cups.

So I need to know how much the "cup" that ships with this soy milk maker holds, versus a standard imperial 250 mL cup.

I do not have the cup that shipped with the machine.
posted by Shepherd at 7:25 AM on January 4, 2016

Response by poster: And! Detective work (well, asking a bunch of people on Amazon about their different-but-similar soy milk machines) shows that the "cup" is in fact 125 mL. More grist for the FUTURE SOY MILL.
posted by Shepherd at 1:42 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]