Patent ID: 7037547

Claim:
A method of preparing a soy-containing beverage comprising an aqueous liquid containing deflavored soy protein material, said method comprising: (1) preparing an aqueous mixture of the deflavored soy protein material and a sweetener; and (2) homogenizing the aqueous mixture to form the soy-containing beverage; wherein the deflavored soy protein material is prepared by a method comprising: (a) preparing an aqueous composition of a soy material containing soluble soy proteins, flavoring compounds, and insoluble materials; (b) solubilizing the soy proteins by adjusting the aqueous composition of (a) to a pH in the range of about 9 to about 12 and releasing the flavoring compounds; (c) passing the pH-adjusted aqueous composition of (b) adjacent an ultrafiltration membrane having a molecular weight cutoff up to about 50,000 Daltons, while maintaining the pH in the range of about 9 to about 12, under suitable ultrafiltration conditions wherein the flavor compounds pass through the membrane, thereby deflavoring the soy material and retaining substantially all of the solubilized soy proteins; and (d) recovering the solubilized soy proteins retained by the ultrafiltration membrane, wherein the recovered solubilized soy proteins is the deflavored soy protein material.