Don't Throw That A-Whey!

The last two topics I posted was about making yogurt and then flavoring your homemade yogurt. Since I wrote those posts, I have made several batches of yogurt and eventually decided that straining it was the way to go! I took one of the finished batches of homemade yogurt and put it into a cheesecloth-lined strainer and put the strainer into a bowl. After the yogurt strained overnight in the refrigerator, I had one jar of thick, ultra creamy yogurt better than any other I have ever tried! (seriously, it was fantastic!) The picture above is the strained yogurt.

After I spent a minute in awe of my newly strained yogurt, I realized that I also had a bowl of whey. Whey is the thick, yellow liquid that is leftover from cheese-making and yogurt-making. To be a little more specific, when milk coagulates during the cheese-making process (or yogurt-making process) what is left is curds and whey. Of course if you want, you can sit down on your tuffet like little Miss Muffet and eat your curds and whey; but there are so many uses for that nutritious whey that I have to take some time to tell you about it.

First off, whey is packed with vitamins and minerals. It is a complete protein, has essential amino acids, vitamin B, and so many other good stuff it's ridiculous to think that some people throw this stuff away!!

You can use whey both internally and externally. It can be used for cooking, skin and hair care, and it can even be used to make more cheese! That's right, you can use whey to make ricotta cheese. You heat the whey, and it will coagulate again forming ricotta cheese (if you choose to do this, you should look around on the internet first, there's a little more to it than that).

Here is a list of uses;

1. Soak your beans and grains with it - If you add about 2 Tbsp. of whey to your soaking water (even for oats, quinoa, and other grains). They will cook faster and will be easier to digest.
2. Use in place of liquid in bread making - this makes a moist, delicious bread with a nice crispy outside and high nutritive value.
3. Use in place of liquid in ANY recipe.
4. Make ricotta cheese

5. Use the whey as a meat marinade - just season it and soak your meat in it, the enzymes will make the meat tender and bring out the flavor.

6. Use it in your compost pile.

8. Natural facial toner - dip a cotton ball in whey and rub on your skin.

9. Use it as a shampoo if your hair isn't too oily.

10. Use it to condition your hair - simply soak your hair with the whey, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and rinse.

11. Put about 2 cups of whey in your bathwater for healthy skin.

12. Just drink it as is, if preferable.

13. Instead of using vinegar to pickle your vegetables, use whey.

14. Dry it and make whey powder to add in any food or drink.

Whey is good for your hair and skin because of the protein and other vitamins in it. It will make your skin and hair healthy and glowing. It is very gentle and anti-microbial. It helps resolve acne and lighten skin pigmentation like age spots.

Whey is often made into powder; it's what they put into health shakes and such and is often used by athletes to help build muscle strength. Though, I have not tried this method yet; I read that you can take your whey and cook it over the stove until it gets thick like syrup. You then take the condensed whey and pour it into a baking pan and let it dry out completely - this could take a couple of weeks. When it is thoroughly dried it should be very light in color and brittle. Grind up the whey in a grinder or food processor until it turns into a powder and store in an airtight container.

Drying they whey is a great way to extend the shelf life of it. Liquid whey won't last long in the refrigerator - a few days - but you can also freeze the whey for future use if desired.

Whey can also be used to make butter. You will need to skim the cream from the whey - or buy a cream separator - then you can make butter with the cream. This butter is much more salty and cheese-like than the typical sweet cream butter.

This is really just a few uses for whey, there are so many more ways to use this 'byproduct'. With all of the possibilities and health benefits of whey, you might soon find yourself separating your yogurt just so you can have the whey!