In many of my natural food recipes, like the one for beet kvass or mayonnaise, I use homemade whey. It’s not such a commonly heard of ingredient but ever since I learned about it, I can’t stop using it! And it’s really simple to make too.
Why is whey good?
You know how when you open a store-bought natural yogurt and you can see a thin layer of liquid forming on top? That’s what whey is! Of course, that way, you only get a small amount of it so it’s better to use my recipe if you want to get a large batch of homemade whey.
Whey is a natural dairy byproduct that can be utilized to enhance many other recipes due to the presence of healthy probiotics. It’s fully natural so it won’t harm your body, it can only help heal it!
Wikipedia states the following about whey:
“Liquid whey contains lactose, vitamins, protein, and minerals, along with traces of fat.
In 2005 researchers at Lund University in Sweden found that whey can help regulate and reduce spikes in blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin secretion.”
So if you have blood sugar issues, definitely give whey a try! It might just be the thing that helps your body regulate sugar levels on its own, without the use of modern medicine.
How to make whey at home?
You can make whey out of several dairy products. The most popular are raw milk, homemade yogurt, and homemade milk kefir.
If you leave raw milk on the counter for a few days, it will eventually separate into curdles and liquid. That liquid is whey. If you try to do the same thing with commercial pasteurized milk, it will only spoil. That’s the easiest way of proving that organic is better than commercial. Raw milk won’t spoil, it will only turn into something else. And that ‘something else’ can still be utilized and eaten.
So to make whey out of raw milk, you need to leave it at room temperature for a few days and once the curdles are formed, strain the liquid using a sieve and a cheesecloth. That’s the basic method. I personally prefer to use homemade yogurt or homemade milk kefir. I just find it easier to do because the whey seems to separate much more cleanly than in the case of raw milk.
And I just love the leftover curds from yogurt! I call them “cream cheese” although they are not genuine cream cheese, it’s just my own nickname for it. I use them like I would cream cheese, for example on bagels, and I find them to taste absolutely delicious! I swear that someday I will make true cream cheese and share the recipe with you.
Necessary equipment:
- two large mixing bowls
- a large strainer
- a cheesecloth
- a dish towel
- a wooden spoon
- quart mason jars
- storage lids for the jars
Ingredients:
- 1/2 gallon of homemade yogurt (how to make yogurt)
Instructions:
- Place a large metal strainer over a large mixing bowl. Line it with a cheesecloth.
- Carefully transfer all of the yogurt to the strainer.
- Cover with a dish towel and leave overnight at room temperature. The whey will gradually drip through the strainer into the bowl below.
- On the following day, gently grab the edges of the cheesecloth and transfer it to another large mixing bowl.
- Remove the cheesecloth and let all of your yogurt curdles fall inside. You can now use them in another recipe (eg. my recipe for sweet or savory ‘cream cheese’ spread below).
- Now go back to the first bowl. Remove the strainer see how much whey dripped down below!
- Transfer the whey to mason jars and store in the fridge. It should be used within the next six months.
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Sweet version:
Ingredients:
- 1 quart of ‘cream cheese’ (about 4 cups)
- 1 cup of fruit jam OR 1/2 cup of raw honey OR 1/2 cup of maple syrup
- optional: cinnamon
Instructions:
- Mix the ‘cream cheese’ with your chosen sweetener.
- Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
Savory version:
Ingredients:
- 1 quart of ‘cream cheese’ (about 4 cups)
- 1/4 cup of chopped chives
- 1 T. of onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
OR
- 1/4 cup of chopped basil
- 1/4 cup of chopped dried tomatoes
- 1 t. of garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Mix the ‘cream cheese’ with your chosen ingredients.
- Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
Serve your homemade cream cheese spread on bagels, toasts, on crackers. Enjoy!