# What do you do with the whey from yogurt?



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I made yogurt for the first time. Success on the first try. (Very, very, tasty success. *grin*)

I'll probably be repeating this regularly, as I love yogurt and this turned out great and was dead easy. (Scalded the milk, cooled it, added a couple spoonfuls of store-bought yogurt, and stuck it in a warm spot in my kitchen -- on top of a handy halogen under-cabinet light, in this case. Perfect. I ate a pint with breakfast! LOL.) 

Looks like I'll end up with tons of leftover whey, however, if I strain the yogurt.

What can I do with the whey besides make ricotta or feed it to the dogs and chickens? Anything with lots of sugar is out, including fruit smoothies and the like, as I have reactive hypoglycemia.

(I have been diagnosed with gout and am under doctor's orders to get more protein from dairy sources and less from meat. Many of the dietary recommendations for gout won't work for me because it would screw up my blood sugar. Unfortunately, the price of dairy items has gone through the roof here, but milk is still reasonable -- under $3 a gallon. So, I am resolved to learn to make things like yogurt and fresh cheese myself.)


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

It's awesome protein conditioner for your hair.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

The cure all in our house for an overabundance of whey was to start baking with it. But, where you have blood sugar issues that may not work for you.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

cfuhrer said:


> The cure all in our house for an overabundance of whey was to start baking with it. But, where you have blood sugar issues that may not work for you.


Yeah, it's frustrating -- whole wheat and other whole grains are bad for gout, white flour is bad for hypoglycemia. I like to bake, and do, but all of us have problems with weight, too, and too many baked goods get _complaints _around here, LOL. Everyone -- including me -- is on a permanent diet. 

I could try making white bread with it, I suppose. Got a good recipe? *Grin* (As long as I eat protein or fat with a couple slices bread I'm okay, and I generally eat bread with meals. I foresee lots of cheese sandwiches in my future.)


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## susang (Sep 28, 2014)

I have made bread with it and used it around my blueberry plants and then if I have more it goes in mulch.
My hubby has gout and one thing to stay away from is purines, different people react to different things. He cannot eat asparagus even one piece, we eat low red meat, little if any bread and low fat in general. He does eat low fat yogurt, but very little dairy besides that. When we eat bread it is a whole grain with flax and half whole wheat, I make it with a starter so natural yeast. I believe dairy products are out if one has kidney stones and kidney stones are essentially uric acid crystals so cheese my not be great for gout.


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## RedEarth (Sep 21, 2005)

You could try making gjetost which is a Norwegian cheese that is kind of like a tangy sweet cheese fudge. I made it from whey left over from cheese making before (and loved it) and it looks like you can make it from whey separated from yogurt, as well. You basically slowly boil it down. It takes a long time, and a lot of attention and stirring at the end, but I thought it was worth it, as it was so delicious. You can find recipes online, of course.

Also, if you have any interest in fermenting vegetables (making pickles, etc, that way is a start for that. Again, you can find much about this online. I like nourishedkitchen.com for its info on ferments.

I'm glad your yogurt turned out so wonderful! I hope you have fun with the next things you try.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

RedEarth said:


> You basically slowly boil it down. It takes a long time, and a lot of attention and stirring at the end, but I thought it was worth it, as it was so delicious.


Have you tried making it in a crockpot with the lid off?
Its gotten to where I make most things that need heat and attention in the crockpot.

Yogurt
Laundry soap
Cheese
Tomato paste


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## RedEarth (Sep 21, 2005)

cfuhrer said:


> Have you tried making it in a crockpot with the lid off?
> Its gotten to where I make most things that need heat and attention in the crockpot.
> 
> Yogurt
> ...


Sounds 

I haven't. Sounds like a good idea.


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

You could feed the whey to the chickens if you have them, otherwise, just pour it on your vegetables or trees.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Thanks, everyone.

I guess I'll feed it to the chickens or dogs.  I'm ending up with way more whey than I know what to do with. And all the above suggestions too ... 

I dumped out the whey today on the roses. That was one of my less-inspired moments. Because, dogs. _Ranch _dogs. Who will eat anything that even vaguely smells like food ...


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## netskyblue (Jul 25, 2012)

You can add a couple tablespoons of whey to the water when you are soaking dried beans.


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## Mrs_Lewis (May 15, 2014)

RedEarth said:


> You could try making gjetost which is a Norwegian cheese that is kind of like a tangy sweet cheese fudge. I made it from whey left over from cheese making before (and loved it) and it looks like you can make it from whey separated from yogurt, as well. You basically slowly boil it down. It takes a long time, and a lot of attention and stirring at the end, but I thought it was worth it, as it was so delicious. You can find recipes online, of course.
> 
> Also, if you have any interest in fermenting vegetables (making pickles, etc, that way is a start for that. Again, you can find much about this online. I like nourishedkitchen.com for its info on ferments.
> 
> I'm glad your yogurt turned out so wonderful! I hope you have fun with the next things you try.



Is this what you meant?
http://wererabbits.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/weird-swedish-food-messmor-and-mesost/

It's definitely not for everyone, but some love it.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

Gjetost is definitely cheese of the gods.  It's all of the milk sugars boiled down into what amounts to as a cheese caramel. You eat it in slivers with fruit and it's delicious and a real treat! You should try it at least once.


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## Mrs_Lewis (May 15, 2014)

Probably not the same product then, the one I linked is served on bread, like a spread. Considered very healthy, or was in the 80's anyway - something about being high in iron.
We didn't have messmor at home but did get in in daycare, a lot of the children were quite fond of it.
I'll probably attempt to make some at some point.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I will have to make gjetost.  I definitely have a sweet tooth and I like sharp cheese, so that sounds like something I'd like. 

In my continuing adventures in cheesemaking, I made garlic-rosemary ricotta this weekend and my stepmother then made homemade ravioli out of it. Yum yum.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

Cygnet, about a year ago on the alternative health board there was a post about gout. I cannot remember the product used but there were several good reports about it. Might be worth a search. IIRC, seems it helped enough so the dietary restrictions could be loosened up a bit. 
Good luck with your cheese making! I can hardly wait for fresh milk again! Yum!


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