# Any uses for whey?



## hoggie (Feb 11, 2007)

Is there anything you can use whey for? Is it good for anything at all? Or just a waste product to be discarded?

I have just made a love lump of cottage cheese, but have a huge bowl of whey left over - and can't help feeling that it is wasteful to throw it away.

Thought you guys would be the people to ask - if there is a use for it someone here will know it 

hoggie


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

Feed it to ???? Dogs, pigs, cats, chickens love it w/stale bread...


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## DWH Farm (Sep 1, 2010)

It is good to make bread with..


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## shilshole (Apr 10, 2005)

Gjetost...yum!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Water the tomatoes with it. They LOVE whey.


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## thesedays (Feb 25, 2011)

Isn't ricotta made from whey too?


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I feed it to the dogs.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

thesedays said:


> Isn't ricotta made from whey too?



It is....


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I sometimes pour whey around my rose bushes for fertilizer.


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## KimM (Jun 17, 2005)

Boil potatoes or pasta, add to pancake mix, cream soup base.....


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Bake with it. Add it to soup.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

That is what ricotta is made from. All the above seem like good recommendations


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

I found this resource once while looking for extreme whey uses (when you have gallons and gallons of it...)

http://www.dbicusa.org/documents/Uses of Whey in the Farmstead Setting.pdf

I have a burning desire to make whey beer/wine/champagne. I just don't quite have it worked out yet. I know how to make beer...do I just replace the water with whey? Weird...

EDIT: I've read that ricotta in only truly made from the whey of hard cheeses (i.e. cooked at higher temps). I've made ricotta from both soft and cooked cheese whey and I do agree that it is best (most flavorful, highest yield) from the cooked cheeses.


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## cygknit (Apr 8, 2011)

I just made my first batch of bread with whey instead of water. You can definitely tell there's something different, but boy is it GOOD.

I've also tried to make ricotta from it, and was disappointed. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't awesome.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Soap from whey left from goats milk cheese....James


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Use it to make lactic acid pickles and sauerkraut http://thefamilyhomestead.com/homemadekraut
Drink it, so good for you! http://www.busywomensfitness.com/whey-protein.html
today I make pancakes for the chicks with it, some cracklings and lard, and buggy flour. Yum!
About those chicks and pancakes- they were in a chicken tractor- taking care of them for hubby while he is away on business trip. The lab wanted the pancakes, tore through the chicken wire, all the chickens escaped- and did not get to eat their pancakes, as the lab did. Just a note when you make whey pancakes........


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2011)

Ricotta Cheese-2 gallon fresh whey , no more than 1 hour old , 1 quart of whole milk added to whey , bring temp to 200 degrees while stirring , turn off heat & add 1/4 th cup cider vinegar , line a colander with very fine weave cheese cloth , pour pot of whey into colander , allow to drain , when cheese cloth is cool enough to handle tie 4 corners into a knot & hang to drain overnight . When draining stops place in bowl & add salt & herbs , herbs optional . Makes 1-2 cups cheese . Refrigerate until used , will keep for a week . Great on lasagna . Feed drainings to chickens .


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

I have pasta cooking in whey at this very moment.


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## paintlady (May 10, 2007)

I made ricotta with whole raw milk and it turned out great! I too have the by product from this and was wondering what to do with it. Maybe I will give the dogs a bit of it and see how they handle it as they don't usually eat dairy products and I don't want to upset their stomachs.


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## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

use it in soups as a replacement for water....potato soup is especially good. So is chicken noodle if you use the whey to make your chicken broth


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## emeraldcowgirl (May 23, 2011)

This is one of my favorite cookbooks and it has several recipes for using up whey.

http://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Politically-Dictocrats/dp/0967089735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306444764&sr=8-1


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## Timberline (Feb 7, 2006)

I read years ago about adding kool-aid or other powered fruit drink mixes to it. I was too chicken to try it until the other day. It was very good and I wish I had tried it years ago. You could also mix frozen juice concentrates, Tang, or something similar with it. I thought it would be thick and taste milky (and afraid it would taste nasty), but not at all. It just tasted like kool-aid.


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## sashay (Apr 28, 2005)

Yes all of these are great recommendations but throw it away? NEVER. When I had a bunch at one time, I did put it in ice cube trays and freeze it and then put the cubes in a zip lock bag in the freezer for future use. All my animals love it...great to give to an ailing animal of just about any species too. My chickens would fight over it...cats too. Such good stuff...hate to see it go to waste. If nothing else...add it to the compost heap.

So tell me how you used it in the bread...did you substitute the same amount of whey that the recipe called for in milk or water or what? Is this cow milk, goat milk or sheep milk whey? The bread sounds wonderful.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

When I use whey in bread, I dissolve the yeast in a little water and substitute whey for the rest of the liquid.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

One use that hasn't been mentioned is making whey butter. Ontario has a long history of cheesemaking and whey butter was a popular by-product at one time. It used to be a lot cheaper than regular butter when I was a kid. Now it is about a dollar more a pound than regular butter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey


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## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

When making bread, you can use I think up to 1/2 whey and 1/2 water, but don't use all whey and no water. I've tried it a few times, the bread never rises quite right. 

Whey makes a GREAT soup base to use in place of water. 

Also try cooking rice in whey instead of water, it comes out super creamy and delicious!


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## sashay (Apr 28, 2005)

wow thanks for the information. I had not ever thought of using whey in bread and now I can't wait to try it. Thanks again!


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