# Whey separator?



## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Has anyone ever ran the whey through a separator? They used to make separators specifically for whey, but would an ordinary separator work? It seems to me like it wouldn't, since after the cheese most likely the globules are all a differant size? Huh, maybe I just answered my own question. But has anyone tried it?


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

bah.. I know I posted on this but now it's gone.....
It may help prompt folks to answer if you posted exactly what you were trying to do...


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Making cheese, and then running the whey through a cream separator to get the remainder of the cream out.


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Whey contains fat globules like milk and can be put through a separator in order to obtain the whey cream. Whey cream and fresh cream are totally different though. I have never tried to separate whey. I either make ricotta or feed it to the chickens so I don't know if an ordinary separator work.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

We found ricotta tastes better when made from whole milk.


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Really? Nobody here can tell the difference


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

You get more ricotta from whole milk, is what I meant to write. But ricotta from whey is good recycling.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

cmharris6002 said:


> Really? Nobody here can tell the difference



I can tell the difference....
But that aside when I need ricotta i usually need it on the spot and make mine form whole milk. When I do make cheese I will frequently make ricotta from the whey left overs , but more often just feed the remains to my birds.
I do own a separator...but have never attempted to separate the whey to get anything out of it.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

What brand separator do you have?


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

> I can tell the difference....


I make a lot of Pasta Filata type cheeses and, as tradition dictates, use only this whey to make Ricotta. I don't add anything to the whey at all, just heat it. I get huge fluffy curds of sweet Ricotta. If I add whole milk I can increase my yield a little but it doesn't change the flavor or texture and I get plenty of curds without it so I don't add anything.

A lot of people call Queso Blanco (whole milk and vinegar) Ricotta, is that what you are talking about?


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

Ugh...busy weekend so I didn't get a chance to make any replies on this thread.
We have this separator...
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=3530&cat=0&page=1
Honestly am considering selling it as I just don't use it enough to justify the space it takes up.
To address cmharris6002's points....
As I understand queso blanco is pressed...so the whole milk ricotta is quite similar but as it's not pressed, not exact.
Sometimes it's nice to be able to make your own and not need to zip out to a market to pick something up. Whey doesn't last very long , my experience is that if directly after making your cheese the whey isn't used very promptly the finished product doesn't come out well.
And again to question exactly why someone would want to separate the whey cream out? Are you such a large scale operation that adding the whey cream back to your cheese-making milk is worthwhile?
I looked up on the process...saw this chart....
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5062653
Small as we are it would not be a practical thing. But not sure exactly what you're looking for.


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Queso Fresco is pressed, Queso Blanco is drained like ricotta. Not arguing:benice: Just pointing out where the confusion came from. I admit that in some of the more common cheese making books the recipes for both riccota and Queso Blanco are exactly the same  I know most people don't make Mozz often enough to have ricotta around whenever they need it and QB is so easy to make. I just wanted to clarify that we were talking about different cheeses. 

Making ricotta from the whey alone sure shows how much valuable food is still in the whey after making cheese. I typically get a little over a pound of ricotta from 4 gallons of Mozz whey without adding any extra milk.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

:hijacked:
Well, I don't know about about all this Queaso Frencho stuff (fancy names here!) but does anyone know how to make a good homemade cheese press? (No plastic cup ones please!)


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

It doesn't get much easier than this....

http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/cheesepress.html


queso is just Spanish for cheese...
fromage ..French...


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