# Using Whey



## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

I just made my first batch of kefir cheese and I have equal parts cheese to whey. I hate to waste the whey.... what do you do with your whey? Does anyone have any recipes?


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## gardenmom (Dec 31, 2004)

You can use whey as the liquid in making bread.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

NataliaTwoDoes said:


> what do you do with your whey? Does anyone have any recipes?


I always fed it to the dogs.


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## OJ Rallye (Aug 4, 2005)

You can make Ricotta cheese with whey. If milk gets old for us to use or whey we aren't using for something else, my wife mixes it with the powder left in the feeders and calls it birdie ice cream. Chickens, ducks and geese love it.


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

You can use it to ferment veggies like salsa and sauerkraut. Yum.
I read about someone who makes lemonade out of it. I haven't tried it though. My pigs get a lot of mine.


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## gracie88 (May 29, 2007)

I read the lemonade thing too, need to try it this summer. Mine goes in bread, I use it for a starter for fermenty things (excellent for salsa), and lots goes to the chickens, pigs, and dog.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

I would love to try the lemonade thing... my whey is very sour (kefir whey) I dont know if all whey is sour or not. I have heard that the whey is really good for your skin and liver and I would love to try and consume it but cant tolerate the taste on its own. I will be looking up the lemonade. Thanks


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## April (Nov 28, 2006)

I also use it as a "preservative" in homemade things like mayonnaise, salad dressings, ginger ale, etc.


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

The book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon has a lot of uses for whey. My family and I try to eat the way this book recommends. My allergies have almost disappeared and dh's reflux and gall bladder problems have almost disappeared. Plus he's lost 35 pounds eating the best he's ever eaten (or so he says!) I'd see if your library has a copy.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Thank you andabigmac I have seen this book and its on my wishlist just havent gotten around to buying it yet. I will see if my library has a copy


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

Compost.


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## Timberline (Feb 7, 2006)

I have used it for drink mixes like Tang or Koolaid. It's really good (and I can't stand Koolaid, hate the food coloring and things, but had some to use up). I'll be trying lemonade with the next batch. One thing, I put it through a cheesecloth first. Little globs of curd in a drink is sort of funky.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

If you have a lot turn it into pork. my pigs loved it.


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## gracie88 (May 29, 2007)

Yeah, piggies love it. In the summer I keep a bucket, with grain in the bottom to soak up liquid, in my kitchen. All the veg scraps go in it plus any whey or sour milk, etc. Every morning it goes to the pigs/chickens. It makes me very popular with the livestock


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## tootsie (Apr 28, 2011)

It is also great to spread on your fields or gardens at the rate of 3 gallons of whey to 17 gallons of water. The whey will raise the brix (sugars) in the grasses and make your grasses better for your animals


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## triplejmom (Sep 8, 2006)

gracie88 said:


> Yeah, piggies love it. In the summer I keep a bucket, with grain in the bottom to soak up liquid, in my kitchen. All the veg scraps go in it plus any whey or sour milk, etc. Every morning it goes to the pigs/chickens. It makes me very popular with the livestock


We do the exact same thing..:sing:http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011/06/16-ways-to-use-your-whey.html


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

made grits today with moz whey- yummy!


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

How much whey do you for mayo? How long does it last using whey? This is the one thing that's kep me from making mayo.


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## netskyblue (Jul 25, 2012)

Here's a site I found via Pinterest: Cool Uses for Whey

Here's a site I found for using it in mayo: http://chickensintheroad.com/farm-bell-recipes/long-keeping-homemade-mayonnaise/

Gotta love Pinterest!


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

Thank you so much.


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## opalcab (May 16, 2011)

Uses for Whey 
There are many things you can do with leftover whey (even the small amount of whey that accumulates in a container of yogurt) other than to just make whey ricotta. That liquid (whey) is chock full of nutrients like proteins, vitamins and minerals, and has far more sustainable uses than just dumping down the drain. 


Whey falls into 2 classes: sweet whey, and acid whey, and both have many uses. Sweet whey is the whey drained off a cheese process that uses a bacterial culture, such as hard cheese (like cheddar, and many soft cheese types). However, if you have added vinegar, citric acid or lemon juice to the milk (as in making mozzarella, or whole milk ricotta) the whey is already very acidic, hence makes acid whey.


Sweet whey contains active bacterial cultures and is great to add to a jar of fresh chopped vegetables to ferment, like sauerkraut or pickles (lacto-fermentation). You can use it as a substitute in any recipe that calls for buttermilk, or to replace the liquid in a bread recipe. In addition to live bacterial cultures, sweet whey is full of vitamins and minerals, and makes a healthy addition to soups, or beverages like smoothies. A common use in Italy is to use the sweet whey to make traditional ricotta, which is different than a whole-milk ricotta. There are other whey-based cheeses, too; consult a cheese book like Home Cheese Making by Rikki Carroll, or The Cheesemaker's Manual by Margaret P. Morris if you can find a copy.


Acid whey is good to feed acid-loving plants in the garden; I use it on my blueberry bushes where there is a constant battle to keep the pH low enough for the blueberries to survive. You can add to the soaking water for beans and grains to reduce phytates (as long as it is rinsed away the next morning). It is not good for making whey ricotta.

Both sweet whey and acid whey may be fed to farm animals, or the household dog and cat. My cats don't much care for the acid whey, but my sister's dog does. Sweet whey can be used for all the same things as acid whey, but not the reverse. 

This Blog Comes From Gardening along the creek...Blog spot
2footalligatordotcom


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## netskyblue (Jul 25, 2012)

Do you know if you can freeze whey for later use, or does that "deactivate" it, so to speak?


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## opalcab (May 16, 2011)

Most of your cheese making bacteria is freezed dried so the only way to tell is to give it a try, the whey you drian off of cheese making still has the bacteria in it. If you keep your whey in temps around 90 to 100 degrees it will regrow more cells if it is fed a little milk 
do not store it over 120 degrees or it will die.
have fun
Stan


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I heat the mash that I feed the chickens in the winter (whey, grain). I use it in salad dressing, bread, biscuits. Both from cheese curd and cottage cheese....James


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## netskyblue (Jul 25, 2012)

Here's a different mayonnaise recipe I just found & really want to try:

Enzyme-rich Mayonnaise | Food Renegade


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## Dusky Beauty (Jan 4, 2012)

I had a batch of whey from soured milk i made into dry cottage cheese and there wasnt enough albinum left to make ricotta so i used it as stock for a beef stew that was divine. Whey is too useful as a cooking liquid to dump!


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## Sarah J (Jun 28, 2003)

Has anyone tried canning it for later use? Or does the high heat break down the nutrients too much and make it useless?


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## opalcab (May 16, 2011)

120 Degrees Will Kill the Bacteria


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