I’ve been making a lot of my own yogurt and my family is enjoying it immensely. I strain it to make very nice Greek yogurt, and consequently I have a lot of whey. I have saved and frozen quite a bit of it to throw in smoothies but I don’t make them an awful lot and I have quite a nice stockpile now.
So my question… What if anything can one do with excess whey?
A second question I have is not specific to yogurt making but I ask it here because it’s germane. I’m having a hard time heating milk. (And I call myself a cook!) I have Calphalon pans and perhaps I’m just turning it up to high but I’m having a bad time with scorched milk in the bottom. Also I have a gas stove . Any tips?
Apparently this is a big industrial problem with the popularity of Greek-style yogurt. They can’t use all the stuff the produce, and it’s hard to dispose of without causing problems. If you pour it into a river out lake it jacks with the ecosystem.
I have done this as well. It is a good way to recycle that byproduct.
It tastes like bread. Many normal bread recipes call for milk or dry milk to add a little tang to the flavor and to help give the crust some color. It is not much different.
Sounds interesting. I’m getting into baking now, but I don’t generally end up with any whey from the other things I prepare. Maybe I’ll make some cheese or something just to try this out.
To do it properly, you first need to heat the milk to just over 180F to kill any existing non-yogurt bacteria. After the milk cools to below 130F, you can add the live yogurt cultures.
I have had great luck using a slow cooker for heating the milk. It takes longer, but it is very forgiving and you do not have to watch it.
Right, 180 is the target temp, and I’m getting scorched milk on the bottom of the pan. I really don’t want to do it in the crockpot; I want to get it over with while I’m in the kitchen cooking dinner. Plus the idea of pouring milk out of a crock pot into jars makes me want to scream and chuck the whole project. :eek:
I am going to try some whey bread, though. And I intend to look up how to make ricotta. Lasagna here I come.
Maybe try one of those heat-spreader/regulator things that you put on the gas ring and then put the pot on top. I can’t remember what they’re called but maybe someone can.
I usually use my whey in bread. I just replace the water. It seems to give a more elastic crumb for things like ciabatta, though that might be my imagination. I like it in rye bread. I’ve also used it in soups and stews, again just replacing any water I might have added.
I used to make my own soft cheese, leaving me with lots of whey. I basically used it like water in breads, sauces, soups, potato and rice recipes, etc. Whey can be used almost anywhere water goes.
You can solve the scorched milk problem by not heating it. Just take cold, pasteurized milk straight out of the fridge, pour it in the yogurt maker, and add the starter. As soon as the milk reaches the appropriate temperature, the curdling process will begin. I’ve been doing it this way for over 20 years. Works every time.
i put the milk in quart jars. place the jars in a larger slow cooker with water in it. heat to sterilize, remove jars and let jars and water cool to inoculating temperature, place jars back in water, inoculate, ferment.
if you are scalding then you have too high a local heat. use lower flame with longer time, use a thicker bottom pan or heat spreader.
You all are geniuses! A ladle! Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful information. I’m going to whey-ify my cooking and heat my yogurt milk in the microwave. I might even go wild and try it cold.
The whey from acid-precipitated cheese and yogurt, known as acid whey, has only slight nutrition. Depending on exactly what kind of a job you did precipitating out the proteins, there will be one or two grams of protein per cup, and some sugars. You can use it as described above, but its not really a waste if you just pour it off.
You can only use “sweet” whey (whey resulting from rennet-based cheeses) to make ricotta cheese. The whey resulting from yogurt making won’t make cheese (you already removed almost all the protein in your yogurt process).
Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful information. I’m going to whey-ify my cooking and heat my yogurt milk in the microwave. I might even go wild and try it cold.