# Whey Leftover From Making Farmer's Cheese - Edible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449 "2011-08-20T18:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/1 "2011-08-20T18:25:22Z")
I’m enjoying an adventure in cheesemaking, but now I have around 3 cups of liquids separated from the curds. I understand it to be whey. Can it be used for anything? I don’t have a dog, rat, or other quasi-garbage-disposing pet. ETA: apparently what I have is _sour whey_ because I used acid (lemon juice) to curdle the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/2 "2011-08-20T21:02:08Z")
make ricotta ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/3 "2011-08-20T21:05:58Z")
ricotta [link](http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/ricotta.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/4 "2011-08-20T21:34:11Z")
You can’t make ricotta out of whey already used to make acid-precipitated soft cheese, according to that link. I appreciate the response though. Thought this one was going to die. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/5 "2011-08-20T22:35:11Z")
Medievally whey was used as a beverage, including making lemonaide out of it. I use it as the liquid in making bread, it can be used as the liquid in soup, and in Iceland it is still used as a liquid food storage pickling medium [but I never researched that one so I don’t know how they do it. When I visit Iceland in a few years I plan on asking =)] ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/6 "2011-08-20T23:03:07Z")
I see references to whey protein powder and the like - I wonder if it could be used in a cream soup or something to add flavor and protein? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/7 "2011-08-20T23:24:51Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I see references to whey protein powder and the like - I wonder if it could be used in a cream soup or something to add flavor and protein? I thought that too, but I found nutritional info to say that a cup of liquid whey only has [2g protein](http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/100/2). Disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/8 "2011-08-20T23:34:38Z")
Huh. Must be due to concentration in powder form. Anyway, I’d taste it, then give it a shot in cream soup or something? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/9 "2011-08-21T15:17:50Z")
Whey is mostly water. When you precipitate out the cheese, you’re taking most of the good stuff in the cheese, so you’re left with not much. So you can use whey as a liquid in recipes instead of water, and it will add a tiny bit of extra flavor and nutrition, but not much. If you were in a place where clean drinking water was hard to get, you could just drink it. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/10 "2011-08-21T20:51:48Z")
My family would mix it with cracked corn for chicken feed. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whey-leftover-from-making-farmers-cheese-edible/593449/11 "2011-08-21T21:02:19Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > My family would mix it with cracked corn for chicken feed. Alas, I have yet to take advantage of my statutory right to keep 4 hens within New York City limits. After determining that the liquid in question is mostly water, I chucked it without guilt. 🙂 Dinner: papperdelle pasta with homemade ricotta, proscuitto, and tomatoes & italian parsley from my farm share.