Uses For Whey

Yoghurt, yoghurt, yoghurt… I’m loving the stuff since I’ve been making it myself and have been trying out all sorts of toppings for my and Ameli’s morning breakfast.

Once I figured out how to make the yoghurt a bit thicker by straining it, I found myself with a fair bit of left over whey every week and while there’s no crime in tipping it out, I did begin to wonder whether there was something I could actually do with whey.

I started browsing the web and while I haven’t tried all of these options yet, have come up with this list:

• Use as a substitute for milk or water when making pancakes, flapjacks, biscuits and so on (remembering that you’ll lose some of the raw food property when you cook it)
• Turn whey into caramel for a caramel flavoured yoghurt with cardamom, cinnamon or lemon
• Bottom Up Foodlists a variety of ways you can incorporate whey into your cooking. Here are ones I will or have tried:
  • Substitute for water in bread making
  • Substitute for stock in soup, rice and risotto
• Add some whey back in to your yoghurt to make a yoghurt drink
• Season your whey with garlic or other spices and use for marinating frozen meat
• Add it to your bath water
• Add it to smoothies and other drinks
• The Prairie Homesteadlists sixteen ideas. Here are some:
• Unlike yoghurt, it seems whey can be frozen for later use
• Use in soups and stews in place of stock or broth
• Use it to rinse your hair
• Make whey lemonade
• Spray it on your plants and vegetables to help them grown

While I did find a few other suggestions for uses of whey, I can’t really imagine using them (such as making pickles – really not my thing), so I haven’t listed them here.

Overall, I’m really both surprised and pleased with my findings on whey.

Now, when we make yoghurt I divide it into three batches: One with the whey retained for making a drinking yoghurt, of which Ameli has about 150ml a day, one for making yoghurt – I split it into seven containers and add a topping or flavouring every morning – and any leftovers finds itself strained for 24 hours before turning into a spreadable cheese.

The whey from the yoghurt and cheese can be used in any of the ways mentioned above, and are extremely healthy – assuming you aren’t lactose intolerant – as it is low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc and Selenium, and a very good source of Riboflavin, Calcium and Phosphorus. (This does lead me to wonder about the value during pregnancy as both Thiamin and Vit B12 are given as anti-emetics.)

Remember that when cooked, whey will lose a lot of its Raw Food properties.

Also remember, you don’t need fancy equipment to make your own yoghurt.

Do you use whey for anything? Have I missed out a key use?  Please do share!