Remember the nursery rhyme about little Miss Muffet eating her curds and whey?
Back before I began my real food journey, I didn’t even know what whey was… Never would I have thought that I would ever become so familiar with it!
Whey is the cloudy, yellowish liquid that is leftover after milk is curdled. It’s packed full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.
There are two kinds of whey that you will encounter in your home dairying adventures:
1. Acid Whey- the whey resulting from cheese in which an acid has been adding to aid in the curdling process. (Some types of mozzarella or farmer’s cheese).
2. Sweet Whey- the whey resulting from cheese that is cultured or curdled with rennet instead of additional acid. (Yogurt whey fits in this category, as does soft cheese whey and traditional mozzarella.)
If you’ve ever made cheese, no doubt you’ve been amazed (and maybe even overwhelmed…) by how much whey is leftover after the process. It takes a lot of milk to make a little cheese! But, before you pour it down the drain, WAIT!
There are many things that whey can be used for in your whole food household.
(Please note: real whey is not the same as the powdered “whey” sold in health food stores. They are not interchangeable. )
I’ve compiled a list of ideas that to help you to use up this nourishing byproduct.
I prefer using sweet whey in most of these cases. Be careful when adding the acid whey to things like smoothies, etc, as it might really change the taste of things!
(Some of these ideas require the whey to be heated, so if you are interested in keeping all the qualities and enzymes of the raw whey, just skip those.)
16 Ways to Use Your Whey:
1. Substitute it in any baking recipe that calls for water (or even milk). I love making fresh breads and rolls with my leftover whey. Also try it in cornbread, pancakes, waffles, muffins, biscuits, etc.
Whey Bread
2. Use it to lacto-ferment vegetables, condiments, sauerkraut, chutneys, jams, etc. This is an area that I have yet to really explore, but it’s on my list! This is an incredibly healthful form of preservation that increases the nutritional value of so many things. Check out the book Nourishing Traditions for more info on this topic, or try a Swagbucks search. (It is important to use raw whey when you lacto-ferment– not acid whey or cooked whey.)
3. Use it to soak grains, Nourishing Traditions style. Depending on your recipe, several tablespoons or more can be added to your grain and legume preparations to make them more digestible. Want more info on this topic? Check out the free soaking grains ebook you can get here at The Prairie Homestead.
4. Freeze it for later. If you anticipate a milk-less time of year (perhaps when your animals are dried up), you can easily freeze whey for future use. Try putting it in ice cube trays or small cups to make the proper portion sizes. Then pop out the frozen cubes and store in a baggie.
5. Use it to cook your pastas, potatoes, oatmeal, or rice. Boiling the whey will cause it to lose it’s raw properties. However, if you feel like you are drowning in whey, this is a wonderful way to use it up and add extra flavor to the foods.
6. Add it to soups and stews. Perhaps it could take the place of some of your homemade stock or broth?
7. Add it to homemade fruit smoothies or milkshakes. The sky is the limit when it comes to all the flavor combos you can make.
8. Use it as a hair product. Now, I personally have not yet tried this, so proceed with caution! But I have seen several sources recommend it as a shampoo substitute, hair rinse, or even as hair gel! Not sure if I’ll be trying this, but let me know if YOU do!
9. Feed it to the dogs. Our dogs love it when I pour a little whey on their dry food and make it into a cereal. It’s quite the treat.
10. Make Whey Lemonade. I’ve seen several delicious-sounding recipes for lemonade-type drinks using whey. It’s on my list of things to try this summer! Check out this recipe from Food Renegade.
11. Use it to water your plants. Dilute it with a good amount of water (straight whey will “burn” your plants) and pour on your veggies or flowers (avoid using acid whey here). Think how much your container garden would love that!
12. Feed it to the farm critters. Our chickens love it and I’ve also heard that pigs will eat it up, too.
Ricotta Cheese
13. Make ricotta. Ricotta cheese is traditionally made from whey. And it’s so incredibly easy! However, this will require the whey to be heated to 200 degrees, so all the raw enzymes will be lost. Fias Co Farms has an excellent ricotta tutorial. It’s heavenly in homemade lasagna.
14. Pour it in your compost bin. I have yet to do this, but it would be better than dumping it down the drain.
15. Make a marinade. Add your favorite spices and seasonings (garlic, salt, pepper, maybe some rosemary…Yum!) to the whey and allow it to marinate your steaks, chicken, fish, or pork chops. The enzymes in the whey help to break down the meat and add flavor.
16. Use it to stretch your mozzarella. If you’ve ever made mozzarella before, you know that you must stretch the curds at the end of the process. Some recipes say to use the microwave (no thanks!), while others use a pot of hot, salted water. The last several times, I’ve used hot, salted whey to heat my curds before stretching. It has worked great!
Now surely I didn’t cover every single way to use whey… What are some of YOUR whey tricks?
A few other favorite foodie posts:
- A Frugal Cheesecloth Alternative
- Six Tips for No-Stress Canning
- Where to get Free (or Cheap) Food Grade Buckets
This post is a part of Fight Back Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Kitchen Tip Tuesdays, Traditional Tuesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Real Food Friday
Twitter: airynd
says:
I’ve only made mozz twice now, but had nearly a gallon of whey left-over each time. I felt kind of ripped off, actually, when I saw the tiny ball of cheese and all the stuff I didn’t want – well, didn’t know I wanted yet!
A friend told me a few things I could do with the whey, and wow – it really is versatile. I use it in soups, smoothies, casseroles and breads. I’d really like to try lacto-fermenting some veggies, and I’ll be using it this weekend to sprout some grains.
I’d never heard about using it as a hair product – fascinating!
Erin D. recently posted..Finding A Sense of Permanence
I hear ya- I was disappointed the first time I made cheese, too. Until I figured out how cool whey can be!
We have poured it in the compost, we have poured it in the garden. Pigs, dogs, cats & chickens all love it. I have used it when I made sauerkraut.
I would like to look into the hair thing. Right now I have been washing my hair with baking soda and water with an apple cider vinegar and water rinse. I have been doing this for 2 years with great success.
Marci, I’ve been getting closer and closer to attempting the baking soda/vinegar hair treatments… I hear so many people say how well it works for them.
I do baking soda/vinegar for my hair. The first time I was really surprised at how my hair felt – then I realized it just felt like hair! None of the stuff that shampoo and conditioner leave on your hair. Felt really good. And stays cleaner longer, too
Jennifer, what is the process for washing your hair with vinegar and soda? Can you give some recipes and instructions? I’d love to try this, too!
I just put baking soda (1/4 cup?) in a cup and add warm water to make a thin paste and rub that into my hair. It feels odd, because it obviously isn’t soap and doesn’t lather. Then I rinse it out. Then I rinse with 1 cup of vinegar and rinse it out. It helps to warm up that vinegar a little, otherwise it’s a surprise when you dump that on your head in the shower! Pretty easy
im student of dairy technology. intresting in cheese wheyproduct
I’ve been using leftover whey to spray our grass!! Our livestock are generally grass fed, and the whey is really making it grow, even though we’ve had no rain in 3 months!
Great idea! Hadn’t thought of that. Do you just put it in a weed sprayer thing?
Ohmygoodness, THANK YOU!!! I’ve only been doing the “whey” thing for a few months and my original batch was getting old so yes, I actually chunked it down the drain. It made me sad but I didn’t know what else to do with it at that point (and I admit, for once I didn’t google for a solution either). So thank you so much for this. I’ll know better next time if I have any leftover.
amber recently posted..Lessons in Gardening- Part 1
Yay! So glad this gave you some ideas.
Happy whey making.
amber i am student of dairy.Whey has high B,O,D and C.O.D values so we can not throw in sea water legaly. we may make ricota cheese,whey drinks,add in milk for yogort preparation.so please dont waste because it is harmfull for sealife.
Great post! I have a hard time wasting anything, so if I’m desperate, it has to at least go in the compost. I’ll keep this in mind for future reference since making cheese is on my bucket list.
Journey11 recently posted..Beauties
Love that cheese is on your bucket list.
You go girl!
HI Jill,
It’s funny you mentioned “curds”, too…because there is a vendor at my local farmer’s market that makes cheese and sells curds, too. They always have free curd samples to hand out. Yummy 
Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather 
I remember trying real “whey” at a fair once… As I recall, it tasted really good, but the one I tried had also been sweetened. So of course, it would taste really good
I toss in some salt & pepper and drink it.
Ciao, Pavil
Sounds nice and simple- never tried that!
I have a DD who is allergic to dairy (not lactose), so I can’t use it in cooking, but I like the idea to use it in the garden. We planted a pretty good sized garden this year. Might try it on the dog too! I mostly get my whey when I let my kefir sit too long on the counter. I’ll drain all of it out then to get the kefir cream cheese. I haven’t done anything with it yet though. It’s pretty tangy. I’m trying to decide what to make.
Yup- gardens/compost piles are definitely a good option if your family is dairy free!
Great ideas. I make yogurt often so it’s nice to have tips for using the whey. I recently bookmarked a mayonaise recipe that uses whey. The lemonade sounds good too.
Tracee recently posted..Study for Those With Crohns Disease- Ulcerative Colitis- and IBD
A lacto-fermented mayo recipe? I hope to do some experimenting with that this summer!
You can mix in a few spoonfuls to a potato salad or pasta salad you are bringing to a picnic to protect it from spoiling. Of course I use it to make mayonnaise, but you can also use it to make salad dressings, to make them not only probiotic, but ALSO to make them last longer and stay fresher while refrigerated. I made blue cheese dressing and home made ranch dressing today! I put them on the Cobb Salad I made for dinner. Delicious!
Love, love, love these ideas- never would have thought of that! Definitely going to try this!
What a wonderful, helpful post, Jill! I love all of the ideas you’ve shared. I have yet to enter the exciting world of cheese making, other than making my own yogurt cheese – that’s how I get my whey for lacto-fermenting. I am hoping to give cheese making a try in the near future, so this will be great to have on hand for all the extra whey that results! Blessings, Kelly
Oh, I have a feeling that you will love cheesemaking! It’s exciting, frustrating, and fun all at the same time!
I feed it to my chickens – and my guinea pig lives in the coop as well – so he eats it too.
I’ve made ricotta with it.
However, we mainly use it in recipes instead of water; smoothies or to smooth out the yogurt I make, pancakes, breads, Once I boiled rice noodles in it…until it’s taking up all my free bottles….then the chickens get it. ;o)
Thank you for the article – I’m always wondering what to do better! Will try out some of the other suggestions.
I wonder, since it’s a protein, if it would work well with water colors….and so we may try that, see how shiny they get.
Ooooh, watercolors! Now THAT would be interesting! Please do let me know how it goes if you try it!
I think you covered most of what I do with mine… I started making yogurt and kefir just to get the whey, because I’d started reading NT about all the stuff to do with it. I was particularly excited about lacto-fermenting *everything.* My favorites so far are a red sourkraut (actually the kimchee recipe from the book, but I used red cabbage) and a corn salsa. Amazing. Whey makes everything better. Basically, if you’re going to make anything fresh, add whey and let it sit out a couple days, then it’s awesome and lasts several times as long.
Can also make beet kvass, which helps a lot with estrogen/hormonal issues. And, of course, I love kefir cream cheese. Yum yum yum. (I like to herb it: add salt and whatever fresh and dried herbs you have to it, and i sprinkle in some turmeric as well: spread it on crackers, bread, put it in your omelet, anything).
I’m dying to start lacto-fermenting! I hear everyone talk about it so much. Hopefully sometime later in the summer! Never tried beet kvass, but heard many good things about it!
It was my understanding that you could not use the heated whey (by-product of cheese making) for lactofermenting or soaking because it is dead. Anyone care to clarify? I know in NT she only says to use raw whey.
Yes Heather, I believe you are correct. However, if you make any sort of raw cheese, you could definitely use the leftover whey from that. You would have to used cooked whey for some of the other applications like watering plants, etc.
What is “raw” cheese? I started making paneer cheese from a YouTube video. But you have to heat just til it starts to boil. So, does this mean you make cheese with cold milk? And the milk in stores is boiled isn’t it? Please help me out.
Raw cheese is made from unpasteurized, fresh milk. Some raw cheese recipes call for the milk to be heated slightly (like to 86 degrees, for example) to help propogate the cultures, but it won’t be heated hot enough to kill any of the beneficial enzymes/bacteria.
If you are heating your paneer cheese to just before boiling, it probably isn’t considered a raw cheese.
Most store-bought milk is pasteurized, depending on which state you live in. There are a few states which allow raw milk to be legally sold, but they are fairly rare. We choose to milk our goats and cow since raw milk is illegal in our state. Hope that answers your questions!
I use whey to soak my steal cut oats over night to soften and slightly ferment for more health benefits. We also use it in baking our guten free bread instead of water. Smoothies can get a boost too!
I have just put mine to work in a bowl of kimchi-to-be, will see how it turns out. the whey bread on the picture looked gorgeous, could you share the recipe or is it already on the site and i’m just blind? Blessings, Maria
I actually don’t have the whey bread recipe on my blog. It just a stock photo. However, I have successfully used whey in several of my bread recipes- just sub 1:1 for the water!
uses of whey
1:whey basid drink
Ingredients 4 this
a)colour
b)flavor
procedure:
1: take whey in a pan heat it upto70-75c.
2: now cool it to40c.(mild feel with hand)
3:at this temperature add color* and **flavor
color* 1 part color and 9 part water mix, use this color solution according to desire
flaavor** flavor mix in a small portion of whey than add in hole bulk.
Looks like you covered everything I can think of! I make yogurt every week, and often strain it to make Greek-style yogurt or homemade cream cheese. I have Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions cookbook, and got excited about lacto-fermenting some things. I’ve made the gingered carrots, and added some whey to my normal homemade ketchup. I hope to try some pickles when the cukes from our garden are ready.
I also use it as you mentioned in baked goods (pancakes, muffins, sweet breads) and for soaking beans and grains. Nourishing Traditions has a “punch” recipe that’s basically lemonade (if you omit the spice), and I’ve tried that a few times. If you’re used to traditional lemonade, it takes some getting used to, but I think it’s great.
I’ve tried the no-poo method of baking soda and vinegar, and loved it the first few times I tried it. Once the cold weather hit, I found it too drying, but may pick it up again now that it’s more humid.
Karla recently posted..Early Potty Training
I have the whey lemonade/punch on my list of things to try. Can I admit that I’m a little scared of it, lol? I’ve been wanting to attempt the no-poo method too. At least in the summer time like you mentioned.
I have a wonderful Norwegian whey cheese posted on my blog that you would probably enjoy. It is from sweet whey. http://creatingnirvanatoday.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-gjetost-cheese-and-gjetost.html I also have a fermented sweet potato drink that was wonderful. http://creatingnirvanatoday.blogspot.com/2011/06/sweet-potato-fly-fermented-sweet-potato.html Great list.
Miss Nirvana recently posted..Homemade Gjetost Cheese and Gjetost Potato Salad
Yum! Will check it out for sure. Thanks for sharing!
We use our whey for several of the things you mention – soaking oats overnight, making lacto-fermented ginger carrots, and lots of smoothies.
We have encountered white whey recently a few times, which I understand to come from milk that is particularly high in butterfat content. Most of the cream will settle to the top and you can skim it off – but then some still remains, we found, suspended in the whey and you need to use this faster because it does spoil.
Veeeerry, interesting about the white whey- have yet to run into that!
Found your blog and love it already! I definitely suggest doing fermenting with whey. I started doing it early this year. Some things are an acquired taste but most I like right off the bat. Thanks for the other ideas!
I agree- it is an acquired taste- one I am still acquiring myself!
Glad you are enjoying the blog!
I just thought I should mention. DO NOT put whey down the drain or toilet. It will completly eat the walls of your septic tank. I am speaking from experience. Even if you are on town sweage or water I would not do it. Outside on the compost or garden is a great solution if you can not use it.
You can use whey to rebuild your soil. Mix it 1 part to 5 parts water and pour or drip over soil. We use a piece of PVC with small holes drilled in it every few inches. Then connect to a container (large bucket) and pull behind your tractor and the whey will drip into the soil. We do this for large areas mixing 2 gallons to 10 gallons water. Doing this once a month will rebuild even the worse soil to make it better for growing.
What a great tip! I never would have thought of this!
No way! i dont’y know you could use Whey in these ways!
…..well, Someone had to say it
I know… the puns are irresistable!
I make a fabulous recovery drink that I use on the days when I do more than 3 hours of exercise (Yes, I’m insane). It’s a great energy booster, and it really helps my body recover much more quickly!
Just mix 1 cup of raw whey (I use either yoghurt or sour cream whey), 1/2 cup of water, 1 tbsp. of raw honey, and 1 tbsp. of raw apple cider vinegar, and a bit of celtic sea salt all together in a mason jar until the honey and salt disolves, and enjoy! It’s fairly acidic, however, so you may need to add more water. It tastes like a combination of lemonade and apple juice!
Sounds yummy! And wow, 3 hours of exercise?! Now that’s some motivation!!
Do you know long whey will keep in the fridge? I’ve had some that are months and months and MONTHS old… Also, I have some sour milk so old in the fridge they have literally separated – the clear liquid (which I’m assuming is whey) and the white stuff on the bottom. Is this whey safe to consume? Again, very old…
Cee,
If your soured milk is RAW and not pastuerized, it should be safe to consume after the milk solids and whey has separated. That is called clabbering.
I think the best indicator of whether the whey is still good is the smell. (That goes for the clabber, too). If it has any sort of “putrid” smell, toss it. Otherwise, you should be ok.
Thanks, Jill. I had taken this out of the fridge and been sitting on the counter for several days. Is it still safe to consume? Thanks again.
I’d definitely go by smell on that one Cee. If it smells nasty at all, toss it.
I Want to know the basic usage of whey……….
The farmers around me are using whey for controlling powdery mildew on their grapes. They say it works. They just mist it on to the leaves and let it dry.
Very interesting Laura! I’ve never heard that before. What a great alternative to chemcial treatments, though.
I read the entire article and all the comments hoping someone would give more info about using whey as a hair product. Alas, I suppose I’ll just go Google it.
Sorry Rachel- wish I had more info on that, but I haven’t tried it yet. I’d love to know what you think if you give it a go!
I’m soooo excited to find your blog! I just made cheese and knew there had to be options for the whey because there is so much left over. I am just starting our real food journey. Today I told my younger daughter that it was the last time we will be stepping foot into the grocery store. What we can’t grow or make, we will be buying from local farmers. I’m so excited about this journey.
Thanks for the great post!
Kelly
mysimplewalk.com
Way to go Kelly! I love your can-do attitude. Keep up the great work!!
I just used whey with Maseca to make tortillas! They turned out good!
Yes! I love using whey for tortillas! I think it makes them a little softer than using water, plus it boosts their nutritional value!
I was wary about using whey, because I thought it might make them taste weird, but they were great! I just started a “Real Food Month” in my house, so I ate them with the refried pinto beans that I made (adding a little local canola oil and turkey broth) and topped with the queso blanco I made yesterday. It turned out good!
Hi There – Love the additional tips. I just started teaching mozzarella/ricotta cheesemaking locally. Yes, you can get innudated with the amount of liquid left over. What I did with the whey was make pizza dough calzones for the ricotta class and stuffed them with ricotta, mozzarella and pepperoni . I have also used whey on my acid loving plants like tomatoes and blueberries as well as feeding the whey to our older horses. My fascination is that you can take a product and use the entire product without waste. Check out our blog – http://www.hobbyhillfarm.com/blog for our take on making mozzarella and rocotta cheese.
Sharon
i am student of dairy in pakistan veterinary university.whey of cheese may consider as by product but have a lote of use
it should kept in mind that milk has 13% solids and 87% water. when cheese made from milk then half of solids(7.5%) in whey. so it contain hlf nuterient then milk. out of7.5%
lactose is 4.7%……………………………………………………………………………………….. sory remaining next time
1:may use to make whey drink which has high nuteritive value
You can also use the whey as a mordant for natural dyes. Its the minerals like calcium, phospherous and magnesium that give the whey its mordanting properties. Not a food use, but very relevant in this time when our clothing costs the Earth so dearly in chemical pollution and human slavery. Clothing manufacture is the #2 polluter in the world.
Chris
Wow Chris, what a fantastic idea! I’ve not yet dabble into the world of dying fabrics, although I’m sure some of my readers do! Thanks for the info.
Wow – I’m really excited to read this post today as I’m getting ready to try my hand at making yogurt. I heard you could save the whey, but I didn’t know what exactly to do with it! Any idea how long it can be refrigerated before being used?
Hey JulieAnn!
I don’t have an *exact* time frame, but I know I’ve kept mine in my fridge for several weeks without it going bad. As long as it doesn’t smell nasty, I’m thinking you’ll probably be ok. Good luck!
Hi! Thanks so much for this post; I’m excited to read the rest of your blog! I have lots of whey from making yogurt, which I like to strain for a thicker consistency. I was wondering if this is the kind of whey that can be used to make ricotta. The link you have to the Fias Co Farm recipe mentions using whey leftover from making hard cheeses. Is there a difference? Will my whey work? (It’s just so clear that it doesn’t look to me like something that could be turned into cheese.)
Many thanks! Sarah M.
Hi Sarah,
I personally have never made ricotta from my yogurt whey. In the research I’ve done, I’ve gotten conflicting answers as to if it would work– so I can’t say for sure. However, another thing to keep in mind is that it takes a lot of whey to make a small amount of ricotta, so the small amount of whey you would get from straining yogurt probably wouldn’t be worth it.
When I make ricotta, I use the leftover whey from making raw mozzarella- it always gives good results. Good luck!
I love whey! What great ideas!!
I use it to soak flour in overnight before making pancakes. I think it helps break down the gluten and makes it easier to digest. It definitely makes some tasty, moist, sourdough-type pancakes!
Yes, it’s definitely great for soaking!
Is this goat milk whey you are using? If so, if I use vinegar to make my goat cheese, which type of whey would it be….acid or sweet?
Lori Lane recently posted..Reflections of Who I Am
im stident of dairy tech. and studing subject of by products in which i read a lot more about whey if u have any problem please tell. it is also help me in study.