Are you interested in learning to ferment with whey?

Whey is a wonderful ingredient that can used as a starter culture to make lacto-fermented foods. You can buy whey, but it is also very easy to make yourself. You don’t actually MAKE it, you simply strain it off of foods it already exists in. Here are 3 options for collecting whey.

1. Yogurt. Put plain, organic yogurt in a cheesecloth or thin tea towel and tie the towel at the top and then hang it over a bowl and the whey will drip into the bowl through the bottom of the cloth. Leave for several hours or overnight. The result will be a rich, greek style yogurt which you can save to eat later and the liquid in the bowl underneath should be yellowish, translucent and thin. This is whey and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months. Use it as a starter culture to ferment foods or drink it plain!

2. Kefir. Follow instructions above but use milk kefir instead of yogurt. This will leave you with a kefir cheese (like cream cheese but a bit more sour) and whey.

3. Clabbered (soured) RAW milk. If your raw milk has started to sour, set it out on the counter to continue clabbering. After several hours or overnight, you will see the milk solids and whey begin to separate. Follow the same straining instructions above. Do NOT do this with pasteurized milk as the pasteurization process has killed the beneficial bacterias present in raw milk that makes the soured milk safe to drink. The resulting “cream cheese” from the clabbered milk solids can be used as cream cheese. I personally find this cream cheese has too strong a flavor for me to eat plain, so I usually mix this with garlic or fruit in the blender to make a flavored cream cheese.

Foods and Drinks you can ferment with whey

Whey is one of the most convenient starters for fermented foods. There are SO MANY foods you can ferment with whey. It contains all the beneficial bacterias to culture vegetables, fruits and juices. Here are some recipes to get you started, but please don’t limit yourself to these. You can ferment almost anything!!!

Lacto-Fermented Berries

Fermented Apple Juice

Lacto-Fermented Salsa

Carrot Pickles

Lacto-fermented ketchup

Kimchi

Beet Kvass

Lacto-Fermented Summer Squash

Ginger Ale (made with whey)

Elderflower Soda

Fermented Orange Juice

Fermented Cranberries

Lacto-fermented cranberry chutney

What other foods do you ferment with whey? Please leave a recipe or link in the comments! I love finding new things to ferment!

Thanks, y’all!

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products or techniques mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. I am just a mom who shares what works for me!