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If you’ve read anything from the Nourishing Traditions world about soaking your grains, you’ve seen the recommendation to use whey as an acidic medium. I prefer it for soaking my oats because I have found it least likely to impart a sour flavor to the finished oatmeal.
What is Whey?
My brother, a big weightlifter, is huge into the “whey protein powder” drinks for big muscles. Don’t get this sort of whey confused with the powdered stuff, which I’m sure has some “I-am-not-real-food!” sort of health issues. (UPDATE: A faithful commenter tells me that powdered whey is just spray-dried regular whey.)
Regular whey is a byproduct of cheesemaking, just like Little Miss Moffet had: curds and whey. It is a nearly transparent, yellowish liquid that pours like water.
You may be thinking, “Great, now I have to make cheese.” Luckily, this is much easier than that sounds.
What is Yogurt Cheese?
I get my whey from yogurt, which I happen to make homemade, but you could use plain, unsweetened yogurt from a store with the same results. Yogurt cheese has the same consistency and almost the same flavor as cream cheese, but with power-packed probiotics for good digestion and more. If you use cream cheese, even if you don’t want the whey, this process is the most frugal substitute for cream cheese you’ll ever find. It costs less than 50 cents for 8 oz. of yogurt cheese if your milk is on sale for $2 or less.
How to Make Yogurt Cheese and Whey
It’s almost embarrassing to post something this easy. Love it!
- Line a colander with a tea towel or cheesecloth.
- Place a large bowl or measuring cup (at least 4 cups) under the colander. Make sure the opening is wide enough to be underneath all your yogurt (see next step).
- Pour a container of yogurt (I do a quart at a time) into the towel.
- Wait. See the whey draining out? *peek*
- After an hour or so, rig up some way to hang the towel so that gravitational pressure gets all the whey out of the yogurt. Here’s my method:
- After ~4 hours or whenever your yogurt stops dripping, that’s it! You have about 3 cups of whey in the bowl and 1 cup of yogurt cheese in the towel.
- Yogurt cheese lasts 1-4 weeks (you’ll know when it goes bad) and the whey lasts up to 6 months.
Looks, tastes, and behaves just like cream cheese! The only thing it doesn’t do great is melt, like in a hot food recipe. - A quickie version: You can put a few Tbs of yogurt onto a coffee filter on top of a jar, and in an hour or less you’ll have a smidge of yogurt cheese for your toast on top and whey to soak your oatmeal in the jar.
Whey Recipes: What do I do with Whey?
- Make tortillas (uses 1/2 cup of whey per batch)
- Use as up to half the water in any bread recipe. You’ll need to add more flour, even up to a whole cup for a loaf of bread.
- Soak oatmeal.
- Soak other grains, including breadmaker bread.
- Some add it to their smoothies as protein. I haven’t done that.
- Lacto-fermentation:
Yogurt Cheese Recipes
- Fruit Pizza
- Creamy Garlic Veggie Dip (in Healthy Snacks to Go eBook)
- Tuscan Beef and Bean Stew
- Avocado Dip
- Homemade Fudgesicles
- Use in place of some or all the ricotta in a pasta recipe
- Yogurt Cheese and Jelly Sandwiches
- Any dip, dessert or main dish that calls for cream cheese!
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Katie, I have a bunch of whey sitting in my fridge, just from straining my too-thin homemade yogurt. I didn’t know what to do with it until this post (thanks!), but I’m also not sure how long it keeps in the fridge. I have a feeling mine is probably past its prime by now (it’s been well over a week), but if it’s still good, I’ll have to try some of your ideas!
April´s last blog ..Moving in a new direction
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Katie Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
April,
Katie
I bet it’s still okay. Whey is a preservative, so it’s supposed to last 6 months. Realistically I’ve found it to be good over a month. You’ll know if it’s bad – the smell is awful!
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I love it! I’ve been reading about whey for awhile but I don’t know, it just didn’t make sense to me. The pictures help, I think. Thanks!
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Love the idea of the yogurt cheese! Thanks so much!
Dani´s last blog ..It’s okay to ask for help.
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Thanks for the great information.
I’m wondering how you think yogurt cheese would sub into a cheesecake?
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Katie Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Julie,
Katie
Since it seemed to work really well in a dip that *sort* of had to hold its shape, I would guess absolutely great. I’d say – make some and get the feel for the consistency. The Pampered Chef guru thought it acted just like cream cheese in that it was firm cold and softened right up on the countertop. Let me know if you try it!
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elaine Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Julie~ I’m coming to this post a little late but I’ve had a cheesecake made out of yogurt cheese – it is AWESOME! We are so spoiled with yogurt cheese that nothing tastes quite as good anymore. Let me know if you need a recipe.
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This is totally next on my food to-do list! (Right after finishing the sourdough starter I’m working on) Thanks for showing how easy it is.
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Thanks for the tips for using whey. Maybe I missed it, but does whey have the same probiotic properties as the yogurt or yogurt cheese, or does it have some additional benefits?
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“My brother, a big weightlifter, is huge into the “whey protein powder” drinks for big muscles. Don’t get this sort of whey confused with the powdered stuff, which I’m sure has some “I-am-not-real-food!” sort of health issues.”
Katie…Katie…Katie. I’m *tisk tisk-ing* you here. Let’s not assume the negative. Whey powder is spray dried whey. In it’s simplest form (not fortified/amplified like the bodybuilder stuff) the biggest concern is probably the oxidation factor that you discussed previously.
tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: RT @animalag: What’s in a name? Good discussion of public perception of "farmers," "producers," and "factory farms" http://bit.ly/8K1OMj
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Katie Reply:
December 7th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Ah, Tonya,
Katie
So we’re back to the question of oxidizing…and is anything powdered “real food”? Good to know that whey protein powder isn’t quite as far away from the source as one might assume…as I did!
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tonya Reply:
December 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I like to think of spray drying as dehydrating. Dehydrating isn’t necessarily bad. This oxidation factor though…I need to learn more about that.
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This is great information about whey! Do you know if I can I freeze it?
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Katie Reply:
December 7th, 2009 at 2:47 am
Malia,
Katie
I have read about folks freezing it in ice cube trays and adding to smoothies, in fact! I just froze some because I have trouble with mozzarella cheese whey going bad after a week, but the yogurt whey really does last quite a while.
Great question!
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Another great post. I especially love the idea of your quick version- I would never have thought to do a little so I could have just a bit to soak in- and now I have some right on my counter. Thanks!
Shelley´s last blog ..Holiday System Day 14 – recipe: sprouted flour butter cookies
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Hi Katie, here from pennywise platter. Do you have more suggestions for yogurt cheese/traditional cream cheese? I use the whey almost daily to soak oatmeal, but the trad. cream cheese has a little too much tang for my liking right now. Hate to not use it though. Some has gone into a frittata and a little into a quiche over the wekend, but I still have more than I know what to do with.
Soli´s last blog ..Let’s see
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Katie Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Soli,
Katie
I use yogurt cheese in my fruit pizza (link above) and in many dessert recipes that call for cream cheese. My slow cooker beef stew includes it http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/31/making-a-healthy-meal-from-packaged-recipes/ as do other beef stroganoff type recipes. My son loves cream cheese and jelly or cream cheese, fruit and honey sandwiches! This yogurt cheese garlic veggie dip is AWESOME: http://www.nourishingdays.com/?p=1055 Hope that helps! Thanks for visiting -love to see you back!
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Pennywise Platter Thursday 12/10 // Dec 10, 2009 at 11:53 am
[...] Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship- I’ve made more “homemade cream cheese” this month than ever before because cream cheese is an ingredient in so many party foods, from [...]
I wandered over here from Tammy’s Recipes and I’ve been browsing around.
We have NO trouble getting whey, our problem is what to DO with it, so I love these ideas. We make and strain our own yogurt (so easy to do), but had no idea what to do with the whey so we were just tipping it down the sink. I’ll have to try some of these soaks.
I use homemade yogurt in my smoothies, so is there any added benefit to putting the whey in also?
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Katie Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 5:51 am
Stacy,
Katie
I have heard of people freezing the whey in ice cubes to add to smoothies. Any place you use whey will add some protein to what you’re eating. Frozen in a smoothie would be great for consistency!
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Curious…What’s the difference between yogurt cheese & Greek-style yogurt? I’ve only had Greek yogurt a few times (largely b/c it’s significantly more expensive to buy it), but I wouldn’t say it taste like cream cheese – even though I understand it’s just yogurt with the whey drained off. I do need to brush off my Salton yogurt maker in the pantry and quit buying the quarts of yogurt, and would love to try this!
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Katie Reply:
March 1st, 2010 at 6:02 am
Cindy,
Katie
Greek yogurt just has *some* of the whey drained off. This yogurt cheese would totally hold it’s form on a plate and is truly exactly like cream cheese consistency. Enjoy!
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Thanks so much! I just bought your healthy snacks eBook (and so did my best friend), and I’m totally jazzed.
You’ve made me unafraid of whey. I may even be ready to make homemade yogurt soon. My MIL kinda scared me away from it, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be too bad to make.
April´s last blog ..Another Reason to Choose Local Organic Food
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Katie Reply:
May 28th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
april,
Yee hah! You’ll love homemade yogurt and never look back (even if MIL is chasing you with a wooden spoon).
Katie
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Going back to my question about my whey jar molding that I tweeted to you, Sarah (heartland Ren.) told me I could’ve just decanted it into a new jar. I’m thinking she’s right, since it was just the jar and not the whey itself that molded. I also had some crunchy friends tell me that whey made from raw dairy lasts much longer.
It sounds like freezing whey kills off the probiotic … enzymes? qualities? whatever, so that really isn’t a good way to store it, but I suppose I could soak and dehydrate a large quality of oats and freeze those.
My real question – I used to make ricotta cheese using this recipe from Cooking Light (though now I would go for the full-fat counterparts!) and I’m wondering if the cultured buttermilk would mean that the whey left over would be good for soaking. I think yes, but wanted to know your opinion. :>)
Lenetta @ Nettacow´s last blog ..Peeling Onions
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Katie Reply:
June 5th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Lenetta,
I freeze both my yogurt and buttermilk starters, and they always still “work”, so the bacteria isn’t killed. Enzymes, I don’t know. I think it’s the probiotics that you want in both.
I think yes on the buttermilk whey – anything acidic is supposed to work, and cultured is even better. Homemade ricotta = fun!
Katie
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