10 uses for whey! | U MAIN kits

After making your first cheeses at home, you realize that you have a lot (a lot!) of whey left... and you don't like waste. That's why U MAIN, located in Quebec, suggests 10 uses for whey.

Example of whey, photo by Blog de Bouffe

If you've never made cheese, keep reading, you'll learn a lot too!

First of all, what is whey?

When you add rennet, bacterial cultures or an acidifier to the milk, a separation between the curd and the whey is formed. Whey, or whey, is the residual liquid part of the coagulation of milk during cheese making. It is a greenish-yellow liquid, composed of about 94% water, sugar (lactose), protein and very little fat.

The whey should be stored in the refrigerator. You can keep it for about 5 days.

Here are 10 suggestions for using whey:

1. Replace the water (or even the milk) in any recipe for brioche and fresh breads with whey!

2. Replace water (or milk), in whole or in part, in your recipes for pancakes, waffles, or cookies.
For a recipe for Beetroot Pink Pancakes, click here .

3. Use whey to soak seeds and legumes.
Depending on your recipe, add several tablespoons of whey to seeds and legumes when you soak them to make them more digestible (eg: chickpeas) and refrigerate everything during the soaking time.

4. Make a whey marinade.
Add your favorite spices and seasonings (garlic, salt, pepper, a little rosemary…yum!) to the whey and you'll be able to marinate steaks, chicken, fish or even pork chops. Enzymes in whey help tenderize meat and add flavor. Marinate in the fridge.

5. Use whey to cook pasta and potatoes.
It will add a slightly cheesy and delicious taste to your food!

6. Use whey when cooking soups and stews.
It could thus replace part (or all) of the broth in your recipes. For example, use the whey for a butternut squash and coriander, broccoli and potato or carrot soup. A real treat. For a recipe for Carrot Cream with Whey, click here .

7. Use whey in your smoothies.
Boil your whey at the end of your cheese making, skim it and cool it to add to your fresh fruit smoothies or homemade (whey) milkshakes. There is no limit to the flavors you can create! For a delicious smoothie recipe, using whey, click here.

8. Make ricotta.
If your whey comes from mozzarella preparation, you just have to add a little citric acid and water mixture and heat your whey up to 85-95ºC. However, it will take a lot of whey to get a small amount of ricotta. We recommend this technique only if you have approximately 10L of whey.

9. Cook your rice or risotto with whey.
Use the whey for cooking your rice or risotto. The result is exquisite and you will use a large amount of whey. For a risotto recipe, click here .

10. Freeze the whey for later.
Put it in an ice cube mold or in containers to make appropriate portions for your recipes. Once frozen, place the ice cubes in a zip-lock bag in the freezer.

You now want to have plenty of whey on hand to incorporate into your recipes, right?

Making your cheese also allows you to innovate with new recipes and thus avoid food waste!

U MAIN, much more than kits for making homemade cheese!