How to make raw, enzyme and probiotic-rich liquid whey to use as a starter culture for all your home fermentation needs.
Do you know how to make whey from yogurt, kefir or raw milk?
A by-product of this simple technique is healthy homemade cream cheese that is loaded with enzymes and probiotics.
The recipe below describes how with visual instructions via video demonstration!
Making homemade baby formula? I recommend using this โquick wheyโ no straining method as the fastest and easiest approach.
How to Make Whey the REAL Way
Making real, liquid, nutrient rich, unadulterated whey in your own kitchen is a MUST step for any traditional cook to learn.
Without whey in its whole, liquid form, many other traditional recipes cannot even be attempted. ย You cannot buy whey from the store except in a denatured, unhealthy, powdered whey form. It is worth your time to learn what I show you in the video below.
Other video lessons on this blog show you how to use this whole food form of whey to make many delicious, healthful recipes for your family. ย Whey as made in the video demo below will keep up to 6 months in the refrigerator in a sealed mason jar.
If you absolutely have no access to farm fresh milk to make whole, unadulterated, enzyme rich whey, then you can use plain, organic yogurt brand from the store instead. Here are tips on how to spot the best yogurt brands.
The process is basically exactly the same thing as shown in the video.
You wonโt get nearly as much whey using yogurt as clabbered, farm fresh milk, but at least you can get enough to get you started.
Wonderful Whey and REAL Cream Cheese
The raw, enzyme-rich cream cheese I make in the recipe video below is fantastic on a sprouted or sourdough bagel for breakfast. Donโt buy the Ezekiel sprouted muffins as they contain soy. This low-carb bagel recipe is another great one to try.
If you prefer to buy, these sourdough bagels are available for shipping freshly made to your door.
To make, just take your cream cheese left over from making liquid whey and add a few strawberries and a dash of dark maple syrup to taste. Mix together by pulsing a few times in your food processor. This wonderful, fresh, REAL strawberry cream cheese will last one to two weeks in the refrigerator. ย Another wonderful use for this healthy raw cheese is to make an easyย no bake cheesecake.
No access to raw milk where you live? No problem. Check out this recipe plus video on how to separate whey from yogurtย purchased from the store.
Cloudy Whey vs Clear Whey
No matter whether your whey turns out cloudy or clear, it is safe and fine to use in all your favorite recipes. This article explains why sometimesย whey is cloudy compared to its usual golden color.
Raw Whey Recipe
How to separate raw, liquid whey from clabbered milk. The process also creates probiotic rich cream cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 quart raw milk preferably grassfed
- 1 large glass bowl
- 1 large rubber band
- 1 white dishtowel
Instructions
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Allow the raw milk to sit on the counter for 1-3 days at room temperature.ย
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When the milk separates into curds and whey (transforms into clabbered milk) you are ready to proceed. Note that the fresher the raw milk and the colder the temperature of your house, the longer it will take the raw milk to clabber.
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Line a clean, large glass bowl with a clean, white dishtowel that isnโt too thick. Cheesecloth will also work, but the holes in the mesh must be very small, else the milk curds will pass through.
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Gently pour the clabbered milk into the middle of the dish towel. Gather up the ends and fasten with a rubber band. Attach to a knob on an upper cabinet in your kitchen as shown in the picture.
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Let the raw whey drip into the bowl underneath. This process will continue for an hour or two.
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After the dripping stops, gently take down the hanging bag and place it into a clean bowl. Scrape out the raw cream cheese that is inside the bag, put in a container with a lid and refrigerate.
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Pour the liquid whey from the dripping bowl into a glass mason jar, afix the lid and refrigerate.ย
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Refrigerated, raw cream cheese will be good to eat for about a week. Raw whey will last several months refrigerated.
Recipe Video
How to Useย Whey in Recipes
How to Make Ricottaย Three Ways (plus Video How-to)
Perfect Probiotic Cottage Cheese
Cheese Making: ย Common Problems and Solutions
Thanks! Would Greek Yogurt work or just plain yogurt.
Use whole plain yogurt. Greek yogurt won’t produce much whey as the whey has already been mostly removed.
Hi Sarah,
Would it be possible to use Yogurt instead? I use milk alternative, so not sure it would work that way.
Yes you can use yogurt. Here’s how. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/separating-whey-plain-store-yogurt/
Hi Sarah, was just st making sure the “bad smell” from they what is normal. Am using it in baby formula and obviously want it to be perfectly safe. Thank you
It’s not a bad smell actually … it’s a fermenting smell. A putrid smell is quite different, let me assure you ๐
I had almost a gallon of raw milk in the back of my fridge for a month while traveling, when I got back, I bought fresh raw milk, but had to take the old raw milk out of the fridge to make room for the new. It has been sitting on my counter now for a few days while I try to figure out what to do with it. Does it truly NEVER go bad? Can I still do all the things (101 uses) you mention? Cream cheese?
It will go bad once it develops mold. Yes, you can make cream cheese and whey.
Have you ever had raw milk not separate into curds and whey? I started with fresh raw milk. Left on counter top in glass jar. After 4 days it wasnโt separated although started to get a lil chunky. After fifth day I decided to strain it anyways. Strained through a tea towel and it still looks like milk in my bowl. Got some chunks in my towel but not whey in my bowl. Help!
You should have a conversation with your raw milk farmer. The milk may have a high MUN (milk urea nitrogen) number โ 23 or so โ would mean that the milk wonโt clabber, doesnโt ferment into yogurt or kefir, and the cream wonโt whip. High MUN milk is also a little tangy and bitter tasting. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/tips-for-evaluating-a-grassbased-farm/
Thank you so much for answering my question!
Can you use a fine mesh plastic Greek Yogurt strainer instead of a cloth?
Perhaps. I haven’t seen one so not sure. My concern is that the small curds would pass through. I would really suggest using a cloth.
When I made my whey, a thin layer (maybe 2 mm?) thick was on top. Is that a result of cream cheese particles dripping into the bowl? Do I need to double my cloth and restrain it? Or can I just scrape the layer off before I store it? Thanks!!
You can just scrape that layer off. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t and the whey is perfectly clear! https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/whey-benefits-cloudy-or-clear/
I let my raw milk sit for a week. Is the whey still good to use? Or is it too old now?
It’s probably fine unless there is mold on it. But, it might be far too tart for using in recipes.
Can they whey be made with the raw camel milk? It is the only raw milk I will be able to get and I am making it for baby formula. If so, will it likely yield about the same amount of whey as with raw cow milk?
Yes, you can make raw whey from any type of raw milk. It will likely yield more whey as there is less cream on raw camel milk compared to cow milk.
However, I would recommend getting the liquid whey from organic store yogurt or kefir as camel milk is so expensive! This video shows you how to get whey from yogurt. You may use any type of dairy yogurt (cow yogurt, sheep yogurt, goat yogurt). Plain kefir can also be used … same method as shown in the video in below post.
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/separating-whey-plain-store-yogurt/