Well, you knew I had to do it eventually, right?
The best part about having our own fresh, raw milk – as far as I’m concerned – is learning to make cheese. I approached this with some trepidation, believing it to be complicated and time-consuming and have been pleasantly surprised to discover it is neither. The ingredients that go into it are simple and the possible varieties of cheese, seemingly endless. I’ve now made about a dozen batches of raw milk cheddar and we are thoroughly enjoying them – more and more as I get better at it.
But – as you are probably aware – the by-product of cheese-making is whey. Lots and lots of whey. Because it turns out, a gallon of milk yields a small chunk of cheese and a correspondingly large pot of whey.
As I always do when faced with “what do I do?” I turned to the internet, asking the question about how best to use the whey. There are many, many answers out there. “Feed it to the chickens”. “Feed it to the pigs”. “Feed it to the dogs”. “Feed it to your tomatoes”.
I’m certain every one of these is a great option. But my first thought was that if all of these animals like whey so much, why isn’t it fit for human consumption? So, being the human guinea pigs that we are, HWA and I poured ourselves a glass each and tried it. And guess what? It is delicious!
HWA likes his straight. Good man. I like mine with a dash of ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) added to it. Sometimes I also add a teaspoon of raw honey. Ahhhhhh. So good! The ACV makes it a light and refreshing summer drink and I’ve become so addicted to it that when we run out, I truly miss it.
Recently I returned to google to answer another question: “What is the nutritional value of whey?” I liked the answer – it is rich in many essential nutrients. In fact, it is so good for us that I feel practically virtuous drinking it.
So screw the chickens, dogs and tomatoes (we don’t raise pigs). We’re keeping our whey for ourselves.
Don’t wheyt. Try it and whey for yourself wheyther tart, salty whey isn’t whey nourishing and refreshing on a hot summer day. Finally, we’d love to hear what you think about this cheese by-product and/or puns. Please whey in with your comments!
Curds and Whey
Self-Sufficiency and Assorted Hijinks 
I didn’t realize you drank the whey. What does it taste like? I liked the puns they were funny.
We’ll just have to let you try some!
Love this one! You are so resourceful and fearless! I am unfortunately allergic to whey for some reason so have to buy plant-based protein powder. It does sound rather appetizing, though. My mother made butter from our cow’s milk, but didn’t tackle making cheese that I can remember.
I’ve never heard of an allergy to whey before! I learn something new everyday. What breed of cow did you have and was that when you discovered the allergy?
I did not know I had it until a few years ago – I started taking whey protein powder along with our own Green’s supplement that we manufacture and also a beta glucan powder that we also make (see our company web site at http://www.mynurish.com). Within a short time – few weeks – all my joints swelled up and I was in quite a bit of pain and I thought I was getting arthritis or something. I did some online research about whey protein and found out that some people can have an auto-immune reaction to it. So I stopped taking it and within a few days, it began to subside and didn’t come back. I waited a couple of months and decided to try it again to see if it was just a one-time thing so started back on it. Same thing happened within a couple of weeks just like before. I stopped and it went away right away. Have done plant protein ever since and can tolerate that with no problem.
Good enough for Miss Muffet, good enough for me! I have drunk it and enjoyed it