Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Cream, milk, yogurt, or crème fraîche
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
Step 1
Affix a candy thermometer to a large pot and pour in the milk. Over medium heat, heat the milk until it reaches between 175° to 180° F, stirring now and then to keep the milk from sticking.
Take the pot off the heat, add the lemon juice while stirring, and mix thoroughly. Cover the pot with a dish towel and let sit for 30 minutes, until you see that the curds have separated. (You can start prepping the orange vegetables—see below—as you wait!)
Set a colander lined with cheesecloth in a bowl, then slowly pour the curds and whey into the colander and allowing the whey to drain away. Wait about 5 minutes. See below for ideas of what to do with the left over whey.
Tie the four corners of the cheesecloth around the curds, then rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle, then squeeze and rinse. After completely cooled and squeezed, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with salt.
When ready to serve, stir in cream, milk, yogurt, or crème fraîche to make a creamy mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
What to do with Whey:
Bake, bake, bake! Use whey instead of water or milk in bread (like this whole wheat Pullman, a favorite in our test kitchen, or a loaf of challah), pancake or waffle batter, cornbread, flatbreads, pizza dough, and quick breads.
Whey also makes a great substitute for milk in béchamel sauce.
Add whey to boiling water for pasta or potatoes (or replace all the water with whey). Or make your morning oatmeal or grits (or polenta, or rice) with whey.
And then mash those whey-boiled potatoes and thin the mash with some more whey.
Use whey as a marinade for meats.
You can also use your whey to make more ricotta (which will make more whey, from which you can make more ricotta...)
Whey makes for a very refreshing drink (many people drink it post-workout). Gulp it down "neat" for a tangy drink, or add a bit of honey, maple syrup, or juice—or add it to a smoothie.
You can also add it as part of the liquid in a pot of soup or stew.
Try pickling things in it! This is called lacto-fermentation.
If you have whey way more than you think you'll use in one go, pour it into a plastic container or jar (or ice cube tray) and pop it in the freezer to use gradually. Or, says Savorykitchen, water your plants with it!