[Sca-cooks] Uses for Whey?

[Susan Lin]

I just wouldn't use whey as a substitute for lemonade - I don't care what
anyone tells you!  There is a story that years ago the cook at an event put
out the whey as lemonade - people saw it, thought it was "real" lemonade
and filled their glasses - one taste and they all threw it out - but that
didn't stop them from sitting back and watching other people suffer the
same fate.  The cook came out of the kitchen and, seeing all the whey gone,
he smiled thinking everyone loved it and refilled the pitchers.

Shoshanah

On Fri, Nov 13, 2015 at 7:54 AM, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:

> The pH is why whey is used mostly as a starter.  Sweet whey (rennet
> produced) is 5.6 or higher.  Sour (or acid) whey (acid produced) is 5.1 or
> lower.  Pure lactic acid goes below a pH of 3, but most lactic acid
> fermentations don't get that low.  Whey is extremely susceptible to
> infection, which is why whey fermentation requires a cool environment.
> Iceland is a naturally cool environment, even in summer, so the use of whey
> for preservation makes sense, especially if in continuous use.  In general,
> pathogens don't develop in an active fermentation.
>
> When you get around to trying it, let us know how it goes, especially
> where the pH falls at various stages.
>
> Bear
>
>
> Thanks for the responses!
>
> I think the Icelandic stuff was what I had in my head.  Looking for more
> info on that, I found this scadian's blog
>
> http://medievalcheese.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-preserve-vegetables-in-whey.html?view=classic
> which at least indicates that literally pickling in 100% whey works, and
> has some archaeological support, although who knows exactly what they were
> doing in Iceland.  It seems unlikely to me that Icelanders would build
> large vats to store whey if they were only using it as a culture starter.
>
> Ricotta is a good idea, and I've done it, but it doesn't really solve the
> problem of having too much whey because it just extracts protein from it.
> You still have the whey afterwards.  My goal is to use the whey for
> something constructive and not pour it down the drain.
>
> When I get to trying this I'll monitor the pH of the whey - if it doesn't
> get below 4.6 fairly quickly there's a food safety risk from botulism
> toxin.  I suspect the whey will be more than acidic enough, though.
>
>
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