In the press now is a nice Parmesan.  I am a little worried about it because I followed the directions, but the curds did not look like rice like the instructions said they would.  It is my first batch, and the first batch is always an experiment.  I also have four more gallons of milk in the fridge that are ready for a nice batch of cheddar tomorrow (and a batch of feta as well).  I digress though.  More on cheese later.

With all of this cheesemaking, I have whey coming out my ears.  I feel like it is a crime to throw it all out, but I cannot find enough things to do with it.  I have been giving it to the chickens because they need the extra protein, and it is not bad for them to get the good minerals in the whey as well.  I’m not up to drinking it myself yet, though I may get to trying it sometime soon.

I am also giving some of the whey to the dog.  The cat I am currently cat-sitting is also getting whey to drink.

It is good for making ricotta, but I find that after a full day of cheesemaking for a hard cheese that I just can’t get to using the whey to make another cheese.  Besides, the yield on the whey ricotta is just not as high as I would like to see (I have only been getting a couple of tablespoons of cheese per gallon of whey).

One excellent use for it is to put it in bread.  Substitute it for water.  It helps the dough take on a tangy flavor, which is desirable for the kinds of bread that I make.  It just seems to make it more flavorful on a lot of fronts.

I use whey anywhere in the kitchen where water could be used.  I use it to steam veggies, I use it as the base of a chicken stock, literally, anywhere water can be used.

It is also useful for fermenting when making sourkraut or pickles.

I have almost 8 gallons of the stuff sitting around, and I am only using a gallon or so a day, but with the cheesemaking, I am adding at least two gallons per day to my stash.  A girl can only make so much bread and chicken stock.

Come and get it.  The whey is for sale for $1 per quart.