Do you strain your yogurt/kefir?

Anybody strain their homemade yogurt or milk kefir?
What do you do with the whey you get?

Just curious to know what others do with it :rolleyes:

When I was making yogurt, no, I didn't. Not much whey was produced when I got it all right, anyway. If the yogurt didn't incubate correctly (got too cold while it was supposed to be staying around 100°F for 8-12 hours), it would be clumpy and mostly whey. In that case, I'd still eat it all.

I've read that some people will add it to smoothies since there's plenty of good nutrition in it. You could also bake with it (use it instead of water or some other liquids).

I use kefir mostly in smoothies, so I stir the whey back in. But I make cheese occasionally, which produces a lot of whey. I've used it instead of water in cooking, but that doesn't come close to using it up. So usually I end up pouring it on my vegetable garden, figuring that way the nutrition in it doesn't go completely to waste.

If you eat beans or things like buckwheat, it is good for soaking them in to reduce anti nutrients.

Guess what? I am going to do exactly that, this week. I've still got some dried black beans that I had bought before I became primal. I was curious to check if somebody had the same idea. Apparently yes ;)
I regularly use the filtered whey to control the fermentation of cabbage, for real homemade sauerkraut. It takes a couple of weeks before it's ready but the taste is...

Anybody every tried to do sourdough with kefir whey instead of plain water?

I'd imagine that would kick-start the starter, since there's going to be a host of bacteria and or yeasts still in the whey. I am curious to see just how that'd turn out, actually. I'm planning to begin my own home-made starter sometime soon and was wondering what different effects could be achieved with some kind of liquid additive. At the time, I was thinking pu'er tea, but I'm not sure just how much of the fermentating organisms remain after proper infusion.

M.

I use the whey for lacto-fermentation. I make my own coleslaw using it. It's supposed to add a lot of good stuff into your gut. I throw some of the coleslaw onto my salad.

Good idea; while making dinner tonight I was reminded of this whey-using recipe:

[url=http://ournourishingroots.com/real-food-101-how-to-make-lacto-fermented-ketchup/]Real Food 101: How to Make Lacto-Fermented Ketchup | OUR NOURISHING ROOTS[/url]

M.

[QUOTE=MEversbergII;1069585]At the time, I was thinking pu'er tea, but I'm not sure just how much of the fermentating organisms remain after proper infusion.
M.[/QUOTE]

I guess none... it is sufficient to bring water (or milk) to 70 °C for 5 minutes to sterilize it.

However yes, drinking it is indeed another option I considered: I add some stevia and cool it. I guess the whey you get from strained yogurt is the same kind of proteins you get in the [I]Whey![/I] powdered proteins, while the cheese cream is caseins instead.

[QUOTE=MEversbergII;1069926]Good idea; while making dinner tonight I was reminded of this whey-using recipe:

[url=http://ournourishingroots.com/real-food-101-how-to-make-lacto-fermented-ketchup/]Real Food 101: How to Make Lacto-Fermented Ketchup | OUR NOURISHING ROOTS[/url]

M.[/QUOTE]

Great website, thanks!