Are there any cheese makers here? Help needed with calorie count.

sefajane1
sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
edited 2:52AM in Recipes
Hi, I used to make my own goat cheese (pre weight loss) but my supply of fresh milk ran out so I've not made it since January.
I started calorie counting at the end of February. I'm at maintenance now (hurrah! 😁) but of course I need to still count calories.
I've just found another goat milk source and really want to start making cheese again but, I have no idea how to calculate the calories in the finished product 😟
I'll know the calories of the ingredients but after making the cheese these calories will be split between the actual cheese and the whey.
I'll use the whey for other things (soups, stews etc) so it won't go to waste but I presume they'll be a higher calorie count for the cheese and a much lesser calorie count for the whey but, how do I differentiate??

Replies

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,994 Member
    And the bacteria making the cheese will digest most of the lactose in the milk so end product will be less calories than the ingredients, I would think.
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    And the bacteria making the cheese will digest most of the lactose in the milk so end product will be less calories than the ingredients, I would think.

    I didn't even give that a thought! The basic ingredients are whole milk and lemon juice. I'll add herbs and spices after the curds have formed, so that bit is easy to calculate.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,994 Member
    Maybe you can estimate by comparing whole milk calories vs whole milk yoghurt to get an idea how much lactose the bacteria consumes.
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    That's an idea but I'll still need to know the calories for the whey too 😕
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    sefajane1 wrote: »
    That's an idea but I'll still need to know the calories for the whey too 😕

    This is what I do when I am in a similar position (I make mozzarella and ricotta): I count all the calories in the cheese and log it accordingly, then I ignore the calories in the whey because I already counted it in the cheese.
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    sefajane1 wrote: »
    That's an idea but I'll still need to know the calories for the whey too 😕

    This is what I do when I am in a similar position (I make mozzarella and ricotta): I count all the calories in the cheese and log it accordingly, then I ignore the calories in the whey because I already counted it in the cheese.

    Thanks for responding, it's greatly appreciated. It's great that that method works for you nut I'd really like to know the different values for the different products. I don't have a huge daiky calorie allowance (I'm 51, female, short sedentary) so I like to be as precise as I can be. Ignoring the whey calories would bother me, so too would "paying" more calories for the cheese than they actually"cost", if you see what I mean?
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Blessed are the cheese makers.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    Perhaps use this to help approximate:
    https://www.livestrong.com/article/425693-the-nutrition-in-liquid-whey/
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    sefajane1 wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    sefajane1 wrote: »
    That's an idea but I'll still need to know the calories for the whey too 😕

    This is what I do when I am in a similar position (I make mozzarella and ricotta): I count all the calories in the cheese and log it accordingly, then I ignore the calories in the whey because I already counted it in the cheese.

    Thanks for responding, it's greatly appreciated. It's great that that method works for you nut I'd really like to know the different values for the different products. I don't have a huge daiky calorie allowance (I'm 51, female, short sedentary) so I like to be as precise as I can be. Ignoring the whey calories would bother me, so too would "paying" more calories for the cheese than they actually"cost", if you see what I mean?

    I do. It works for me mostly because I live alone and will eventually eat 100% of both the cheese and the whey. I do the same thing with recipes for things like stews: I am very precise in weighing all ingredients that go into the stew. I eyeball the portions because I will be eating 100% of it so being slightly over one day and slightly under in another all balances out. I lost over 40 lb so it definitely works for me.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    The USDA nutrient database has entries for both acid fluid whey and sweet fluid whey. (I'm not a cheesemaker, so I have no idea which you end up with.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list/?manu=&fgcd=&ds=SR&qlookup=Whey, sweet, fluid

    For the cheese, I would use an entry for a similar commercial cheese. Is this a fresh cheese or an aged cheese that you're making?
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    The USDA nutrient database has entries for both acid fluid whey and sweet fluid whey. (I'm not a cheesemaker, so I have no idea which you end up with.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list/?manu=&fgcd=&ds=SR&qlookup=Whey, sweet, fluid

    For the cheese, I would use an entry for a similar commercial cheese. Is this a fresh cheese or an aged cheese that you're making?

    This. The cheese you make at home won't be that different from the kind produced commercially, and the calories should be just about the same. My sister has tried making her own cheese using a similar recipe to yours, and she did fine (that is, her weight loss rate wasn't affected) using an entry for commercially prepared cheese.
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    The USDA nutrient database has entries for both acid fluid whey and sweet fluid whey. (I'm not a cheesemaker, so I have no idea which you end up with.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list/?manu=&fgcd=&ds=SR&qlookup=Whey, sweet, fluid

    For the cheese, I would use an entry for a similar commercial cheese. Is this a fresh cheese or an aged cheese that you're making?

    It's a fresh cheese, it'll last about 1 week in the fridge (if I'm lucky! 😉)

    Thanks for the USDA link 👍 I really don't know about the whey but, as it will contain lemon juice I'll opt for the acid choice.

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    sefajane1 wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    The USDA nutrient database has entries for both acid fluid whey and sweet fluid whey. (I'm not a cheesemaker, so I have no idea which you end up with.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list/?manu=&fgcd=&ds=SR&qlookup=Whey, sweet, fluid

    For the cheese, I would use an entry for a similar commercial cheese. Is this a fresh cheese or an aged cheese that you're making?

    It's a fresh cheese, it'll last about 1 week in the fridge (if I'm lucky! 😉)

    Cheese, fresh, queso fresco
    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/01228?fgcd=&manu=&format=&count=&max=25&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=Cheese,+fresh,+queso+fresco&ds=SR&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=

    Farmers cheese

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list/?manu=&fgcd=&ds=BF&qlookup=FARMER CHEESE, UPC: 710228340214
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