Making cheese at home / yogurt /using the whey

I've made my own greek yogurt using regular plain yogurt, just by straining it.

There is a bit of math, weighing, and internet searching for calories in whey involved to find out the calories of the yogurt - CHeck the calorie count/ nutritional info on your pre strained tub of yogurt. Strain your yogurt. Weigh your whey. Go online to find out the calories of whey per gram. Figure out how many calories/macros are in your whey, subtract these numbers from the initial numbers of the pre strained tub of yogurt. This will give you the calorie/ nutrition count for the entire strained tub. Now figure out your serving size (eg, 100g) and divide by the calories in the strained tub.

Left over whey is great to marinate meat in. It is a wicked tenderizer!

Hi !

I have a yogurt maker since last christmas and have so much fun preparing my own yogurt ! I tried coconut, chocolat-chai tea, vanilla, orange blossom.

My favorite: orange blossom !!!! and you can make an increadible dessert with this !

VERRINE POMEGRANATA-ORANGE BLOSSOM
remove the grains of a pomegranata in a large bol filled with water. Be carefull to remove the white membranes which are bitter.
collect the grains and add some sugar (1 tbsp) with orange blossom (2 tbsp).
in a "verrine" (google it in french) pour some pomegranata to make a layer, then add pomegranata homemade yogurt to make another layer. Continue making layers until the verrine is full. finish with yogurt and decorate with some pomegranata !

my only regret, my yogurt maker does not make cheese...

I make Tvorag (Russian "pot" cheese) all the time using a gallon of 2% milk and kefir. I've used yogurt, lemon, and the other things, but I like the taste and texture from the kefir. I mix them together in a pot, heat on low heat maybe 45 minutes or around there, and sit it in the oven (not heated up) or somewhere out of the way if I'm using the oven for up to two days. Sometimes after 24 hours, I'll reheat it on the stovetop and then put it out of the way again for another 24 hours, it really just depends on what I"m doing and if I'm home or if I want the cheese sooner or later. Sorry to be so "loose" with my directions, but it's not that complicated really.

I recommend the book "Home CheeseMaking," by Ricki whose last name I cannot remember, but she's the founder of New England Cheesemaking. It's a great introduction to making cheese at home. I mostly make mozzarella, neufchatel, ricotta, yogurt, and marscapone, as I don't have a press or a good place to age cheeses.... Mozzarella is great 'cause you can make it in a half hour, so even if unexpected guests come over for dinner, with a little time and a good garden, you can make mozzarella to go with a good salad and some tomatoes or whatever else is in season, and you'll impress people a lot, for little effort.

For yogurt, I have the Yogotherm, which New England Cheesemaking also sells. For me, It's far easier to use than ovens with lights on, cardboard boxes with light bulbs, crock pots, or even electric yogurt makers. As a bonus, it uses no electricity, which means we can still make yogurt when the power is out for 3 weeks (tends to happen about twice a year).

Anyway, the Yogotherm is basically a plastic yogurt container, and a styrofoam cooler with a hole to fit it. You heat your milk up, let it cool, add your culture (or yogurt from your last batch), close the lid, and it maintains the temperature merely through insulation.

I like to make bread with my whey. In particular focaccia, but you can use the whey to replace the water in most bread recipes. Adds some flavor and nutrition to the bread, and it'll keep longer. If I had a pig, I understand they love whey, and make tastier chops if fed whey regularly. But I don't have a pig.