Can I use just whey as a yogurt starter??

[Wifezilla]

...or do I have to have yogurt?

Hubby and son ate what I was saving for a starter and now I have all this milk and cream....

 

[freemotion]

I would love to know, too, and you are just the woman to find out for us!!!

I would think that there would be some good beasties in the whey....enough? No clue. Give it a try with a small batch and report your results here, please!

 

[patandchickens]

I guess the first question would be, whey from what.

Whey from something uncultured (like from an acid-coagulated 'cheese') you would be depending just on whatever wild bacteria happened to be there and I wouldn't give it good odds. Whey from cultured chees? Yogurt starter uses thermophilic bacteria, that's why you have to keep it warm in a thermos or whatever -- some cheeses use thermophilic cultures but most do not. I would guess that using a thermophilic cheese culture in a yogurt process would give you something somewhat more yogurt-like than using a mesophilic (preferring cooler temperatures) cheese culture. Especially if you use the standard yogurtmaking process. And different cultures give you different products in terms of flavor and texture so they are not really substitutable in terms of same results.

Try it and see, but I would not hold my breath for it to work superbly

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey wifez!

any update on this?? i'd love to hear

i think you'd get kind of a cheese thing - i keep my whey for the hogs/hens and when i add fresh milk it set up like a cheese. we call it chicken cheese and they love it
;-)

also - dont know if you saw but i used your straining tip for my yogurt and i'm HOOKED. wow! i've been using the extra firm batch as cream cheeese - yumO! drizzled with our honey - its breakfast heaven

 

[Wifezilla]

whey from what

Frozen whey from a previous batch of yogurt. This is what I have been using to lacto-ferment veggies.

any update on this?? i'd love to hear

Haven't tried it yet. I have a few days before I have to start worrying about the milk or cream

i used your straining tip for my yogurt and i'm HOOKED. wow!

Cool!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I've missed your straining tip WZ, was it on the fermenting thread?

 

[patandchickens]

whey from what

Frozen whey from a previous batch of yogurt. This is what I have been using to lacto-ferment veggies.

Ah... you know, that definitely might work, I think your main problem would be encroachment from other microorganisms that seeded themselves into the culture (since it was not prepared in a sterile way). There is probably a limit to how many generations of reculturing you can get away with that way... but for a single generation (multiple times, from different frozen cubes or whatever) it really might work.

For sure try it and tell us what happens!

Pat

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey wifez - did this work for you???

i was inspired and used the whey from all the yogurt cheese i'm making/eating... and it didnt work a smidge! all i got was chunky milk in even more whey
:-(

if yours worked lemme know and how you did it