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It's using the whey that's a by product of the cheesemaking process. It's currently disposed of, either on fields as fertilizer or in landfills.

Pfhreak 7y ago
Ah, in that case, carry on. (I've often wondered what to do with whey leftover from yogurt or ricotta making at home.)
- wiredfool 7y ago
  You can try making Norwegian brown cheese (https://cheese.com/geitost/ https://cheese.com/geitost/) , which is essentially browned whey.
  - poulsbohemian 7y ago
    Having made this, a word of warning... it's a lot of work. It's been a number of years ago now, but I recall it being hours of constant stiring under low heat so that the cheese doesn't scorch but you reach the expected consistency.
    - zwieback 7y ago
      Maybe a good use for a slow cooker? Probably can delay the stirring to he very end. Or use an automatic pot stirrer.
      - RussianCow 7y ago
        You'd probably have the same issue with a slow cooker, as the walls still get pretty hot, but an immersion circulator should do the trick.
  - Pfhreak 7y ago
    Most of these recipes call for sweet whey, which is apparently a different thing than the whey you get from making yogurt. ("Acid" whey).
- hinkley 7y ago
  You’re not entirely wrong though. We produce way too much milk and then struggle to sell it for a profit. If we produced less, there would be less waste. If we use more byproducts even at a modest price, it reduces the back pressure and you get the same amount of product for longer or even more of it. So the question I suppose is, does the new use remove any major “con” from the item in question, shifting the cost-benefit enough to defend such quantities?
- joncrane 7y ago
  Isn't whey what Whey Protein Concentrate is made from? Highly sought after in bodybuilding/fitness circles.
  - nkingsy 7y ago
    That’s “sweet” whey. Acid whey from eg Greek yogurt is thrown out as no one has found a profitable channel for it yet. Edit: made my own Greek yogurt a couple of times, tried to sneak it into my kids smoothies, use it to soak beans, mix it with my kids milk. No dice, just really sour stuff.
    - leni536 7y ago
      I think the swiss soda drink, Rivella, is made from acid whey. I guess if you add enough sugar/sweetener then you can sell it.
  - ogre_codes 7y ago
    > Whey Protein Concentrate From the article: > Large, corporate-owned creameries can afford the expensive equipment that converts whey into profitable products such as protein powder. But at his family-owned, 20-cow farmstand creamery, Koch and his wife simply fed their whey into the fields through a nutrient management system. Smaller creameries lack the capital to buy equipment to create whey powder and even if they had it, few people would buy small-brand protein powder. It is also apparently not worth shipping & selling to companies with the equipment so it ends up as an expense to dispose of it.

Pfhreak 7y ago

Ah, in that case, carry on. (I've often wondered what to do with whey leftover from yogurt or ricotta making at home.)

wiredfool 7y ago
You can try making Norwegian brown cheese (https://cheese.com/geitost/ https://cheese.com/geitost/) , which is essentially browned whey.
- poulsbohemian 7y ago
  Having made this, a word of warning... it's a lot of work. It's been a number of years ago now, but I recall it being hours of constant stiring under low heat so that the cheese doesn't scorch but you reach the expected consistency.
  - zwieback 7y ago
    Maybe a good use for a slow cooker? Probably can delay the stirring to he very end. Or use an automatic pot stirrer.
    - RussianCow 7y ago
      You'd probably have the same issue with a slow cooker, as the walls still get pretty hot, but an immersion circulator should do the trick.
- Pfhreak 7y ago
  Most of these recipes call for sweet whey, which is apparently a different thing than the whey you get from making yogurt. ("Acid" whey).
hinkley 7y ago
You’re not entirely wrong though. We produce way too much milk and then struggle to sell it for a profit. If we produced less, there would be less waste. If we use more byproducts even at a modest price, it reduces the back pressure and you get the same amount of product for longer or even more of it. So the question I suppose is, does the new use remove any major “con” from the item in question, shifting the cost-benefit enough to defend such quantities?
joncrane 7y ago
Isn't whey what Whey Protein Concentrate is made from? Highly sought after in bodybuilding/fitness circles.
- nkingsy 7y ago
  That’s “sweet” whey. Acid whey from eg Greek yogurt is thrown out as no one has found a profitable channel for it yet. Edit: made my own Greek yogurt a couple of times, tried to sneak it into my kids smoothies, use it to soak beans, mix it with my kids milk. No dice, just really sour stuff.
  - leni536 7y ago
    I think the swiss soda drink, Rivella, is made from acid whey. I guess if you add enough sugar/sweetener then you can sell it.
- ogre_codes 7y ago
  > Whey Protein Concentrate From the article: > Large, corporate-owned creameries can afford the expensive equipment that converts whey into profitable products such as protein powder. But at his family-owned, 20-cow farmstand creamery, Koch and his wife simply fed their whey into the fields through a nutrient management system. Smaller creameries lack the capital to buy equipment to create whey powder and even if they had it, few people would buy small-brand protein powder. It is also apparently not worth shipping & selling to companies with the equipment so it ends up as an expense to dispose of it.