Pour fresh raw milk into a clean jar. Put top on loosely. Let sit for 3-4 days in72-78 degree room. When The curds and whey separate it is time to process. This jar is ready to process.

Raw milk has all 8 of the essential amino acids our body requires. It also has two players in antibiotic protein/enzyme arsenals, lysozyme and lactoperoxidase. These two work together to get rid of undesirable bacteria and unwanted microbes.

When milk is heated(pasteurized) many of the super abilities of the milk are lost. You must read, The Health Benefits of Raw Milk www.raw-milk-facts.com/raw_milk_health_benefits.html Raw milk is life to the body.

Now let’s take raw milk and supercharge it more; Leave unpasteurized(raw) or partially pasteurized milk out on the counter for several days in warm temperatures(72-78 degrees) and you get–curds and whey the super food hero’s.  Whey is the golden clear liquid known throughout the centuries as “healing water.”  Whey from fully fermented milk no longer contains lactose, and is  full of probiotic organisms (good bacteria) that helps repair intestinal walls and a host of other healing properties. A blog post is too short to expound on the priceless commodities of whey.

Whey also contains  enzymes, minerals and vitamins to restore life and energy. I put a couple of tablespoons of whey in fruits and vegetables in the  fermentation process like sauerkraut, preserved lemons, grape leaves, carrots, beets. . .the list goes on. I have the recipes for preserved lemons and sauerkraut under recipes. I also use a whey mixture in soaking grains, beans etc.

If we’ve been exposed to sickness we take a couple of tablespoons at each meal. If any intestinal issues arise, whey is always the remedy.

The Bible says in Isaiah 7:15 that Jesus would eat curds and honey so that he would know to refuse evil and choose good. If Jesus Christ who is fully God and fully man needs to eat curds and honey, I need it more! Isaiah 7:22 is another great reference to curds and whey.

If you watched my milking goat video I mentioned that in the 1300’s millions (estimated 100-200 million) of people died of the Bubonic Plague, the only people not dying were the Jews. The Jews didn’t get the Bubonic Plague because they were eating biblically correct, they were eating fermented foods, like curds and whey and raw honey.

Whey last  over 6 months in the refrigerator. Many of the fermented foods listed above will last more than 6 months when preserved in whey. It’s incredible the health benefits.

The curds are chock full of nutrients just like the whey. They are the solid part and resemble a soft to firm cream cheese. They only  last a month in the refrigerator. If they ever discolor, throw it out. Depending on what the temperature was in your kitchen will depend on whether the curds are dry or soft. Sometimes when the whey and curds separate the curds are firm other times soft.

If the curds are soft you can use it like cream cheese and put it on your toast or use in recipes where cream cheese would have been used. If the curds are firm, use like feta cheese. For the cream cheese consistency you can add chives and garlic and it taste like Boursin cheese! After the curds are poured into a strainer you can continue to strain until very dry and it crumbles just like feta. Delicious in salads, middle eastern dishes and omelets, etc.

Once in a while the temperature in the kitchen doesn’t stay warm enough and the whey and curds don’t separate fully. You can use this as  sour cream or buttermilk in baking. Whey is never milky looking, if yours didn’t separate perfectly it is almost always that it wasn’t consistently warm enough. If it is just buttermilk looking use it in baking recipes.  I use it in our pancake batter, cakes and all my baked goods. When your house is too cool  you could use a heating blanket under the jar to keep it warm. If your house is too hot and you don’t have air conditioning you’ll have to wait for spring and fall to make it. I try to make enough in the spring and fall to last a long time.

(If you don’t have access to raw/unpasteurized milk you can make whey from store bought organic  plain whole milk yogurt. It is not as beneficial for your health but you can use it in making fermented vegetables, etc. Strain yogurt through cheesecloth. The liquid part is the whey. The solid left is more dry now than yogurt, use as cream cheese)

Put cheese cloth or thin cotton material over another clean jar. Start to pour the mixture carefully over the clothe. The whey (the liquid part came out first this time out) Now I’m scooping curds out of jar.

Straining the curds for a day. Curds stay in the strainer over a bowl to catch any drippings of leftover whey. I cover the top of the strainer and leave in refrigerator. When finished draining, the curds are firm, I break it up and I use as crumbled cheese in dishes. Looks like feta, taste milder than feta in the store.

The curds in the strainer are firm. Sometimes you’ll have one big clop of firm curds and the rest whey. That’s the easiest batches you make. Sometimes you’ll have firm curds mixed in to softer curds, the curds in the yellow cup are are soft, the consistency of thick sour cream, the jar in the background is the whey.

This is a perfect jar of whey. After it settles for a couple hours it will be a little less cloudy, a little clearer.  After you’ve separated the curds out of the whey a perfect jar of whey won’t have curds floating in it. If it has curds left in, it will shorten the life of the whey. If you are using whey to make fermented vegetables or fruit only use the purest whey–meaning no curds in it.

Here is another set of curds and whey being made. I have a thermometer in the room to keep me informed of the temperature. This set actually didn’t turn out right. I was disappointed whey I saw the middle jar getting yellow coloration on top of curds. Sometimes that happens–either the temp gets too hot or too cold.

The temperature was a constant 72-78 degrees the first 2 days, then the temperature changed drastically and ruined my curds and whey.

Yellow color is on top, I don’t like that when using goat milk. Using cow milk you may have yellow on top from the heavy cream separation. Goat milk rarely gets yellow on top. I throw it away if it has yellow, pink, green or any weird color on or in it. 99% of the time you won’t see an unusual color. Perfect curds are always a white color. This batch also didn’t separate, and it had a different smell than usual, it just didn’t do anything right.

If you have questions, leave a comment. I’ll answer anything I can. I’ve made hundreds of batches of curds and whey, but in the beginning I had a lot questions but no one to answer them! I would love to help you get healthy. Make sure all your jars, spoons etc are clean.