I stir it back in. The liquid is whey. You make Greek yogurt by straining yogurt to concentrate and thicken it, and whey is discarded - often used to enrich animal foods. It has calcium and other beneficial bacteria. If you pour it off, you concentrate the proteins in what's left behind. If you stir it in, you add back some calcium and good bacteria. Personally I always stir my yogurt to make it smoother, and the small amount of liquid helps.

Cheryl

I've been pouring most of it out, but maybe now I will stir it back in, but I like for the yogurt to be thicker. I've been having trouble finding Greek yogurt that does not have pectin added, and I will not buy yogurt that has pectin, although I cannot remember why.

Lars

Lars,

You can keep the whey and use it for other dishes. It has a very tart taste, but if added to stock or soup, or just in place of liquid in a recipe I think you wouldn't find it too intrusive.

I don't like pectin in yogurt either. To me, this is gelatinous (or "slimy" in l2cf6's words), not a texture I like in yogurt.

Cheryl

I also use the Fage Total 0% Nonfat Yogurt. I remove the liquid (pour it on the dog's food) but, DH stirs it back in. Good idea to have separate containers :)!
I looked at the container, no Pectin listed, but it says in red letters "Once opened consumed in 5 days" Who knew????
Sometimes it gets used very fast -- other times, not so fast. It all still tastes fine. I'm assuming the good Bacteria is not active after a week exposed to the air. What do you think?

We had dined at a restaurant with friends who ordered a bunch of appetizers and we were introduced to Lebaneh cheese-- which I believe is kefir based. On Saturday I visited a mediterranean market that opened nearby. When I saw a container of "Lebni" subtitled kefir cheese, I grabbed it. YUM! Over the weekend DH had picked up a huge cauliflower and I decided to experiment by adding this cheese to a cauliflower puree. Seasoned to taste with a pinch of grated parmesan on top put me in heaven!
I'd love more ideas of ways to use this cheese. I like the texture and tart taste more than Fage.

I have been growing kefir grains for a while now. The grains make kefir cheese in less than 24 hours. I brought a start of my grains to my DS1 for his restaurant and we have now made 3 batches of cheese in the week I have been here. He drains it in cheese cloth and then uses it to fill ravioli and also to add herbs as it is exactly like Boursin. If you add sweetening to it is very like mascarpone. Very versatile . I have used it for lasagna and manicotti so far also.

If you catch the fermentation before it goes on to make cheese you can then sub it in any recipe that requires buttermilk or yogurt. It is very mild. I used it to make a batch of buttermilk biscuits and I have never had any rise and taste as great as these did.

You are losing all the nutrition if you pour off the whey. I will link to a great list of what to do with whey :)

Here is a link that might be useful: 16 ways to use whey

Fage doesn't have pectin? I don't like to buy the yogurt with pectin (or guar gum) either but it's hard to find.

I don't like the mouth feel of Greek yogurt, though DH prefers it. But when I buy the non-Greek style, he eats that too. In fact, he pretty much eats anything (I think he's a "nontaster" where I am tending towards a "supertaster"). I stir a little (1%) milk into Greek yogurt when that's all we have in the house.

ALL the nutrition, c?

OK, I'm still not stirring it back in, maybe I'll pour it into dh's container instead of down the drain.

Or use it on my hair.

Or give it to the dog.

How long does it keep separate from the yogurt before it goes bad?

I also pour it off because it makes the yogurt thinner if I stir it in, but that's if I'm eating it. If I'm cooking with it, I stir it in.

I don't really eat much yogurt, but I do cook with it a lot and I make my own. I use it in salad dressings or on potatoes in place of sour cream and mayo, and in baking in place of buttermilk so I want it thicker.

Cooper likes it, so I let him have it if I drain it off, or I use it to make porridge.

Annie

Annie - how do you make your yogurt? I've tried a couple of times following instructions someone linked to on Harvest, and it just came out really thin (even for me), even after adding nonfat dry milk.

Should have stated all the nutrition present in the whey :) Kefir is way more beneficial nutritionally than yogurt. We have discontinued yogurt since I have been reading about kefir and using it.

Kefir grains will last forever if cared for unlike yogurt which require you to purchase store yogurt and infuse it with new life.

Kefir is so much easier to ferment as it is not picky about temp , yogurt is very fussy and requires incubation at the correct temp.

Whey keeps in a jar in the fridge for up to 6 months or you can freeze it for much longer. You save it till you have enough and then you heat it to 200 degrees and add a small amount of lemon juice or vinegar and you have ricotta ! Wow.. wondrous food ! The kefir cheese keeps for up to 4 weeks !! wow...so get some grains and get started kefiring :) c

I pour it into my smoothies. But I'm buying kefir instead of yogurt now as well.

Where can I find kefir grains? Do you want to arrange a CF get together and you can teach all of us? I'm in :)

ajsmama, here it what my yogurt looks like, you can see it's plenty thick. I use the last of the current batch to make my next batch, but eventually I have to buy a new container of yogurt, it gets too sour.

I'll attach the link with instructions, from Fias County Farms.

I use the "traditional" yogurt recipe and I make a gallon of milk at a time, using skim milk from my local grocery, although I get the organic and hormone free stuff. I incubate it in my Excalibur dehydrator, but I used to do it in a cooler with hot water.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional Yogurt from Fias County Farms

Edited to remove duplicate post.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional Yogurt from Fias County Farms

This post was edited by annie1992 on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 22:51

lovestocook, you can buy kefir grains on amazon or other places on the web. I suggest you also do a search on your local craigslist for a local source: here in the Twin Cities there are several people who regularly sell them on craigslist.

Thanks Annie. I was trying to incubate in pint jars set in a crockpot of water set to LOW, then turned to WARM (I'd keep checking the temp of the water, so I thought it was fine) and covered with a thick folded bath towel.

I have a 4-tray Excalibur, I will have to see if pints will fit in there. I would have to experiment to see if one of our small coolers would keep 120F water warm enough for that long.

ajsmama, I used a small Coleman Cooler, put the jars in, added the water and wrapped the whole thing with a towel to keep the heat in, let it sit overnight. I know some people say they've had luck with a heating pad too.

I have a 9 tray Excalibur and quarts fit in there with room to spare, I could get 8 or 9 in if I tried and could use that much yogurt.

Annie

246...great idea !! How many would want to come to AL remains to be seen :)

gina ..do check in to making your own kefir rather than the purchased item. Unfortunately when they culture it and sell it in the bottled form in the stores you are sacrificing a good bit as far as nutrition . This is another instance of homemade being way cheaper and more healthy.

ajsmama...this is what I was pointing out about the kefir and its fermentation time/temp. It is not fussy at all and will not need any special incubation techniques. Also it is much more bang for your buck and you never need to buy yogurt in the store again. Hope I have managed to convert a few more :) c

TR - I only know kefir as a drink, DH likes his yogurt thick (and the kids like it with fruit) so I don't know if they'd go for it?

My mom has been battling an e coli infection for weeks (picked it up on cross-country vacation), has been on multiple anti-Bs, I told her she needs to eat yogurt and offered to go to store for her (so I can pick out live cultures instead of the artificial "whipped" stuff she buys). Kefir would probably do her a world of good, but no way would she drink it!

The longer you let the kefir set out...usually the full 48 hrs the thicker it gets till it separates into whey on the bottom and the cheese floats. If you put it in the fridge right before it reaches that stage it is quite thick and you can make smoothies out of it. We have one every AM with a banana and strawberries but you can use anything in it. It is so good .

I also just sent you an email about your Mom's problem with a link to a treatment. Hope it helps her. She is in dangerous territory with the lengthy antibiotic use. c

Thanks - haven't had time to read it, have to go get DS.

Sorry if previous was inapp. post for Cooking forum.

nope...we all have guts!!!!