Whey and Ginger Ale Recipes

Whey: Purchase one container of vanilla, organic, whole milk, live culture yogurt. Put a glass bowl on the counter. Put a mesh strainer in it. I then line it with cheesecloth, or you can use coffee filters. dump the yogurt into the strainer and it will separate the whey into the bowl. If you can tie the cheesecloth to a wooden spoon and hang over the bowl, you continue to gather whey and end up with the best cream cheese you have ever tasted. Spread on toast and enjoy :)

Another way to make whey from a friend's blog:

Whey is the liquid that drains out of yogurt when you strain it. I used some of my old snack bags that aren't so pretty anymore.  I retired them from snacks and reused them as strainers. I make sure I wash the bag really well and then place it over a glass.  I then used  the velcro to tighten and secure it in place.  Many recipes call for cheese cloth or other fabric to strain things out.   I have been really impressed with the 100% Unbleached Osnaburg Fabric that these bags are made out of. My plain pack of snack bags would work really well also.

Nourishing Traditions Ginger Ale: 3/4 cup ginger (peeled, chopped or grated), 1/2 cup lime juice, 1/4 to 1/2 cup Rapadura or Palm Sugar (an unrefined sugar, usually brown and crumbly, dry, not like brown sugar) , 2 teaspoons sea salt, 1/4 cup whey, 2 quarts water. Place all ingredients in a glass jar, stir well and cover tightly. Let sit for 2-3 days.

This recipe is for 2 quarts. However, I make it in a gallon jar and then I have room to grow.

 

Remember that cultured foods have a tendency to have a "bloom" on the top.  Just use a wooden spoon to "scum" it off.  It is not harmful, just tastes disgusting.  Any cultured food will have a tendency to develop this.

Usually I make this up about once per week and just leave it culturing on my counter. I keep "building" on my old stuff, and once in a while I have to either split the jar or give a bunch of the ginger to the chickens. I do NOT peel the ginger because I like the oils in the skin.  This does make it have more scum on the top.

After culturing, I strain, then I mix one part ginger ale, one part water to two parts juice. I make fresh juice or buy Odwalla juice. The Odwalla pomegranate lime is really good.  My personal favorite is either Odwalla Lime or to make orange juice from blood oranges.  Both taste so good to me.

I then "reculture" this mixture for NO MORE than 6-8 hours, then refrigerate. As long as you keep it TIGHTLY capped it will be fizzy and really good. You just need about 1/3 of a cup with each meal. It keeps about a week and has different healing properties than the sauerkraut, which is probably one of the most healing foods on the plane.

WARNING:  BE CAREFUL WHEN OPENING.  I USUALLY UNSCREW JUST A LITTLE, THEN RETIGHTEN QUICKLY AND WAIT A MINUTE.  I DO THIS TWO OR THREE TIMES.  SOMETIMES  BUT NOT ALWAYS, IT WILL "VOLCANO" OUT AND YOU CAN LOSE YOUR JUICE.  BE CAUTIOUS WHEN OPENING! 

Path to Progress:   Study a bit about vitamins