A new day

Hello,
Remember yesterday's yogurt? It's really tasty with a little blueberry preserves!

Cream Cheese
Today I've dumped a quart of yogurt into a strainer lined with a cotton kitchen towel. The strainer is sitting on top of a bowl to catch the liquid that drains out. After about a hour, I gathered the corners of the towel and hung it from a cabinet knob over the bowl. It will hang there for 6-48 hours. What's left over is Fromage Blanc, a lower fat variety of cream cheese because it is made from whole milk instead of cream. The liquid is cultured whey. Whey has a lot of minerals and can be added to many things in the kitchen. Think whey protein powder.

QUICK TIP: It is reported that one tablespoon of whey in a little water can ease digestion.

Try using whey instead of water for a lemonade that is refreshing and full of nutrients.

Sour Cream
My second project was to make sour cream from my raw milk. To do this, I needed to purchase a small container of good quality buttermilk from the store. In a quart jar, I add 2 cups of raw milk and 2T. buttermilk. Put the lid on and shake. I'll let this stand in a warm place for 24-48 hours.

Buttermilk
Traditional buttermilk is what's left over after making butter. But my husband likes to drink cultured buttermilk.
I'll mix 2 cups of raw milk with 1/4 cup of my store bought buttermilk and cover. Like the sour cream, this will rest in a warm place for 24 hours. Now that I've made my own buttermilk, I won't need to buy it the next time. I'll use 1/4 cup of the homemade buttermilk to start my next batch.

All three projects took only minutes to prepare and tomorrow I'll have lots of good quality, additive free dairy products for my family. And I should add that all this was done at a fraction of the cost to buy all these things at the grocery store.

Try it! Enjoy!