MORE FOOD-BASED PROBIOTICS
If you’ve seen my recipe for the best lacto-fermented mayonnaise ever but don’t know how to get it fresh liquid whey (The probiotics contained in fresh liquid whey are used for lacto-fermentation of mayonnaise, grains, vegetables, etc.) Then you can find detailed instructions here:
If you remove the liquid whey from the yogurt, you’re automatically left with cream cheese! And like anything, once you do it, you’ll realize how easy it is. Personally, I don’t eat cow’s milk, but you can also use goat’s, coconut or soy milk yogurt.
Note: If you use an alternative source of milk, you can still strain it to get a firmer “cheese” from it, but you won’t get whey from coconut or soy yogurt.
1. Line a sieve with cheesecloth, a finely woven kitchen towel, or a coffee filter and place the lined sieve over a large bowl. Empty a large carton of whole milk yogurt (2-3 cups yogurt) into the lined strainer and let it sit there for an hour while the whey liquid drips into the bowl below.
2. Then take the sides of the cheesecloth together and tie them around a long wooden spoon so that the bundled yogurt is now hanging from the wooden spoon. Then balance the wooden spoon over the edge of a tall jug and let the yogurt hang and all the whey drip out. Let it hang like this for 3-4 hours. The extra height uses gravity to extract more fresh liquid whey from the yogurt.
3. Meanwhile, pour the whey that has already dripped out into the large bowl (that was under the strainer), place it in a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the refrigerator. You can use this whey to soak (lacto-ferment) mayonnaise, porridge, quinoa and other grains. If your jar is sterile, the whey will probably last three months in the refrigerator.
4. After the yogurt has hung over the tall pitcher for 3-4 hours, pour the whey that has accumulated in the pitcher into the same jar of whey in your fridge. The smooth, creamy cheese left in the cheesecloth is now yogurt cream cheese! Place in a glass or ceramic container with a lid and store in the refrigerator.
This cream cheese can be used plain to replace sour cream or to make salad dressings or dips like Jini’s Ranch Dressing, or mixed with garlic and herbs and spread on crackers or bread. Here is a quick recipe for herb cream cheese:
Herbal yogurt cream cheese recipe
- 3/4 cup yogurt cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil (or parsley or cilantro)
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- Optional: 1 – 2 teaspoons olive oil
Mix all ingredients (except olive oil) in a small bowl.
Then, if you want a looser, creamier consistency, add olive oil a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Serve with crackers or chopped vegetables.
As I mentioned before, the whey can then be used to make lacto-fermented mayonnaise, lacto-fermented vegetables and to soak porridge, quinoa or other grains (to pre-digest and remove phytates).
Which yogurt should I use?
Yogurt is an excellent source of protein, calcium, riboflavin, phosphorus and vitamin B 12 and actually contains more calcium and protein than milk. Plus, it’s naturally rich in nutrients that feed the good bacteria in our digestive system, with the beneficial bacterial cultures added during production.
Yogurt can be made from soy milk, coconut milk, cow’s milk, or goat’s milk in full-fat, low-fat, or skim milk versions. Goat’s milk yogurt has smaller fat and protein globules than cow’s milk, making it easier to digest for some people.
If you consume cow or goat milk, please consider how the animals are treated and how long they are allowed to keep their young. Check out this post for information and ideas on more humane dairy practices.
Original post January 2012. Last updated June 2020.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
