Use an abundance of whey to make this delicious whey caramel sauce, made quite easily at home with just a few simple ingredients!
For anyone who has made their own homemade yogurt, fresh, soft cheese or even ricotta cheese, you probably know that the process results in a lot of whey.
If you are using a full gallon of raw milk to make yogurt or fresh homemade cheese, then you’ll have at least half of the milk separate into whey.
Whey lasts about 2 weeks in the fridge. The best part about having these jars of whey is that you can use for a lot of things.
Use as a marinade, in your skin care, soaking beans or soaking grains. Though I typically use it to rinse my hair every few days, it has been working wonderful on my acid-loving plants in the garden.
But since that requires so little whey, I usually have quite a bit left. One of my favorite ways to use it is to make this delicious whey caramel. Yum!
What is Whey?
Whey is the byproduct when you strain your homemade yogurt or make homemade cheese. Making fresh cheese with lemon juice or vinegar results in acidic whey, which has quite a few uses around the house (as a marinade, soaking beans and even fermentation), garden and even in your beauty routine.
Whey contains milk sugar, some minerals, and a little protein.
It contains glycolmacropeptide, which helps lower your appetite by promoting the secretion of hormone cholecystokinin – which means it helps you stay fuller, longer, without eating all too much.
If you have access to raw milk, then you can use that gallon to make your own homemade cheese or yogurt, then turn around and make ricotta, and then also use the leftover whey to make caramel sauce.
You didn’t know you could get so many uses from a gallon of raw milk – did you? ☺️
How to Make Whey Caramel
Using whey to make caramel is a fairly simple but lengthy process. All of the lactose (sugar that gives milk its sweet taste) is contained in the whey. When you cook the whey for several hours, the whey takes on a caramel flavor.
You can caramelize whey by cooking on low heat for several hours, all while stirring frequently, but the high concentration of lactose will result in a grainy whey caramel. To help battle this we add sugar as we cook the whey down – which prevents the whey caramel from becoming grainy.
If you are making caramel from sweet whey, it’s best to add a little lemon juice to prevent the sugar from crystalizing as the water evaporates. If you are using acidic whey, you shouldn’t have a problem — using whey and sugar alone will yield a fantastic result without any more acid added.
Start by adding your whey to a stockpot and simmering on low/medium for around an hour until it is reduced by almost half.
Then add the sugar and the butter, and stir frequently on low/medium until dissolved. Turn the heat up ever so slightly to medium, and keep a close eye as it starts a low boil.
I kept mine at medium, and it took around 45 minutes to get to this point – don’t walk off too far. It’s best to tackle things in the kitchen while you wait than allow it to scorch the pan.
Over time, the mixture will slowly become darker and thicker – as it thickens it will start to foam, but by stirring constantly during this stage you can keep it from foaming over the pot.
Be cautious – because it thickens so quickly and if you aren’t watching you will risk burning the caramel.
This whey caramel results in a lighter version of the thicker dulce de lech that you could use and drizzle on ice cream, drizzled on desserts or even pancakes, or gifted to neighbors for the holidays.
Refrigerate the caramel and use within 2 weeks. Once refrigerated, it will harden up – simply reheat to enjoy as pictured above.
Whey Caramel
Ingredients
- 2 quarts sweet or acidic whey
- 1 1/2 C. organic cane sugar
- 1 vanilla bean seeds only
- 4 oz butter
- 1/4 C. lemon juice* only if using sweet whey
Instructions
- Add whey to a heavy stockpot on low/medium heat and simmer down at least 1/2 over the course of an hour. (Low and slow is better than risking it by scorching the pan on too high of a temp).
- Once reduced, add the sugar, vanilla bean seeds, butter, and lemon juice (if using sweet whey). Stir occasionally on low/medium until well combined, then slowly raise the heat to medium.
- Stir frequently, as over the next 30-45 minutes the whey will slowly start to caramelize and reduce to a syrupy consistency. Be patient because it can scorch if left unattended.
- The whey will slowly change colors and become more brown, then start to foam - continue to stir more often as it caramelizes incredibly quickly. Once it thickens to the point that it coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and stir as it cools.
- The whey caramel will thicken considerably as it cools.
Notes
Cover and refrigerate whey once cooled. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
I collect whey as I make yogurt and have been saving it up refrigerated until I had enough to use. When you say “fresh whey” does that mean not refrigerated over 2-3 months?
Alice, you can definitely use that whey without an issue. Just keep an eye on it as it simmers down – it’ll take a few hours to reduce, but once it gets to a certain point don’t wander off too far and forget it’s on the stove. I save up my whey every week and make this caramel when I have a significant amount of whey collected. It is so good!
We are sugar free. I am currently on a camdida cleanse so even natural sugars are out. Would I be able to use stevia or swerve in place of cane sugar, do you think?
Amy, you can definitely try. I haven’t tried personally but it should work out ok 🙂
What does sweet or acidic whey mean? Can you can it for longer storage?
Sweet whey is a byproduct of rennet-based hard cheeses while acidic whey is the byproduct of cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. I haven’t tried canning this for longer storage!
I now know what to do with all my leftover whey!! Super tasty!!
Yes!!! It’s so good as well! It’s my favorite way to use leftover whey after yogurt!
Is there something else I can replace the vanilla bean with? I don’t have that.
Jessica, you can skip it altogether. Sometimes I add a tsp or two of vanilla extract as it simmers down (same time I add the sugar/butter).
I’m making this right now!! Gave it 5 stars already because ALL your recipes are amazing so I know this one will be too!!
You are so funny Carla. So glad you love that caramel. I like it too! 🙂
I ended up with about 2 cups. I used whey from yogurt so added lemon juice. The caramel has a pretty strong lemon flavor. Can I leave it out? I will eat it but my husband may not. It took 3 hours. 1 1/2 hours to cook down each time.
Yes, you can leave the lemon juice out. I don’t put it in mine because it makes it too strong. My kids eat the caramel on top of their yogurt and ice cream.
We are getting a lot of whey right now and I wondered if I can can this in small jars? Have you tried pressure canning the caramel? Can’t wait to try it!
I haven’t tried pressure canning it at all! I had so much whey for a while.. my kids eat yogurt like crazy. Back at the holidays I would save the whey and make one huge batch of whey caramel with a little vanilla extract and give as gifts to neighbors/friends. I am not sure about pressure canning it though.. you would prob want to check with Ball canning and see what they think.
My kids use this caramel on ice cream, and over the top of their yogurt.
Geat idea. Just wanted add in here that you can use your whey to keep your fresh cheeses longer and tastier, such as feta, mozzerella, ricotta and halloumi. Put your cheese in a deep container and add whey to the container enough to cover your cheese. Close the container with its lid and place it into your fidge. You can keep your cheeses about a week with the same whey, after that replace the whey with a new batch. The cheeses will keep their form (hardiness or softness) and get even tastier. Keep them this way by renewing the way until they are finished. This process will also reduced the amount of salt in the cheese, so if you prefer to keep the salt, add a couple of tsp fulls of salt into the container.
You sure can! I use it to keep my mozzarella fresh too!