Whey Cheeses

whey cheeses which are made in many countries, are a useful way of using up the enormous amounts of whey left over from normal cheese-making. One of the main kinds is made from the proteins extracted by heating the whey. These cheeses, which include ricotta, Sérac (see beaufort), Greek Manouri and Mizithra, are usually eaten fresh. The Corsican cheese brocciu is eaten fresh but may also be kept over several months when it become brocciu passu.

To make Norwegian mysost (literally ‘whey cheese’) the whey is boiled for hours to reduce it to a brown and solid mass. A little milk or cream is often added to the whey before boiling. Mysost made from goat’s whey is known as geitost. All kinds are quite sweet in taste, and rather resemble cheesy fudge; a likeness increased by the colour, which ranges from very pale to dark brown.