Whey cheeses
Ricotta, brunost, mysost, anthotyros and urda: made from the whey left over from other cheeses.
Whey cheeses are made not from milk but from the whey left behind when other cheese is made. Heated, the proteins still in the whey rise as fine curds, as in ricotta and anthotyros, or the whey is boiled down until its milk sugar caramelises, as in Norwegian brunost. Ricotta, whose name means recooked, mysost, urda, manouri and anari are part of a thrifty tradition found wherever cheese is made.
Two ways with whey
In the first method, whey is heated almost to boiling, often with a little fresh milk or acid, until its whey proteins clump and float. They are skimmed into baskets: this is ricotta in Italy, anthotyros and mizithra in Greece, urda in Romania and the Balkans, and anari in Cyprus, made from the whey of halloumi. In the second, whey is simmered for hours until most of its water is gone, leaving a brown, fudge-like paste of caramelised milk sugar that is moulded into blocks. This is brunost, brown cheese, of Norway and Sweden.
Brunost
Brunost is sliced thin with a cheese plane, a Norwegian invention, and laid on bread, waffles or crispbread. Gudbrandsdalsost blends goat's and cow's whey with cream, while geitost is made with goat's milk and whey alone. Its flavour is sweet, tangy and caramel at once. Mysost is the general Scandinavian name for whey cheese, and prim is a softer, spreadable version. Brunost is also melted into sauces for game in Norway, where its sweetness balances the meat.
Thrift and tradition
Making cheese from whey wastes less of the milk, and in mountain dairies the whey cheese was often the herders' own food while the main wheels went to market. In India, the whey from paneer and chhena is not usually made into cheese; it is kept to curdle the next batch of milk, or used to knead dough and cook dal. Some whey cheeses are salted and dried until firm, such as ricotta salata and dried mizithra, which are grated over pasta.
Worth knowing
- Ricotta: Italian whey cheese, the filling of cannoli
- Brunost: Caramelised whey cheese of Norway
- Anthotyros: Greek fresh or dried whey cheese
- Mizithra: Greek whey cheese, grated when dried
- Manouri: Creamy Greek whey cheese enriched with cream
- Urda: Whey cheese of Romania and the Balkans
- Anari: Cypriot whey cheese from halloumi making
Good to know
- Fresh ricotta and anthotyros keep only a few days; drain them before baking.
- Brunost keeps for weeks; slice it thinly with a cheese plane.
- Ricotta salata and dried mizithra grate well over pasta.
Sources and further reading
Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Whey on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
