Whey Caramel (Easy Low Waste Recipe for Leftover Whey)
A sweet, slightly tangy and rich homemade caramel sauce made using the leftover whey you don't know what to do with after making homemade ricotta or other cheeses. This recipe uses up all that leftover whey at once so you don't ever have to worry about wasting it again!
Equipment
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
- 4 cups leftover whey
- 1 ½-2 cups granulated sugar (see Note 1)
- ¼ cup cold unsalted butter (salted butter works too, just skip the pinch of salt)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, simmer the whey over low heat until reduced by about half; make sure the heat is low so it doesn’t burn (this should take about an hour - just leave it over low heat and you don’t need to stir it or watch it constantly)
- Once it’s reduced, add the sugar and stir until dissolved then slightly increase the heat and bring to a gentle simmer
- Allow to simmer over low heat until caramelized - DO NOT stir it again while it’s caramelizing as it could crystallize, just leave it over low heat so it doesn’t burn (you’ll know when it’s almost done because it will bubble and foam slightly)
- After about an hour and when the mixture is a golden amber color and has thickened slightly, stir in the cold butter until melted
- Remove from heat and stir in the salt and vanilla
- Transfer to a glass or other heatproof container and allow to cool (it will continue to thicken as it cools)
- Store in the fridge and use within 2 weeks and use it for desserts, with ice cream, on toast or just on its own
Notes
Note 1: For a tangier caramel, use 1 ½ cups of sugar and for a sweeter caramel, use 2 cups. You can also use light or dark brown sugar for a richer caramel.