[amurmann]

I actually was faced with the same problem a little while ago. I started making my own Greek yoghurt once a week at home. So I started having to throw out these big amounts of whey. That felt very wasteful, so I started to do some research into what I could do with the whey. It turns out to be a great substitute in many recipes that call for buttermilk (pancakes, mashed potatoes). It also is great in smoothies. Apparently you can even make ricotta cheese from it. Last weekend I actually still had enough yoghurt, but made yoghurt because I was out of whey! It's great stuff and I haven't even been able yet to make any ricotta, since I don't have enough left after all the other now mandatory use cases. I am really surprised that the whey is so acidic. Mine at least doesn't taste that sour. I would like some explanation for that. However, cultures used by these big corporations also aren't real, sustainable greek yoghurt cultures. You can use the culture from commercial yoghurt as a starter for your own yoghurt and go from there. However, the culture will die eventually, since they are bred for maximum consistent result in a laboratory like environment. I wonder if that has to do with it.

The topic of fermentation is super interesting. I can throng lay recommend to everyone o read Sandor Katz's "Art of Fermentation". It's a great work about the history, culture and basic workings of fermentation.