When you were a child, did you ever hear the nursery rhyme about Little Miss Muffet? Well, apparently she sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey? 
It was something I repeated over and over as a child, but never understood what curds and whey were. How often do we all do something like that, right? We repeat something we hear, but never question what it really means.
While the original version dates back to the 16th century, the version we hear today is much different. None-the-less, curds and whey have been around for a lot longer than that.
Years ago when all my children were small, I was in the process of learning how to ferment for gut-health purposes. One of the first things I made was whey. Whey is what I choose to use to make most of my ferments and there are huge health benefits to this beautiful creation. Everyone needs good bacteria in their gut to fight off common colds, flus, and other sicknesses that we often get.
This is the simplest version I know to make a lot of curds and whey in the shortest amount of time. All you need is to have access to raw milk. It is so simple that your 2 year old can make it!
I leave a gallon of milk sit out on the counter until it separates. In the summer it takes about a day and a half. In the cooler months, it will take longer. Either way, it works well for me. I love low maintenance ways of creating gut-health!
Once the milk curdles, take a cheese cloth and drape it over a colander. Dump your curdled milk into the cheesecloth and it will hold the curds while the liquid (this is called whey) will run down into your bowl. I keep my whey for other ferments in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. The curds (that look a little like dry cottage cheese) stores in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It usually doesn’t last over a day at our house because we typically will eat the curds right away with just a little salt. You can use it in any recipe you desire. I have a friend who uses it every week in her lasagna.
I also have a short little video on curds & whey and fermented pickles that you can watch here. Now we all can enjoy eating Little Miss Muffet’s version of curds and whey. 🙂 Happy making!
Natalie