Whey
The whey strained out from milk, yoghurt, cheese and kefir is a uniquely acidic ingredient. “It adds different flavour and acidity that you find commonly in drinks or food, and a creamy mouthfeel for drinks that call for it,” explains Jun.
The Native team, for instance, has recently been playing with kefir whey in particular. Their cocktail Bilembing from their latest menu combines gin, wild starfruit and tamarind leaf reduction with kefir whey, which “adds a great mouthfeel plus a light froth to the drink,” shares Vijay.
Jun points out the many upsides of using whey – it keeps well in the refrigerator and it doesn’t need to be shaken or stirred, making it great for batching. When coming from a salty, acidic cheese (like No Sleep Club’s house-made ricotta), it’s great for savoury cocktails. In that sense, it’s also a good way to use up an ingredient that would normally go to waste.
Whey is obviously not a stand-in for citrus, and you’ll need to experiment to achieve what you want. “It really depends on the balance and what the bartender is trying to make,” says Jun. “Maybe some people are not used to it and may find the sourness off-putting – but a good recipe can fix that.”
Bilembing
by Vijay Mutaliar
50ml Rojak gin
25ml Clarified starfruit juice
15ml Kefir whey
5ml Tamarind leaf syrup**
Shake all ingredients together and strain into a chilled glass.
*Tamarind leaf syrup: 100g foraged tamarind leaves; 500ml water; 500g xylitol. Blend all ingredients and strain.
