Whey remains the protein powder protein powder. In addition to being highly bioavailable and rapidly assimilated, this product provides all the essential amino acids, and is rich in BCAAs.
Because of the qualities of this protein powder, many athletes are considering making their own homemade whey. But is it feasible? Well, technically, yes! There's nothing to stop you going down this road.
However, we must warn you that the composition of this whey will never match that of the protein powders on the market, and that the manufacturing processes are very long and complicated.
Homemade whey: a preparation within everyone's reach, but time-consuming
At first glance, whey isn't very complicated to prepare, since it's simply whey in powder form. In fact, we've all come across this substance before, without necessarily paying much attention to it. Whey, for example, is the watery liquid on the surface of yoghurt when the lid is opened.
If you do a little research on the internet and consult wikihow, you'll find a few recipes for making whey protein. You can obtain this product from milk or yoghurt. In the first case, you'll need to add an acidifier such as lemon juice to curdle the milk. In the latter case, you'll need to use a cheese strainer to "filter" the precious liquid. Whichever method you use, the next step is to dehydrate the whey to obtain whey powder. You'll notice that this is an ideal solution for those who opt for additive-free whey (provided you choose your ingredients carefully).
On paper, these processes make it possible to achieve the goal of a protein-rich powder. What's more, by selecting the ingredients yourself, you can be sure that your whey intake will not be equated with doping. However, these processes are extremely time-consuming. Allow at least a day for the milk to curdle or for the whey in the yoghurt to recover. Allow a further 12 hours to dehydrate the liquid and obtain a tiny quantity of whey.
Homemade Whey vs. commercially available Whey
The quality of homemade whey is not as good as that of commercially available protein powders. Using the methods described above, the composition of your homemade whey will always leave something to be desired. It will contain traces of casein. This is particularly detrimental to its bioavailability. What's more, the final product will not be free of lipids and lactose. In this sense, it won't be so beneficial for athletes, in terms of digestion and calories ingested.
It should also be noted that the yields from these processes are extremely low. For example, it takes around 110l of milk to obtain 1kg of freeze-dried whey. If you were to prepare your own whey, you'd need large-scale equipment to work properly with these volumes.
What specific processes are used by protein powder producers?
Whey production in the industrial sector is particularly complex. To produce top-quality whey, ultrafiltration and microfiltration are used, followed by instant cold drying (atomization). Each of these stages requires expensive technological equipment, as well as perfect control of the milk temperature. Unfortunately, homemade whey will never be able to match conventional protein powders. However, not all protein powders on the market are created equal. If you decide to opt for this solution, please take a look at our article on choosing your protein brand! and why you should choose a whey made in France.
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And why not prepare some homemade high-protein smoothies?
While it's difficult, if not impossible, to make a product with a similar composition to whey, you can make your own smoothies to supplement your protein intake. These high-protein drinks can replace a shaker from time to time. Of course, these whey protein-based recipes won't provide as many essential amino acids and BCAAs, but they'll give you variety and pleasure, and fill you up with vitamins, fibre and micronutrients.
Recipes for high-protein smoothies are legion on the Web. They are mainly based on vegetable or cow's milk, to which protein sources and various ingredients are added.
Blend with a mixer to obtain a creamy mixture, and add seasonal fruit to taste. You'll have an infinite choice of ingredients to suit your preferences.
Here are a few recipes that might interest you:
Strawberry - almond milk smoothie recipe :
- 120 ml almond milk
- 8 strawberries
- a banana
- 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
Pineapple - coconut milk smoothie recipe :
- 240 ml coconut milk
- a banana
- a quarter of a pineapple
- half a teaspoon of spirulina or a dose of whey
Oatmeal - soy milk smoothie recipe :
- 120 ml soy milk
- two teaspoons peanut butter
- a banana
- 20 g rolled oats
Mango - maple syrup smoothie recipe :
- half a mango
- 200 g yoghurt, drained
- half a glass of water
- a teaspoon of lemon juice
- half a teaspoon of maple syrup
Shia seeds - red berries smoothie recipe
- 200 ml almond milk
- 80 g tofu
- 50 g red fruit
- a teaspoon of chia seeds
- a teaspoon of agave syrup
Good to know: cereal bars are a good option for supplementing your nutritional needs. They can be taken with smoothies to re-energize after long workouts. That said, don't forget to take into consideration the number of calories you're ingesting.
Preparing your homemade weight gainer
While high-protein smoothies are delicious with a little honey, they're not as beneficial as protein powders, for their muscle-recovery virtues, and particularly for mass gain, muscle hypertrophy. If mass gain is your goal, then you should be familiar with weight gainers.
A gainer is a dietary supplement with a relatively low protein content compared to a classic whey, and a high carbohydrate content, up to 3 to 4 times the amount of protein depending on the brand.
The aim is to provide the body with lots of calories to "gain mass" and build muscle hypertrophy, as part of intense strength sports. These products are often blends of whey with carbohydrates. We recommend products in which the carbohydrate dose is around 3 carbohydrates to 1 protein, with a typical protein intake of around 20g.
Using a quality whey and a protein source purchased separately from the shops, you can make your own homemade weight gainer. This solution has the advantage of being relatively simple, fairly economical and often healthier than some off-the-shelf solutions.
What's more, you have the advantage of being able to choose the whey and carbohydrate source that suits you best, of superior quality. Preparation is relatively simple. Simply add a carbohydrate source to your shaker, along with your whey, for optimal mass gain.
Our advice
Use organic (wholemeal) oat powder of EU origin to complete the shaker. Quantities depend on individual goals and diet, but as a general rule, we recommend 40 g of Protéalpes with 40 g of oat powder, for a gainer with slightly more carbohydrates than protein (30 g vs. around 23 g).
Of course, you'll need to adjust the dilution volume (400/500 ml), to be added to the shaker before the powders.
You can also make this mixture in water or plant milk, and add a little maple syrup or honey for a very pleasant taste.
For running pros who do several outings a week, making all your whey at home is likely to take up a lot of time... To focus on training with peace of mind, maximize your progress and shave off the minutes per 10km, choose a whey adapted to running or cycling!
What can whey be replaced with in a recipe?
To answer this question, it's important to first ask what the objective is. Why do we want to replace whey in a recipe?
If the sole aim is to avoid using conventional wheat flour, then oat flour, coconut flour or chestnut flour can be used instead. That said, protein intake will inevitably be much lower than with whey.
If you're looking to maintain a high protein intake without using whey, you may want to replace it with vegetable proteins. But be careful! Vegetable proteins are less complete (essential amino acids and BCAAs are sometimes absent, or less naturally concentrated).
What's more, plant proteins are extracted using chemical solvents, unlike whey, which is generally ultra-filtered mechanically, on a ceramic filter and cold-filtered for the highest quality.
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