Whey is used to produce
whey cheeses such as
ricotta, Norwegian
brunost, and
whey butter and many other products for human consumption. The fat content of whey is low; 1,000 pounds of whey are required to make a few pounds of whey butter. It is also an additive in many processed foods, including breads, crackers, and commercial pastry, and in
animal feed. Whey
proteins consist primarily of
α-lactalbumin and
β-lactoglobulin. Sweet whey contains
glycomacropeptide (GMP). It is also an abundant source of lactose which can further be used for the synthesis of lactose-based bioactive molecules. Dairy whey remaining from home-made cheesemaking has many uses. It is a dough conditioner and can be substituted for skimmed milk in most baked good recipes that require milk (bread, pancakes, muffins, etc.). Throughout history, whey was a popular drink in inns and
coffee houses. When
Joseph Priestley was at college at
Daventry Academy, 1752–1755, he records that, on the morning of Wednesday, 22 May 1754, he "went with a large company to drink whey." This was probably "sack whey" or "wine whey". Whey is also one of the main ingredients of
Rivella, a carbonated drink in Switzerland. In areas where cheese is made, excess whey byproduct is sometimes sprayed over hay fields as a
fertilizer. Historically whey, being a byproduct of cheese making, was considered a waste product and was pumped into rivers and streams in the U.S. Since the whey contained protein, this practice led to the growth of large concentrations of algae. These were deemed to be a hazard to the ecosystem because they prevented sunlight and oxygen from reaching the water. The government eventually prohibited this practice which led to a disposal problem for producers of other dairy products. Their first solution was to use it as a cheap filler in the production of ice cream. Whey eventually found its way into innumerable other products as a filler and ultimately into a number of health food products where it remains a popular supplement.
Whey protein Whey protein is commonly marketed as a
dietary supplement, and various health claims have been attributed to it in the
alternative medicine community. Although whey proteins are responsible for some
milk allergies, the major allergens in milk are the
caseins. Whey is the primary ingredient in most
protein powders, which are used primarily by athletes and bodybuilders to obtain the necessary amounts of protein for muscle building/maintenance on a daily basis. Whey protein has a high level of
leucine, one of the three
branched-chain amino acids, making it ideal for muscle growth and repair. Whey is
pasteurized to assure that no harmful bacteria are breeding in the liquid. It is heated to and is then cooled back down to . Studies have shown that this process of using extreme temperatures eliminates 99.7% of
bacteria without coagulating the protein into a solid mass. Next, the whey must be filtered, and so is loaded into a massive web of ceramic filters and stainless steel turbines. These machines work to separate out the
lactose as well as the fats, leaving a liquid of 90% whey protein. Hydrolysates are whey proteins that are predigested and partially
hydrolyzed for the purpose of easier metabolizing, but their cost is generally higher. Native whey protein is extracted from skim milk, not obtained as a byproduct of cheese production, and is produced as a concentrate and isolate.
Whey cream and butter Cream can be skimmed from whey. Whey cream is saltier, tangier, and "cheesier" than ("sweet") cream skimmed from milk, and can be used to make whey
butter. Due to the low fat content of whey the yield is not high, with typically two to five parts of butter manufactured from the whey of 1,000 parts milk. Whey cream and butter are suitable for making butter-flavoured food, as they have a stronger flavour of their own. They are also cheaper to manufacture than sweet cream and butter. ==Health==