Editing Whey (section)

== Uses ==
Whey is used to produce [[whey cheese]]s such as [[ricotta]], Norwegian [[brunost]], and [[whey butter]] and many other products for human consumption. The fat content of whey is low; 1,000&nbsp;pounds of whey are required to make a few pounds of whey butter.<ref name=butter1910>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/CAT31283652/circbai161_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Whey butter" |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry|year=1910}}</ref> It is also an additive in many processed foods, including breads, crackers, and commercial pastry, and in [[compound feed|animal feed]]. Whey [[proteins]] consist primarily of [[alpha-lactalbumin|α-lactalbumin]] and [[beta-lactoglobulin|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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Karimi Alavijeh|first1=M.|last2=Meyer|first2=A.S.|last3=Gras|first3=S.L. |last4=Kentish|first4=S.E.|date=February 2020|title=Simulation and economic assessment of large-scale enzymatic N-acetyllactosamine manufacture|journal=Biochemical Engineering Journal|volume=154|pages=107459 |doi=10.1016/j.bej.2019.107459|bibcode=2020BioEJ.15407459K |s2cid=214143153|url=https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/203285336/bsog_1_s2.0_S1369703X19303985_main.pdf }}</ref>

Dairy whey remaining from home-made cheesemaking has many uses.  It is a dough conditioner<ref>{{cite book |last1=Niemann |first1=Deborah |title=Homegrown & Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living |date=1 June 2017 |publisher=New Society Publisher |isbn=9781771422369 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9t8kDwAAQBAJ&q=whey+flour+conditioner&pg=PT368 |access-date=28 October 2021}}</ref> and can be substituted for skimmed milk in most baked good recipes that require milk (bread, pancakes, muffins, etc.).<ref>{{cite web |author=Tiffany |date=May 14, 2014 |title=36 ways to use whey and 5 ways to make it! |url=https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/36-ways-to-use-whey-and-5-ways-to-make-it/ |website=Don't waste the crumbs |access-date=28 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Andrews |first1=A.J. |title=How to Substitute Whey Powder for Non-Fat Dry Milk |url=https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/substitute-whey-powder-nonfat-dry-milk-11307.html |website=SFGate |date=April 2014 |access-date=28 October 2021}}</ref>

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."<ref>Tony Rail and Beryl Thomas; Joseph Priestley's Journal while at Daventry Academy, 1754, transcribed from the original shorthand; Enlightenment and Dissent (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), 1994, 13, 49–113.</ref>  This was probably "sack whey" or "wine whey".{{clarify|date=November 2017}}

Whey is also one of the main ingredients of [[Rivella]], a carbonated drink in Switzerland.

Another use of whey is to make "cream of tartar whey":  "Put a pint of blue milk [skim milk] over the fire, when it begins to boil, put in two tea spoonfuls of [[cream of tartar]], then take it off the fire, and let it stand till the curd settles to the bottom of the pan, then put it into a basin to cool, and drink it milk warm." This is known as [[Curdling|heat-acid coagulation]].<ref name=raffald />

In areas where cheese is made, excess whey byproduct is sometimes sprayed over hay fields as a [[fertilizer]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ryan|first1=Michael P.|last2=Walsh|first2=Gary|date=2016|title=The biotechnological potential of whey|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11157-016-9402-1|journal=Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology|language=en|volume=15|issue=3|pages=479–498|doi=10.1007/s11157-016-9402-1|bibcode=2016RESBT..15..479R |issn=1569-1705|hdl=10344/6290|s2cid=89601788|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

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 ===
{{see also|Protein quality}}
[[File:Whey powder.jpg|thumb|Containers of whey protein being sold at a [[health food store]]]]
[[Whey protein]] is commonly marketed as a [[dietary supplement]], and various health claims have been attributed to it in the [[alternative medicine]] community.<ref name="EFSA2">{{cite journal|author=((EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies))|date=October 2010|title=Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to whey protein|journal=EFSA Journal|volume=8|issue=10|pages=1818 |doi=10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1818|doi-access=free}}</ref>  Although whey proteins are responsible for some [[milk allergy|milk allergies]], the major allergens in milk are the [[casein]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wal JM|date=November 2004|title=Bovine milk allergenicity |journal=Ann. Allergy Asthma Immunol. |volume=93|issue=5 Suppl 3|pages=S2–11|doi=10.1016/S1081-1206(10)61726-7|pmid=15562868}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Burks W, Helm R, Stanley S, Bannon GA|date=June 2001 |title=Food allergens|journal=Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol|volume=1|issue=3|pages=243–248|doi=10.1097/01.all.0000011021.73682.01 |pmid=11964696|s2cid=26812470}}</ref>

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]],<ref name="Live Science">{{Cite news|url=http://www.livescience.com/45120-whey-protein-supplements.html|title=What Is Whey Protein?|publisher=Live Science|date = April 24, 2014  | access-date=2017-05-18}}</ref> one of the three [[branched-chain amino acid]]s, making it ideal for muscle growth and repair.{{cn|date=September 2022}}<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Branched-chain amino acids and muscle protein synthesis in humans: myth or reality? |date=2017 |pmc=5568273 |last1=Wolfe |first1=R. R. |journal=Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition |volume=14 |page=30 |doi=10.1186/s12970-017-0184-9 |pmid=28852372 |doi-access=free }}</ref>  Whey is [[pasteurization|pasteurized]] to assure that no harmful bacteria are breeding in the liquid.  It is heated to {{convert|70|–|80|C}} and is then cooled back down to {{convert|4|C}}.  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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Protein purification : principles, high resolution methods, and applications.|date=2013|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1118002193|oclc=898985336}}</ref>

Hydrolysates are whey proteins that are predigested and partially [[hydrolysis|hydrolyzed]] for the purpose of easier metabolizing, but their cost is generally higher.<ref name="Foegeding2"/>  Highly hydrolysed whey may be less [[allergen]]ic than other forms of whey,<ref name="Lee2"/> due to the fact that the short chain peptides obtained by hydrolysis are less antigenic, because of the elimination of sequential epitopes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Foegeding |first1=E. Allen |last2=Davis |first2=Jack P |last3=Doucet |first3=Dany |last4=McGuffey |first4=Matthew K |date=2002-05-01 |title=Advances in modifying and understanding whey protein functionality |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224402001115 |journal=Trends in Food Science & Technology |language=en |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=151–159 |doi=10.1016/S0924-2244(02)00111-5 |issn=0924-2244|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Native whey protein is extracted from skim milk, not obtained as a byproduct of cheese production, and is produced as a concentrate and isolate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/~/media/341F6B4315484280B47F88504BCFB42F.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330025602/http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/~/media/341F6B4315484280B47F88504BCFB42F.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-03-30|title=Technologies for whey processing: "Is there a better whey?"|author1=Alan L. Kelly|author2=Seamus A. O'Mahony|website=Dairyaustralia.com.au|access-date=2016-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdairy.com/~/media/usd/public/technicalreportmilkfractionationtechnology.pdf.pdf|title=Technical Report: Milk Fractionation Technology and Emerging Milk Protein Opportunities|last=Burrington|first=Kimberlee |website=USDairy|publisher=U.S. Dairy Export Council|access-date=23 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/23/leprino-foods-enters-direct-to-consumer-whey-protein-market-with-ascent-protein/ |title=Leprino Foods enters direct-to-consumer whey protein market with Ascent Protein|access-date=2016-06-01|date=2016-05-23}}</ref>

===Whey cream and butter===
{{main|Whey 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.<ref name="butter1910"/> 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.