Whey cheese

Whey cheese is a dairy product made of whey, the by-product of cheesemaking. In cheese production, after the curds are separated, the whey still contains about 50% of the milk solids, including most of the lactose and lactalbumin. Whey cheese is made from those solids, which would otherwise be discarded.

There are two fundamentally different products made of whey and called whey cheese:

  • Albumin cheese, made by coagulating the albumin in the whey with heat and possibly acid. Examples include ricotta and mizithra. Lactose content is low.
  • Norwegian brunosts ("brown cheese"), made by boiling down the whey to concentrate the sugar, and consisting primarily of caramelized milk sugar. Mysost is such an example. Since these are not primarily made of coagulated milk proteins, they are technically not cheese. Lactose content is high.

Cheese and whey cheese are distinct categories in the Codex Alimentarius. In the appellation system of the European Union, protected whey cheeses are included in class 1.4 for "other products of animal origin" instead of class 1.3, for "cheeses".

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