What is whey?

Whey is the milky liquid that comes out when you make cheese.

Imagine you have a big bowl of milk, and you want to make cheese. You add some special ingredients (like salt or acid), and then you stir it up. The solid parts, which become your cheese, sink to the bottom of the bowl. What’s left on top is whey, kind of like the liquid part of the milk that didn’t turn into cheese.

Think of whey as the top layer in a milk shake. If you pour some ice cream into a shake and then let it sit, the thicker part (like the ice cream) will settle at the bottom, and the lighter liquid, that’s like whey, stays on top.

Whey is used to make things like yogurt, protein drinks, and even some kinds of bread. It's a very useful byproduct from making cheese!

So next time you eat yogurt or drink a protein shake, remember: it might have come from the same milk that made your favorite cheese!