Page:The story of milk.djvu/164

 WHEY

Whey is a by-product in cheesemaking. Usually it is fed to hogs and especially together with grain or bran it makes an excellent food for them. But whey is also prepared for human food. In the hospital or in the home it serves as a substitute for milk when a mild diet of easily digested food is temporarily required for a weak stomach. For such purposes it must not be allowed to become acid as in cheesemaking, but should be prepared as the chief product from sweet new milk or freshly separated skim milk. The sweet milk is set with rennet—one Junket Tablet, dissolved in cold water, to a quart of milk—at a temperature of 90° to 100° F. As soon as a firm curd is formed it is carefully broken up and transferred to a strainer of cheese-cloth. Unless it is to be used at once, the whey strained off should be immediately cooled to 50° or lower. If left at a higher temperature it will soon become sour. A teaspoonful of limewater to a quart, or a pinch of soda, will help to keep it sweet. Still, in any event, it should not be kept long, but prepared fresh when required.