According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk; a splatter of the goddess Hera's breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way. But while mother's milk may be the essence of nourishment, it is the milk of other mammals that humans have cultivated ever since the domestication of animals more than 10,000 years ago, originally as a source of cheese, yogurt, kefir, and all manner of edible innovations that rendered lactose digestible,...

Anyone who’s ever made cheese at home knows that roughly three-quarters of every gallon of milk transforms into a perplexing byproduct called whey. “Don’t throw away your whey!” says cheesemaker Claudia Lucero. In Cooking with Whey, Lucero shares 60 inventive recipes that use whey, which is rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins, and adds creaminess and flavor to foods. Sweet whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking enhances baked goods and smoothies....