Preparation of a dried blend of whey by-product and casein or its salts

Claim 1

A process for preparing a dried blend of a deproteinized whey by-product and a member selected from the group consisting of casein, sodium caseinate and potassium caseinate, said process consisting of admixing a deproteinized whey by-product solution with about 5 to 50 percent by weight of said casein, sodium caseinate or potassium caseinate based on the total weight of dry solids in said whey by-product solution and drying said admixture to provide said dried blend, said deproteinized whey by-product being selected from the group consisting of (1) a low molecular weight fraction containing about 5-10% solids resulting from the separation of protein from cheese whey using a molecular sieve resin, the solids comprising 40-50% lactose, 25-35% minerals, 15-20% protein (N×6.38), 7-10% lactic acid, 3-6% citric acid, less than 1% fat and less than 5% moisture (2) a low molecular weight fraction resulting from the ultrafiltration of whey to remove protein, the resulting solids comprising 70-80% lactose, 10-15% minerals, 4-8% protein (N×6.38), less than 1% fat and less than 5% moisture, and (3) the low molecular weight fraction of (2) above after being delactosed.