Abstract: A denatured whey-protein-containing solution which can be converted to an irreversible gel without heating characterized by the fact that said whey-protein-containing solution is produced by diluting a solution of non-denatured whey protein to an extent that coagulation of the whey protein does not occur when the solution is heated at a temperature higher than that required to denature the whey protein, and then heating this diluted solution to a temperature higher than that required for denaturing the whey protein, to produce a soluble association of denatured whey protein molecules without causing coagulation, which solution undergoes irreversible gelation simply by the addition thereto of monovalent or divalent salt-derived ions to form a transparent, non-heat-coagulated gel product which is highly resistant to water dissociation and stable to heat and therefore can be used extensively in raw, frozen, or heat-processed foods or other foodstuffs.