The invention provides a process for preparing cheese, a cheese-like product, a yoghurt or a dairy dessert without removing whey. It comprises providing a dairy starting material comprising casein and a quantity of undenatured (native) whey protein; adjusting the pH, if required, to a preselected point in the range 5.0-8.0; subjecting the material with the desired pH to a heating step; adjusting the pH of the heated intermediate product to 4.5-7.5 and processing and/or packaging the pH 4.5-7.5 product to form the final product. The process involves the manipulation of the texture of a dairy gel.