Cookbook:Cottage Cheese

| Cheese

Cottage cheese is a class of tangy fresh cheeses. The term cottage cheese is often confused with or inappropriately applied to other fresh curd cheeses, such as queso fresco, paneer, and quark.

Characteristics
All varieties of cottage cheese are made by culturing milk before setting with rennet, cutting, and cooking the curds as when making several other cheeses. The curds are then drained of whey, which is where the varieties begin to differentiate themselves.

Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese proper is the moistest of the varieties, which is caused both by draining less of the whey and by mixing the curds with a variable but small amount of soured milk and/or cream. The curds can range from small to large, though they often maintain their individual character, and the exact moisture and fat contents will differ depending on the producer.

Farmer's cheese
This variety is made by pressing a large amount amount of liquid from the curds instead of simply draining it. It tends to have a grainy texture instead of distinct pieces of curd, which together with the lower moisture content makes farmer's cheese sliceable and crumbly. Some European varieties may be more like quark in texture or may even be called quark.

Pot cheese
Pot cheese is somewhere between cottage and farmer's cheeses, without a precise definition. Generally speaking, it is drier than the former but moister than the latter.

Selection and storage
Because moisture content is often critical to dishes, it's important to make sure you select the correct variety. Since the terminology may be used imprecisely, when in doubt, try to clarify what exactly is called for in a given recipe. As a fresh cheese, it must be stored in the fridge —depending on the preservative and moisture content, it can last for a little while before becoming unsafe to eat, but it will get increasingly sour and watery as it ages.

Use
Cottage cheeses can be eaten straight or with fruit, much like yogurt, or incorporated into other dishes. Farmer's cheese is often used as a filling in a variety of sweet and savory pastries, dumplings, and custards. These include pierogi, some European varieties of cheesecake, and blintzes.

Substitution
Depending on the desired application, different cottage cheeses may be substituted for each other. For example, moist cottage cheese proper can be pressed and milled to produce a dry, grainy farmer's cheese. A particularly dry and/or curd-y quark may also make a reasonable substitute for cottage cheese if required. Try and see what exact characteristics are required for the recipe, and then adjust accordingly.