Cookbook:Cottage Cheese
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Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Ingredients | 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
[edit | edit source]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.[1][2] The curds are then drained of whey, which is where the varieties begin to differentiate themselves.[3]
Cottage cheese
[edit | edit source]Cottage cheese proper is the moistest of the varieties,[4] 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.[1][3][5] The curds can range from small to large,[6] though they often maintain their individual character,[3] and the exact moisture and fat contents will differ depending on the producer.[1][7]
Farmer's cheese
[edit | edit source]This variety is made by pressing a large amount amount of liquid from the curds instead of simply draining it.[3][7][8] 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.[3][6][8] Some European varieties may be more like quark in texture or may even be called quark.[8][9]
Pot cheese
[edit | edit source]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.[3][6][9]
Selection and storage
[edit | edit source]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[2]—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.[1][3]
Use
[edit | edit source]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.[6][7] These include pierogi, some European varieties of cheesecake, and blintzes.[8]
Substitution
[edit | edit source]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.
Recipes
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c d "What's Going On With Cottage Cheese?". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
- ↑ a b Wolke, Robert L. (2011-01-12). What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-07982-1.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2012-04-11). The Culinarian: A Kitchen Desk Reference. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-544-18603-3.
- ↑ Gisslen, Wayne (2014-04-15). Professional Cooking. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-118-63672-5.
- ↑ Hill, Louella (2015-04-14). Kitchen Creamery: Making Yogurt, Butter & Cheese at Home. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1-4521-3048-4.
- ↑ a b c d Rinsky, Glenn; Rinsky, Laura Halpin (2008-02-28). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-00955-0.
- ↑ a b c Friberg, Bo (2016-09-13). The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-46629-2.
- ↑ a b c d "What Exactly Is Farmer's Cheese? | America's Test Kitchen". www.americastestkitchen.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
- ↑ a b Severson, Kim (2018-06-26). "A Guide to Soft Fresh Cheeses: Cottage Cheese, Mascarpone and More" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/dining/types-of-soft-cheese.html.