Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: foghorn67
Originally posted by: Platypus
Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from milks with different fat levels and in small curd or large curd preparations. Cottage cheese which is pressed becomes hoop cheese, farmer cheese, pot cheese or queso blanco.
Curd products are a favorite of the nomadic tribes in the Gobi desert.
The curd size is the size of the "chunks" in the cottage cheese. The two major types of cottage cheese are small curd, high-acid cheese made without rennet, and popular large curd, low-acid cheese made with rennet. Rennet is an enzyme that speeds curdling and keeps the curd that forms from breaking up; adding it shortens the cheesemaking process, resulting in a lower acid and larger curd cheese, and reduces the amount of curd poured off with leftover liquid (the whey).[3] Sometimes large curd cottage cheese is called "chunk style".