2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
The curd is one of the valuable foods that one should consume regularly. Considered one of the most ancient foods, cottage cheese is able to give everything the body needs - from vitamins, through proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins to milk fats. Cottage cheese is the end product of fermenting milk with lactic acid bacteria, which releases whey and produces a saturated protein product.
The curd it has a crumbly, grainy structure with a faint lactic acid odor, and its taste is most often sweet, lactic to slightly salty. Salted cottage cheese is prepared by adding 1 to 1.5% of table salt. Today on the market is available cottage cheese in different packages, with different amounts of water content, fat, salt, acidity.
According to the way of coagulation of milk it's working two types of cottage cheese - Acid or rennet curd, of skimmed or whole milk. There is also a difference between rennet and yellow cheese. The second is more yellowish in color, with more oiliness and a richer, slightly sweeter taste.
It is important to know that the curd is rich of protein and low in fat. Immediately after egg whites, it is the largest source of protein. Cottage cheese is easily digested by the digestive system and is a recommended food for many diseases. Specifically, cottage cheese, depending on the type of raw material from which it is obtained, is dairy, buttermilk and whey. According to the factor that causes the protein to cross, the curd is rennet-acidic and thermally precipitated. And depending on the fat content, we recognize full-fat, semi-fat and non-fat cottage cheese, highly valued in the diet.
It is difficult to trace when and where exactly it is obtained cottage cheese. All that is known is that this product was consumed thousands of years ago. According to legend, the curd was first obtained, our ancestors tried to keep the milk longer, putting it in the stomach of a slaughtered animal. It was there that the milk was transformed into cottage cheese under the influence of enzymes in the stomach. Even in those days, people flooded the curd with melted butter and received a canned product that has a longer shelf life.
Today, cottage cheese is valued as a food in the countryside - in India, England, Canada, USA, France, Sweden, Turkey. Our southern neighbors like to eat cottage cheese for breakfast with fried bread or as an addition to pasta, while in Sweden they use the product in confectionery - to prepare their traditional cheesecake Ostkaka, which is eaten with jam and cream.
Composition of cottage cheese
The curd is an extremely dietary and useful product. It gives the body amino acids, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, milk sugars. Lipotropic substances, large amounts of phosphorus and calcium salts and the amino acid methionine in its composition help reduce the percentage of fat in the liver and support its work. It contains phosphorus salts, B vitamins and about 20 amino acids, a significant part of which are essential. The milk proteins casein, albumin and globulin, as well as the choline in it, are very useful. 200 g of cottage cheese is equivalent to 35 g of protein. The percentage of fat in high-fat cottage cheese is 18%, in semi-fat - 9%, and in low-fat - from 1 to 4%.
100 g of skimmed cottage cheese contains: 14.1 g of protein, 0.5 g of fat and 3.8 g of carbohydrates.
100 g of semi-fat cottage cheese contains: 16.2 g of protein, 3.7 g of fat, 3.7 carbohydrates.
Selection and storage of cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a product with a short shelf life. It is easily spoiled and should therefore be consumed within 12 hours if not stored in a refrigerator, or up to 36 hours if stored in a refrigerator. When choosing cottage cheese in the store carefully read its contents and pay attention to the expiration date. The color of good cottage cheese should vary from white to slightly creamy, but in no case more intense yellow or bluish tint.
If the curd tastes sour and has a "cutting" taste, it is a sign that it is spoiled. Its consistency should be uniform - without a more liquid and thicker part, and slightly oily. Real cottage cheese does not stick together completely, stays in lumps and does not crumble too much. To keep the curd in the refrigerator longer, put it in a glass jar with a few lumps of sugar. The storage temperature of the dairy product should not exceed +8 degrees.
Cottage cheese in cooking
Cottage cheese is a universal culinary product - it can be used both for savory dishes and for many cakes. The cottage cheese can be flavored with spices according to a person's taste - parsley, savory, dill, thyme, curry, chili, turmeric, black and red pepper, add oil, olive oil or vinegar and get a great appetizer. Mixed with boiled eggs or mayonnaise cottage cheese is no less delicious. You can easily mix it with onions, garlic and vegetables of your choice.
For cakes, cottage cheese is used to make mainly creams. It is used to make many different cheesecakes - with nuts, citrus fruits, chocolate, etc. In Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia, small packaged desserts with cottage cheese, breakfast type, are even sold. In Iceland, the curd is called "Skyr" and is available in buckets, and its consistency is strongly creamy. The traditional Swedish cheesecake with cottage cheese is prepared with cottage cheese, cream, sugar, eggs, almonds, baked and served with various jams. You can easily make cottage cheese yourself at home.
Cottage cheese with sourdough
Bring the milk to a boil, then place the bowl in another larger bowl of cold water to cool quickly. Monitor the temperature and as soon as it reaches about 35-40 ° C, add 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt and cover with a clean towel. Leave in the heat for 3-4 hours. Once the milk begins to thicken, heat it slowly in the oven until completely crossed. Strain the resulting curd through gauze or cheesecloth.
Cottage cheese without sourdough
Put the milk in an enamel bowl and add 1 teaspoon of calcium lactate to each liter of it. Stir and heat almost to boiling. The skimmed milk is removed from the heat and cooled, then filtered. Cottage cheese without sourdough is quite rich in calcium salts and is very useful, especially for young children.
Benefits of cottage cheese
There are many benefits to regular consumption of cottage cheese. The minerals in it are involved in the formation of bones, hemoglobin and keep the nervous system in good condition. Methionine and choline in cottage cheese prevent the development of atherosclerosis. Its proteins consist of essential sulfur-containing amino acids, such as methionine, cystine, and they are proven hepatoprotectors. Due to its valuable amino acids, cottage cheese is recommended as an important food in various diets.
It is especially useful for patients with biliary and liver diseases, which is why cottage cheese is often called "liver nurse". Cottage cheese proteins are partially bound to phosphorus and calcium, which helps to process them well in the stomach and small intestine, which helps the body absorb them to a very high degree.
Desalinated fresh cottage cheese is a recommended food for bone diseases, atherosclerosis, pulmonary tuberculosis and obesity due to its high calcium content. Degreased cottage cheese ensures the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the bones in the required proportions. Against high cholesterol, a cholesterol-lowering diet is used, in which the presence of cottage cheese is mandatory because it has a very low cholesterol content.
Cottage cheese is useful and important food for babies and adolescents. She is also a faithful helper in the fight against excess weight. To improve your metabolism, once a month do a day off with cottage cheese, which removes toxins from the body. During the day, eat 4 times 100 g of cottage cheese, and a few drops of honey can be added to it. In case of skin injuries, a compress with slightly warmed cottage cheese is applied.
Cottage cheese is also an excellent beautifier. You can make a face mask that emphasizes the radiant complexion and balances the secretion, cleanses fat and horny cells and restores skin elasticity. To do this, prepare a mixture of 2 tbsp. cottage cheese, one egg yolk and a few drops of oxygenated water. Apply gently to the skin of the face, leave on until dry and remove.
Harm from cottage cheese
In practice, there is no proven harm from the consumption of cottage cheese. The only condition is not to overdo it. The recommended daily dose is about 200 g. The only risk for a person from consuming cottage cheese arises if the product is not fresh or spoiled. In this case, allergic reactions and stomach discomfort may occur.
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