Food technologists define cottage cheese as “a fermented milk product produced using starting microorganisms (lactococci or a mixture of lactococci and thermophilic lactic streptococci), acid or acid-rennet coagulation of proteins, followed by self-pressing and (or) whey. pressing.” Victoria Oganesova, an expert in animal food products, told socialbites.ca about this.
According to him, it can be made from natural cottage cheese, whole milk, normalized milk, skim milk, diluted milk or their mixtures. Cream, calcium chloride, enzyme preparations and starter cultures can also be used in production.
If natural cottage cheese is milk and yeast, then what is a “curd product”? According to technologist Dmitry Bystrov, associate professor at the Moscow State University of Food Production, such products, in addition to dairy components, contain components of plant origin. “Natural curd contains milk and milk fat, skim curd contains skim milk, and the curd product contains vegetable proteins, vegetable oils and preservatives,” says the technologist.
Victoria Oganesova explains that manufacturers most often use vegetable oils as a substitute for dairy fats – palm, sunflower or rapeseed. According to him, these oils are added to cottage cheese to improve technological properties and optimize cost. “The melting point for vegetable oils is different from the melting point of milk fat, for example, which affects the texture of cottage cheese,” explains the expert.
The taste quality of both natural cottage cheese and curd product directly depends on the amount of fat in the composition. “Fat creates flavor – the fatter, the tastier. Palm oil is added to the curd product, so the consumer likes the taste, ”adds Dmitry Bystrov.
According to technologists, it is rather difficult to visually distinguish natural cottage cheese from a curd product. “Food containing milk fat substitutes or vegetable oils will usually have a doughy consistency. Natural cottage cheese crumbles more often, – explains Victoria Oganesova. “But still, the easiest way to determine what kind of product you have on hand is to look at its composition and label.”
Dmitry Bystrov recommends focusing on taste and smell. “Natural cottage cheese has a slightly sour odor and is always tart in taste. The curd product will not have a sour odor and will also taste sweeter than natural curd.”
Doctors do not consider the curd product to be a useful substitute for cottage cheese. Moreover, doctors believe that it will do more harm than good to the body.
According to Polina Koroleva, endocrinologist and nutritionist of Atlas clinical network, sunflower and rapeseed oil contain a large amount of omega-6 fatty acids, which contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. But according to him, even more harm to the body comes from trans fats.
“There is a lot of trans fat in cottage cheese products, which leads to disturbances in fat metabolism, contributing to systemic inflammation, the development of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. Trans fats are found in any hydrogenated oil, some of which are newly added to curd products, ”says Polina Koroleva.
Another health hazard associated with cottage cheese. The fact is that this product is perishable, so when buying, you should definitely pay attention to the shelf life.
As a rule, factory-made cottage cheese is stored from 7 to 14 days, but some manufacturers write a shelf life of up to 30 days. According to technologists, this is indeed possible and depends on several factors, including the cleanliness of the establishment where the product is manufactured.
“Some dairies have installed filtering devices that prevent pathogenic microorganisms from entering equipment for air purification. Dairy factories have their own laundry for workers’ clothes that cannot be taken out of the business, and certain detergents are used for equipment and people’s hands,” explains Victoria Oganesova.
Shelf life also depends on the packaging. For example, if cottage cheese is sealed with gases, it may last longer than a product in paper or foil. Dmitry Bystrov recommends choosing cottage cheese in an airtight plastic tray.
“Not paper, not film, that is, the tray. Since cottage cheese is a protein product, contains fat and is moist, it is an excellent environment for the development of pathogenic microflora. Therefore, natural cottage cheese begins to deteriorate rapidly if there are no preservatives in it and if the storage conditions are not followed,” he explains.
The technologist advises very carefully to choose loose cottage cheese on the market, especially if the seller does not have accompanying documents for the product. “There are a lot of questions about storage conditions. Especially if it is in the same refrigerator as cottage cheese, sausages and sausages. Such a “commodity neighborhood” is rather dubious. Cottage cheese seeds very quickly, which means it spoils,” she warns.