Even in ancient times, people knew about the benefits of cottage cheese, which in Russia was called cheese. Modern scientists have proven that the properties of this product are due to its composition. When curd, which is curdled milk separated from whey, is cooked, milk fat and protein are released.
Protein is a building material for the human body, for the formation of muscle, bone and other tissues in the human body, therefore, women also need to comply with the norms for protein intake. To adhere to this norm, it is enough to eat only 300 grams of cottage cheese per day, while it is not necessary to consume meat or eggs.
Curd contains proteins such as choline, casein and methionine, which are excellent substitutes for other proteins of animal origin.
In the process of curdling, milk protein becomes easier for the enzymes of gastric juice to break down, so curd is better absorbed than milk. Experiments show that less is allocated for the processing of cottage cheese in the stomach than for the breakdown of milk or kefir.
Minerals, which are part of cottage cheese, are also beneficial for the body. Calcium promotes the growth and strengthening of bones, cartilage and teeth, this mineral is necessary for diseases of the heart, kidneys, rickets,. Also, cottage cheese has a lot of potassium, which has a positive effect on the work of the heart, magnesium, which is necessary for the functioning of cells and nervous tissue, sodium, iron, chlorine, phosphorus.
Vitamins of group B in the composition of cottage cheese play an important role in metabolism and protect against atherosclerosis, vitamin C improves immunity, vitamin A increases visual acuity. Amino acids are a good prophylactic against liver diseases. Also, cottage cheese is included in the composition of diets for diseases of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system, heart and blood vessels. It regulates the level of hemoglobin in the blood, reduces inflammation on the skin, eliminates pain in the joints.
Is cottage cheese harmful?
Not always and not everyone is useful to eat cottage cheese. It contains quite a lot of fat, so people suffering from excess weight or elevated cholesterol levels in the blood, it is recommended to eat low-fat cottage cheese. This product has the same amount useful substances, but its fat content is reduced from 18 or 15% to 1.8 or 1%. It saturates the body, brings a large amount of nutrients, but has few calories, so it is ideal for diet food.
But healthy people with normal cholesterol levels can also eat regular fatty cottage cheese, the amount of fat in its composition is not harmful.
Also, you can not use this product for diseases associated with calcium metabolism in the body. It is undesirable to eat cottage cheese mass or curds with sugar and flavorings in the composition, especially for those who have elevated level blood sugar. To make the taste more pleasant, you can add slices of banana, apple, dried fruit. After the expiration date, cottage cheese can lead to indigestion.
To date, for certain exact time the invention of cottage cheese has not been established. Most likely, cottage cheese appeared in the world by chance, when milk simply turned sour, and whey gradually leaked out of it. It is not known exactly when this wonderful sour milk product.
This product is considered truly universal. Different nationalities have their own traditions of its use, for example, it is mixed with sour cream, milk, cream, wine, honey, fruits, berries, and you can even eat it salty. It is great as a filling for various baked goods. Cottage cheese has both benefits and harms on the body.
Do-it-yourself cottage cheese preparation
This product can be prepared quite easily at home, of course, in this case it is better to stock up on rustic fresh milk, which should be poured into a container and left indoors for a day. After that, it is necessary to heat it almost to the beginning of boiling, and then quickly cool and filter through a gauze layer.
Further, a gauze bag with curd mass should be squeezed and hung up so that excess whey drains, and it can also be drunk or used for baking. A homemade product will be much fatter. From three liters of milk, you can get about three hundred grams of healthy cottage cheese.
If we talk about its benefits, then the uniqueness of this product is due to its high nutritional value. It surpasses all fermented milk products in terms of the amount of valuable protein, and at the same time it is perfectly absorbed by the body. Those proteins that are present in it are very quickly broken down into amino acids that are important for life.
Due to its nutritional value and excellent digestibility, it is actively recommended to be introduced into the diet of children, the elderly, as well as the category of people who are recovering from a long illness. It should be eaten in chronic diseases of the digestive tract, as it does not irritate the stomach.
Cottage cheese is a dietary product, respectively, it contains a minimum amount of fat. It is ideal for those who want to reduce their waistline, and at the same time want to gain muscle mass. As for its energy value, it is quite variable, so in one hundred grams there can be from one hundred to more than two hundred calories.
It is worth noting that about thirty percent of pure protein is present in low-fat cottage cheese. But this does not include glazed sweet curds, they should not be used for dietary purposes, as they are extremely high-calorie.
In addition to proteins in cottage cheese, there are a huge number of other vital important substances, for example, vitamins P, B, A, E, folic acid. Minerals include magnesium, calcium, zinc, fluorine, copper, iron and phosphorus. Thanks to these compounds, this useful product is easily digestible.
The best source of calcium is simply not to be found, this is especially important for lactating and pregnant women. It is introduced to babies from the age of five months as complementary foods. AT children's diet include low-fat cottage cheese. It is also useful for the restoration of bone tissue in the body, for the functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as for nervous activity.
There is an opinion that it is able to strengthen bone tissue. Yes, it is, but there is one caveat, in this case it is worth buying fat-free product. This is due to the fact that fats in large quantities can interfere with the absorption of minerals such as calcium.
Unloading days on cottage cheese
To improve metabolism, it is recommended to arrange curd fasting days. In this case, it is necessary to eat it in the amount of about one hundred and fifty grams with the addition of fat-free sour cream four times a day. This portion is the most optimal, it contains about thirty-five grams of pure protein.
If you carry out such unloading regularly, then within a few months you can notice a significant improvement in the condition of the skin, in general, the tone of the body will increase and you can lose a certain amount of extra pounds.
About the dangers of cottage cheese
Despite all the benefits, there is also harm to cottage cheese. Sometimes it can cause poisoning of the body or allergic reactions if it is not eaten very fresh. Accordingly, it is recommended to store it for no more than two or three days. After this time, it is suitable only for casseroles or cheesecakes.
If you use it in excess, it can adversely affect the functional activity of the liver, respectively - moderation is good in everything. For better digestibility, it should be combined with sweet fruits and berries. You should not eat more than two hundred and fifty grams of this product per day. It is quite enough if it is introduced into the diet two or three times a week.
You should not buy a variety of glazed curds, not only are they fatty, they are also harmful, since they contain various preservatives and emulsifiers that are not beneficial to our health. Eat better natural cottage cheese with the addition of fresh berries and fruits.
Conclusion
Of course, cottage cheese should be present in our menu, optimally if you eat it at least twice a week, in this case this product will only have a beneficial effect on the body. It is better to purchase its low-fat version.
Cottage cheese is one of the most popular fermented milk products. It is an indispensable component of the diet of people of all ages. Its beneficial properties have been of interest to man since ancient Rome.
So much is known medicinal properties of this product, which can rightfully be considered unique.
What are the harms and benefits of cottage cheese, is it useful to eat it every day, than the usual one is healthier than fat-free, when is it better to use it - in the morning for breakfast, during the day or at night? Let's figure it out!
Beneficial features
For men
The benefits of this fermented milk product for men are also obvious, because protein. This is true for active strength exercises.
The use of cottage cheese has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, helps to cope with stress and overload.
Dairy products are good for potency, therefore, must be present on the table of any man.
For kids
In the first years of life, the protein acts building material for the child's body, so in baby food cottage cheese is irreplaceable.
Minerals, in which it is so rich, contribute to the growth and strengthening of bones and teeth.
Lactic acid bacteria help to form microflora, local immunity.
Babies who are on breastfeeding, curds should be given starting at 9 months. If your baby is formula fed, you can start at 7 months.
Complementary foods start with one teaspoon, daily increasing the portion.
What is useful for pregnant and lactating
What are the benefits of cottage cheese during pregnancy? carrying a child, future mom gives the child vitamins and calcium, the lack of which adversely affects her body.
Therefore, pregnant women need to eat cottage cheese. Its use has a positive effect on the development of the fetus.
However, from him will have to be abandoned if the child has an allergic reaction.
The program “Live healthy!” tells about the dangers and benefits of cottage cheese for the body:
We eat right
Let's try to answer the most common questions: which cottage cheese is the most useful - fat-free or fatty, when is it more useful to eat it - in the morning, in the evening or at night?
The most useful fresh curd. Casseroles, cheesecakes, and other dishes also contain vitamins, but some of the lactic acid bacteria, proteins and amino acids die when heat treatment.
Do not abuse glazed curds, sweet curd masses, curds with additives. They will not bring benefits, and high calorie content will affect the figure.
Cottage cheese will benefit both breakfast and dinner, but do not eat it later than 2 hours before bedtime. If you like more fat, then eat it in the morning - it will bring more benefits.
Contraindications, precautions
Harm is determined by individual intolerance or stale product. Intolerance refers to the inability to digest the lactose found in dairy products.
In such people, the use of lactose causes diarrhea, pain, and bloating.
Cottage cheese can also cause a similar reaction in a healthy person who has consumed a stale product, since it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.
Big risk to buy on the market: it may contain E. coli. Especially if you choose fermented milk product for a child.
For an adult, 100-200 g per day is enough three times a week. Excessive consumption can sometimes adversely affect the liver and blood vessels.
This dairy product often causes allergic reactions, which manifest themselves in the form of a rash on the skin, runny nose, tearfulness, and sometimes swelling of the skin.
Cosmetic use
Curd is not only food product . It is used to make creams and masks that help fight the following problems:
- dry skin, peeling;
- inflammation, black dots;
- wrinkles, pigmentation.
For intense hydration and cleansing from dead cells prepare such a mask: 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese are rubbed with half a teaspoon of honey and.
The skin needs to be cleansed first. Then apply the mask in several layers, taking 5 minutes between applications.
After the last layer has dried, wash off the remnants of the mask with cool water, apply a nourishing cream.
To get rid of freckles, mix the main ingredient with lemon juice and yolk and hold on your face for 10 minutes.
Mask helps fight acne with the addition of herbs, egg white, honey and lemon juice.
In folk medicine also used like this useful product. To make the burn go faster, warm cottage cheese is applied to the sore spot three times a day. A compress with the addition of honey works well for bruises.
Varieties of cottage cheese diets for weight loss
Curd diets are very effective. They are easily tolerated, characterized by good results and lack of hunger.
Here are some ways to lose weight.
Curd-kefir diet. The daily diet consists of 500 g fat-free cottage cheese and 2 glasses. Food is divided into 5 meals. You can drink water, tea without sugar. Duration - 3 days.
It is allowed to eat 400 g of low-fat cottage cheese per day with the addition of bran, brewed in boiling water. You can eat berries, fruits and vegetables. In the morning and evening, a glass of kefir or fermented baked milk is allowed. Observed 5-7 days.
Cottage cheese diets with the addition to the diet are popular, eggs, yogurt, or. On average, a mono-diet helps to lose 500 g of excess weight per day.
About what can be a diet during pregnancy for weight loss, in our publication.
Everything you want to know about low calorie and low carb Japanese diet, in another material.
the consistency should be loose, homogeneous, and the color should be white or cream; look at the expiration date; give preference to plastic containers, which guarantee protection against bacteria, extend the shelf life. Purchased cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days at a temperature of +2 to +6 degrees. It is advisable to transfer it to a plastic or enamel bowl with a tight-fitting lid.
Homemade stored in foil or parchment and no more than 3 days.
When the product is hard, dry, or yellow, has a bitter or sour taste, it is expired, you should not eat it.
To extend the shelf life, the product can be frozen. He won't lose useful properties in a week. If the expiration date ends, make cheesecakes, casseroles, dumplings or pancakes from the leftovers.
Cooking at home
A quality product is obtained from natural homemade milk. Purchased pasteurized is not suitable, you need to find fresh whole.
First you need to wait for the souring of milk. To do this, add a crust of black bread or a couple of tablespoons of good sour cream to it and leave it for a day in a warm place.
Average From three liters of milk you can get about 1 kg crumbly useful substance.
When the milk turns sour, thick lumps form on the surface, the milk is poured into a saucepan and put on fire. Heat the resulting yogurt for 10-15 minutes to separate the whey.
Remove the pan from the heat, discard the contents in a colander or cheesecloth, folded in several layers. Wait for all the serum to drain. This takes several hours.
You can enjoy a delicious and fresh fermented milk product. By eating fresh cottage cheese several times a week, you will forget about many diseases.. And the variety of dishes that can be prepared from this valuable product will greatly diversify your daily menu.
In contact with
When exactly people first extracted cottage cheese from milk and tasted its amazing taste, there is no exact information, but ancient treatises tell us that our ancestors used this very tasty dairy product and even used the benefits of cottage cheese for medicinal purposes.
The food industry offers the consumer a wide range of cottage cheese and curd products. Cottage cheese is a fermented milk product and is obtained by fermenting whole milk and serum compartments. The mass remaining after this process is the curd.
Cottage cheese is produced from various dairy raw materials, from natural milk and normalized, reconstituted and recombined, from a mix of dairy products. It is divided according to the fat content from 1.8 to 25% (there is also completely fat-free) and according to the quality of raw materials. Milk for cottage cheese is used both pasteurized and whole.
The most useful outside of any classification is considered cottage cheese. It is made from curdled milk by heating in a water bath. The protein is separated from the whey and the curd mass in a gauze bag is put under pressure.
Composition and calories
The composition of cottage cheese contains many substances useful for the body:
minerals: phosphorus (27.5%), calcium (16.4%), potassium (4.5%), iron (2.2%), magnesium (5.8%), sodium (3.2%);
amino acids (choline and methionine);
vitamins of groups A (8.9%) and B (19.4%);
vitamin PP (15.9%);
casein is a unique milk protein;
lactic acid bacteria.
The energy value(calorie content) of cottage cheese is 155.3 kcal 100 g of the product contains 16.7 g of protein, 9 g of fat and 2 g of carbohydrates.
9 health benefits of cottage cheese
Replenishes the body with protein
Cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein, on average, 100 grams of this product contains from 14 to 18 percent of proteins. At the same time, unlike products of animal origin (meat, fish or poultry), the structure of cottage cheese does not consist of tissue fibers. Therefore, the body easily absorbs and digests curd flakes, receiving required amount protein is an essential component for the healthy development of all body tissues.
Strengthens bone tissue
Regular use of cottage cheese will allow you to forget about visits to traumatologists and dentists for a long time. Due to the high calcium content, cottage cheese strengthens bone tissue, minimizing the risk of bone fractures. In addition, by adding this healing product to your daily diet, you can strengthen your teeth and protect them from the development of caries.
Improves Liver Health
Cottage cheese contains the essential amino acid methionine, which is an excellent fat burner. It protects the liver from obesity, which can develop due to high cholesterol levels or the negative effects on the liver of certain drugs or dangerous toxins. In addition, doctors recommend consuming at least 300 grams of cottage cheese daily for people who are undergoing antibiotic treatment.
The benefits of cottage cheese for women and children
Due to its rich composition, cottage cheese is extremely useful for pregnant women and nursing mothers. It replenishes the body with calcium and other micro and macro elements that a woman loses during pregnancy, and has a beneficial effect on the development of the fetus itself. Small children are recommended to give low-fat cottage cheese from the age of five to seven months. The product contributes to the growth and development of all tissues of the body, especially it is necessary for the formation of bones.
The benefits of cottage cheese for the elderly
Due to its high calcium content, regular consumption of cottage cheese protects the elderly from the development of osteoporosis, the main symptom of which is brittle bones, and also strengthens teeth. Iron in cottage cheese improves blood circulation, potassium and magnesium stabilize the work of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, and a complex of vitamins helps to improve brain activity.
Improves digestion
Cottage cheese is included in the diet for people with various diseases gastrointestinal tract: peptic ulcer, gastritis, pancreatitis, etc. It is very easily digested and does not “load” the stomach, and the lactic acid bacteria contained in it improve intestinal motility. But for these purposes it is best to use non-acidic cottage cheese with a minimum fat content.
as a diuretic
Due to the presence of calcium salts in cottage cheese, it has a pronounced diuretic effect. Due to this, it is successfully used for the treatment of kidney diseases and hypertension. In addition, cottage cheese is used in diet food to remove excess fluid from the body, and those who want to lose a couple of extra pounds even arrange “curd” unloading days.
For healthy skin, hair and nails
Due to the beneficial properties of cottage cheese, its regular addition to the diet improves the condition of the skin, hair and nails. But in addition to eating, this healing product is also used at home in the form of masks for the face, décolleté, hands and scalp. It is also found in many skin and hair care products. In addition, curd compresses are successfully treated sunburn What home remedies and preparations will help relieve pain and heal sunburn. How to use the products, what to do and what to avoid in various stages of a burn. .
Cancer Prevention
Scientific studies have shown that eating cottage cheese prevents the occurrence of cancer. Due to the rapid saturation of the body with calcium, cottage cheese helps to eliminate free radicals, which are the main cause of cancer. In addition, this fermented milk product promotes phagocytosis of cancer cells. What does this mean? The human immune system uses special cells called phagocytes that track down cancer cells and engulf them. After such absorption, the phagocyte must be neutralized. This is where cottage cheese comes in handy, which contributes to the breakdown of such a cell by active digestive enzymes.
The benefits and harms of fat-free cottage cheese
There is an opinion that low-fat cottage cheese is not as tasty and healthy as fat, and does not have the same set of useful properties, since all the most valuable was removed from it during skimming. This opinion is wrong.
In its composition, low-fat cottage cheese is not inferior to fat. It contains the same vitamin group B, C and D, only vitamin A becomes less during degreasing, since it is fat-soluble and is excreted along with fat. Minerals in cottage cheese are preserved, only the percentage of fat content of the product decreases.
Fat-free cottage cheese brings the same benefits as other types of cheese. Calcium strengthens the skeletal system, potassium improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, vitamins strengthen the immune system.
The only drawback of fat-free cottage cheese is that it has a low percentage of calcium absorption, but this in no way indicates the harm of cottage cheese. Experts say that for normal absorption of calcium by the body, cottage cheese must be not less than 9% fat.
Fat-free cottage cheese can be harmful to the body only if a person is on a strict diet and eats only low-fat cottage cheese, without eating any other products.
Contraindications to the use of cottage cheese
Cottage cheese brings great benefits to human health, but due to ignorance and inattention of the consumer, it can also cause harm. There are some contraindications for the use of fat-free cottage cheese, below are some of them.
- Cottage cheese should be abandoned to people with individual intolerance to the product.
- Cottage cheese can harm the body if you use a product with an expired shelf life.
- In the industrial production of cottage cheese, various chemical additives can be included in its composition to increase the shelf life and improve taste, and they can be very harmful, so you need to choose cottage cheese with a minimum content of foreign substances.
- Natural cottage cheese, on the contrary, has a very short shelf life and should be used within two to three days and stored only in the refrigerator.
- An overdose of cottage cheese is also harmful, like any other product. Its excess can adversely affect the normal functioning of the kidneys.
Otherwise, there are no contraindications. You can use cottage cheese for all people at any age, but only fresh and in moderation.
The first indirect documentary references to cottage cheese can be found in the civilization of Mesopotamia. This product was actively used in ancient Rome. On the territory of Ancient Russia, cottage cheese was called cheese, respectively, any dishes based on it received a root similar in sound.
The name of the product, revered by the Slavs, took root so strongly that it was used for a long period of time even after hard cheeses appeared in everyday life. Modern ways Preservation was not yet known at that time, therefore, cottage cheese was practically not stored unchanged - it was pressed, placed in an oven, and after the moisture was released, it was placed in pots and poured with melted butter. In this form, the cellar product could be stored for months.
Compound
Cottage cheese consists of a large number of a wide variety of components, the concentration of which strongly depends on the type of cottage cheese and its fat content.
Percentage and component composition:
- Water - from 64 to 70 percent;
- Proteins - from 14 to 18 percent;
- Fats (including saturated and monounsaturated) - from 0.1 to 18 percent;
- Carbohydrates (lactose and galactose) - from 1 to 1.5 percent;
- Ash - from 1 to 1.2 percent.
Also, cottage cheese contains a number of minerals and vitamins:
- Vitamins: A, B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B9, PP, C, E, B12, H beta-carotene;
- Minerals - sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, selenium, manganese, molybdenum and fluorine;
- Replaceable and irreplaceable amino acids - arginine, valine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methiodin, cysteine, threonine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, alanine, glycine, proline, serine, aspartic and glutamic acids.
Types of cottage cheese
First of all, cottage cheese is divided according to its consumer properties:
- Classical. Has a fat content of 4 to 18 percent;
- Non-greasy. Bold version of cottage cheese 1.8 percent;
- Fatty. Most often, a home-made non-winnowed product with a fat content of 19 to 23 percent;
- Fat free. Fat is present only in trace amounts, less than 0.1 percent;
- Calcined. Cottage cheese, additionally saturated with calcium;
- Curd with additives. They are usually nuts, raisins, candied fruits, dried fruits, various jams and preserves.
In addition, the product is also divided according to the method of production:
- Classic-traditional. It has two variations - acid and acid-rennet. In the first case, it is prepared from skimmed milk, the coagulation process occurs due to lactic acid and fermentation under the action of starter cultures. The second option is the use of lactic acid bacteria and rennet;
- Separated. The base product (pre-refined milk) can be separated to produce skimmed milk and 50–55 percent cream. Next, cottage cheese is produced from the fat-free substrate using acid-rennet coagulation, and after cooling, a small amount of previously obtained cream is added to the finished product.
Another cottage cheese is divided by consistency:
- Grain. Classic "home" product;
- Pasty. It has an oily texture in the form of a homogeneous mixture.
Calorie content and nutritional value of cottage cheese
The total calorie content of cottage cheese is very much dependent on its fat content. Yes, energy dietary product only 700 kcal per kilogram. Low-fat and bold types have a calorie content of 860 and 1560 kcal / kg, respectively. The energy value of fatty cottage cheese can reach 2260–2500 kcal per kilogram of product.
The mass composition also partly depends on the type of cottage cheese. Typical the nutritional value the most popular and widespread product in terms of 100 grams of weight corresponding to modern GOSTs (bold cottage cheese, 9 percent) is as follows:
- Proteins - 18 grams;
- Fats - 9 grams;
- Carbohydrates - 3 grams;
- Water - 67.8 grams;
- Ash components - 1 gram;
- Dietary fiber - absent.
As mentioned above, depending on the fat content of the cottage cheese and the method of its preparation, the nutritional value can vary between 5-15 percent.
Curd is not just recommended for use, regardless of age and gender, as an extremely useful product in all aspects. Its unique natural composition, as well as many types of products, allows you to introduce a fermented milk product into a number of general and specific diets.
First of all, fat-free cottage cheese is recommended for children from 5 years old, pregnant women and nursing mothers as products rich in calcium and phosphorus salts, essential amino acids - these elements have a beneficial effect on bone growth, as well as the activity of the entire cardiovascular system. In addition, the multicomponent mineral composition will be useful for patients with tuberculosis and anemia, for patients with kidney and liver problems, as it perfectly normalizes metabolic processes and removes excess fluid from the body.
Low-fat types of cottage cheese are often prescribed for gout and obesity, as an alternative to meat and fish, a product that contains proteins in a fairly high concentration. The yeast and acidophilic colonies of bacteria that are part of the cottage cheese have a positive effect on the restoration of the intestinal microflora, respectively, they are suitable for a wide variety of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (except for dystrophic-systemic ones). Do not forget about the product and those who have problems with bad hair, nails, teeth - the mandatory three meals a day of the above food in its pure form will significantly improve the condition of these body components.
Fatty varieties of cottage cheese are an excellent useful and high-calorie source of body recovery after major operations - it is often recommended by nutritionists to anyone who needs a full and enhanced diet.
The vitamin composition of cottage cheese is not as impressive as the mineral one, however, a high concentration of elements of groups B, D allows you to use it as an element of a therapeutic diet in cases of atherosclerosis, as well as a prophylactic against night blindness, problems with the musculoskeletal system, premature aging, a number of other diseases.
Cottage cheese can be used not only for food - creams, ointments, face and body masks are made from it at home, even burns are treated.
Dangerous properties of cottage cheese
In some cases, cottage cheese can be dangerous to human health. We describe the most typical cases:
- Uncontrolled use of the product. Cottage cheese (especially its fatty types) is enough high-calorie product. The recommended dosage of the first use is 100 grams 3-4 times a week. If you significantly exceed this dosage on an ongoing basis, then the risks of obesity increase, and atherosclerosis may also develop against the background of an increase in cholesterol levels. Also, an excess of calcium can affect the deterioration of the cardiovascular system.
- Absolute protein intolerance or oversaturation of the body with it. A number of people may have an absolute intolerance to any protein food - cottage cheese is categorically contraindicated for them. Also, the absence of restrictions on the use of products against the background of a monotonous menu can provoke a change in the balance of protein in the body, which in the first place will greatly affect the kidneys with negative side.
- Prohibition of use in case of serious health problems. Doctors recommend significantly limiting the intake or completely abandoning the use of cottage cheese for food in case of destructive systemic pathologies of the kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract in the stage of decompensation. Such patients are prescribed a super-strict diet, and nutrients are introduced mainly by drip.
- Best before date. A very commonplace, but common reason for the harm of cottage cheese is the expiration of its shelf life. Being a natural product of animal origin, cottage cheese spoils rather quickly and can be stored for no more than 4-5 days even at a low temperature in the refrigerator. After this period, pathogenic microflora may begin to multiply in the home product, leading to poisoning and even a broad spectrum bacterial infection. Industrial options in aseptic vacuum packaging with preservatives have longer shelf life, but in any case, pay attention to them when purchasing the product. Appropriate expiration dates? It is better to refuse such food or, in extreme cases, give it a thorough heat treatment, making cheesecakes, casseroles or any other dish, but not eating it raw.
How to make homemade cottage cheese?
Most often, cottage cheese at home is made from milk. Below, presented classic recipe cooking - relatively simple and effective.
- Take a sufficient amount of milk (2-3 liters), pour it into a saucepan, cover with a lid and put it in a warm place for a day so that the primary product turns sour. Optionally, add a few tablespoons of low-fat sour cream to the liquid - this will give the future product a slight sourness;
- At the end of the day, make sure that the milk is really sour, then place the pan with the liquid in a large container (if your milk is in a 3-liter container, then you need to place the pan in a 5-liter or 7-liter one), coinciding with original height. Fill the gap between the above dishes with plain water;
- Put the "double pan" on a slow fire, then temporarily do not move away from the stove and watch the milk. As it slowly boils, a yellowish liquid will begin to emerge and separation will occur. Turn off the stove immediately and remove our containers from it. A vessel with sour milk after heat treatment must be cooled to room temperature;
- Take a large sieve, put gauze in 2 layers on its inner bottom. Use a large spoon to scoop up the substrate from the pot and place it on the cheesecloth. Partially filling the sieve, lift the edges of the gauze from the sides and tie them into a kind of bag - it can be hung by a knot for whey to drain;
- After 15-20 minutes, open the "bags" - the product remaining inside is homemade cottage cheese.
- Large clots, laid out on a sieve from a pan, are best cut even in a container to a small size, and then placed on gauze;
- Carefully monitor the process of boiling sour milk and be sure to wait for the moment of coagulation and the formation of a yellowish liquid, then immediately remove from the stove. When the substrate is overheated, the cottage cheese will be crayons and crumbly, while underheating it will become sour;
- To get the most dense cottage cheese, after laying it out on gauze and tying a knot, put a clean kitchen board on the “bag” and create an additional burden (by placing, for example, a jar of jam);
- The whey remaining after the curd preparation procedure can be used to create delicious kvass, jelly or kissel.
Curd from kefir
Cottage cheese can be made not only from milk - kefir is often used for this. There are quite a few similar recipes for preparing the above-mentioned product, both by the classical method and forced, by heating on the stove or in the microwave. However, here we will present an alternative option for creating cottage cheese from kefir - by freezing. Suddenly? But it is very simple and effective, moreover, without actually applying any effort.
- Place the package with the base product in the freezer, preferably in the evening. By morning, kefir will completely freeze;
- In the morning, carefully open the package and place the resulting rectangular bar to thaw on a sieve, which must first be lined with gauze in 2 layers. After 8–10 hours at room temperature, the whey will drain completely, leaving a delicious tender cottage cheese on cheesecloth, pasty consistency, very similar in taste to ricotta.
Cottage cheese recipes step by step
In the world over the past millennia, hundreds of the most diverse recipes for cottage cheese dishes have been created - they differ in local characteristics, color, and manufacturing method. Below are the options for classic Eastern European cuisine, the most adapted and in demand in the post-Soviet space.
Syrniki is a classic Slavic dish that could be found on the table of any family that regularly uses dairy and sour-milk products for food. They are healthy, nutritious, easy to prepare, suitable for everyday diet.
Ingredients:
- Half a kilo of medium-fat cottage cheese;
- Three tablespoons of flour;
- 2-3 tablespoons of sugar;
- Several fresh eggs;
- Sunflower oil, 50 grams of raisins, flour.
Cooking:
- Rinse and steam the raisins in warm water;
- Mix cottage cheese with sugar and carefully rub through a sieve with medium cells;
- Add the cooked eggs and 1 cup flour to the mixture. As it should, knead the resulting consistency, then pour in the raisins and mix thoroughly again;
- Prepare a work surface with breading (a thin layer of flour on a board). Lightly moisten your hands and form small cakes from the prepared dough, rolling them in flour;
- Leave the prepared cakes for 10 minutes, then roll them again in breading;
- Pour a sufficient amount of oil into the pan, heat the dishes over low heat and fry the cakes for 1.5–2 minutes on each side until fully cooked;
- Ready cheesecakes are served hot, if necessary, sour cream is added to them in a separate bowl.
- Fry the cakes until a golden crust forms, preferably covering the pan with a lid - so the cheesecakes will turn out juicy and soft;
- Do not use a lot of breading - this will spoil the taste of the final product;
- The dough should be thick, not sticky to the hands and look like a classic curd mass;
- Fresh dry cottage cheese is suitable for cheesecakes - so their taste will be perfect.
Cottage cheese casserole is an ancient Slavic version of British pudding and Italian lasagna, a tasty, healthy and relatively easy-to-prepare dish that is equally loved by both old and young.
Ingredients:
- 300 grams of cottage cheese;
- 4 tablespoons of semolina;
- ½ cup sour cream 15% fat;
- 2 eggs;
- 4 tablespoons of sugar;
- 100 grams of raisins;
- 1 sachet of baking powder;
- A pinch of vanillin;
- ¼ teaspoon salt, vegetable oil.
Cooking:
- Wash and steam the raisins in warm water;
- Mix semolina with sour cream and set aside for 15 minutes;
- Put cottage cheese, a mixture of semolina and sour cream, vanillin, the contents of 1 sachet of baking powder and salt into a container, then mix thoroughly, you can use a blender. The output should be a pasty mixture without lumps;
- Pour pre-beaten eggs with sugar into the mixture (they should have a thick, stable foam) and mix gently;
- Add prepared raisins and stir again;
- Lubricate the baking dish with oil, sprinkle it with semolina;
- Pour the mixture into the mold, then put the workpiece in the oven at 180 degrees and bake for ¾ hours;
- Take out the casserole, let it cool a little to a warm state, then cut the dish and arrange it on plates;
- Cottage cheese casserole served warm with sour cream.
- Choose only homemade cottage cheese for the dish;
- Do not use flour - there is a substitute for it semolina. With it, the casserole will retain its magnificent forms and will be as tasty as possible;
- Observe the temperature regime. If your oven cannot maintain a constant temperature of 180 degrees, then you will have to be at the oven and vary the temperature so that the bottom layer of the dish does not burn, and the top is baked enough.
Cheesecake is a relatively new name for Russia, borrowed from American cuisine. This term usually means a cheese-containing dessert, but in our case, homemade cottage cheese is used instead of the classic Philadelphia hard cheese.
It is noteworthy that this dish is not originally American, but came to the country from old Europe - cheesecakes were first cooked in ancient Greece (the athletes of those times were fed delicious desserts at the Olympics).
Ingredients:
- For cream - ½ kilogram of homemade fatty cottage cheese, 100 grams of 35 percent cream, 150 grams of sugar, 5 yolks and 4 proteins, a tablespoon of flour and jam with powdered sugar for serving;
- For the dough - 170 grams of flour, 1 egg, 100 grams of chilled creamy margarine, 50 grams of powdered sugar and a little salt.
Cooking:
- Three margarine on a fine grater, adding salt and flour to it;
- We put powdered sugar and the contents of the egg into the mixture, after which we gently knead the dough;
- We wrap the resulting dough in a film and place it in the refrigerator for ½ hour;
- We wipe the cottage cheese through a fine sieve;
- Separate the yolks and proteins;
- Add the yolks to the curd mass, 1 each, slowly beating with a mixer, after which we report the flour and sugar, also mixing thoroughly and slowly. The last step in working with the mixer is adding cream to the consistency;
- In a separate bowl, beat the whites and mix the finished mix with our curd mass;
- We roll out the chilled dough with a thin layer (no more than 4 millimeters), after which we lay it in the form;
- Gently spread the cream on the dough;
- Turn on the oven at 170 degrees and bake for 40 minutes;
- Reduce to 150 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes;
- The last stage is 150 degrees and 12 minutes;
- Leave the cheesecake in the oven open door for 1 hour;
- Cut, serve with powdered sugar / jam, serve a dish at room temperature.
- Follow the instructions exactly, especially in terms of volume and weight of ingredients;
- Bake carefully, gradually lowering the temperature, as stated in the instructions - so the cheesecake will become ruddy, will not burn or crack;
- You can decorate the finished dish not only with jam or powdered sugar - liquid chocolate, syrup and even marmalade are also suitable.
Sometimes you want to dilute gray days everyday life and pamper the family with something tasty, but there is not enough strength and desire for a many-hour gastronomic masterpiece. The way out can be cottage cheese cookies - very tender, nutritious and also easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of bold cottage cheese;
- 100 grams of butter (not spread!);
- 1 full glass of flour;
- 4 tablespoons of sugar;
- ¼ teaspoon of soda;
- Vegetable oil.
Cooking:
- Thoroughly rub the cottage cheese, using a sieve with small cells for this;
- Melt the butter, cool it and add to the curd mass, adding flour with soda and kneading the dough;
- Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the refrigerator for two hours;
- Roll small balls from the dough no larger than an average walnut, form cakes out of them and bread in sugar, folding the products with a “bud” - the output should be “triangles”;
- Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, grease with oil, put the liver on it and bake at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes;
- Cool cookies until warm and serve.
- After cooking, cookies can be decorated with powdered sugar;
- Products are suitable for both simple home tea drinking and for treating guests;
- Despite the abundance of delicious ingredients, the calorie content of such a liver is relatively low, so you can safely use 5-6 pieces for your pleasure without harming the figure.
Useful video
Live healthy - Cottage cheese: useful properties
