It was Nixon's favorite snack. Is it yours?
We were all in agreement that cottage cheese is strange. What is it? we mused one morning after an editors' meeting. Cheese curds? Where on the line of dairy product between milk and cheese does it stand? (Is it even cheese?) But our collective befuddlement at cottage cheese is where our team's agreement on the subject ended.
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Some of us were very pro, and admittedly more vocal than the anti-cottage cheese folks:
- Sarah suggested an ode—she eats it with jam.
- Leslie, who made her love for cottage cheese public long ago, swore her love to cottage cheese with cantaloupe.
- Merrill announced that she adores cottage cheese, proposing the hashtag #cottagecheeseclub.
- Our intern Riddley pulled out the caps-lock key to express her excitement: "I LOVE COTTAGE CHEESE!"
- Kristen admitted to liking it—even though it's "weird and squeaky"—especially as a salad dressing to Jaime Oliver's Smoked Beets.
- Amanda and Samantha only like it in more savory applications. Sam grinds black pepper "right there over the container," while Amanda likes it with pepper and pineapple, or tomatoes and olive oil, or dropped right into a salad.
Meanwhile, there were a few who resisted the #cottagecheeseclub:
- Bridget, our COO, said simply that "it's totally grody."
- Kenzi made a face and said, "Guys..." like she was disappointed in us.
Which team are you on? How do you eat cottage cheese? Claim your allegiances in the comments.
Photo by James Ransom
Written by: Caroline Lange
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46 Comments
Adrienne W.
December 21, 2015
A favorite: Whole grain frozen waffle, toasted, spread with jam and topped with cottage cheese!
robin L.
August 12, 2015
My 2nd favorite way of eating cottage cheese (2nd to eating it with potato chips!) is in these Swiss chard rollups that I discovered many years ago: http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/2014/10/swiss-chard-rolls-two-ways/
Cook53
August 11, 2015
Depends on the cottage cheese. To eat as it is, you need a brand that's got some texture. For cooking, the smoother variety can work. My vote-- I like it!
AntoniaJames
August 8, 2015
For quite a long time, I ate cottage cheese with plain yogurt and fruit (fresh when seasonal, crushed pineapple in winter) for breakfast just about every day. I don't any more, but I do put cottage cheese in Pullman loaves and dinner rolls at least several times a year, each. The curds sort of disappear, while almost magically giving the bread the most luscious crumb. Note to self: post those recipes.
Also, this hidden gem on Food52 using cottage cheese instead of cream cheese in a cheesecake-ish dessert has become a firm favorite of family and friends. (I use ginger snaps instead of graham crackers in the crust, to make it a bit less ordinary and a lot better tasting.) https://food52.com/recipes/4223-mom-s-skinny-cheesecake ;o)
Also, this hidden gem on Food52 using cottage cheese instead of cream cheese in a cheesecake-ish dessert has become a firm favorite of family and friends. (I use ginger snaps instead of graham crackers in the crust, to make it a bit less ordinary and a lot better tasting.) https://food52.com/recipes/4223-mom-s-skinny-cheesecake ;o)
junewl
August 4, 2015
with pico de gallo, pickled beets (anemia and osteoporosis problems addressed), pineapple, cantaloupe/honey dew, with any left over braised veg for lunch the next day. lots of pepper mandatory, especially with fruit. Chef Merito chile/sal/limon absolutely fab sprinkled on and dipped with Fritos. i could go on.
Melinda F.
August 4, 2015
Does anybody remember when you could buy cottage cheese with carrots & celery added? I like it with salt, pepper and Italian salad dressing.
Triptotown
August 4, 2015
With diced dill pickles, crushed crunchy hard pretzels, fresh dill & black pepper. Simply delicious.
Jennifer M.
August 4, 2015
I love it with roasted cauliflower and broccoli, add a pinch of salt, red pepper flakes and lemon zest! It adds a nice texture and the whole hot/cold thing ;-)
Raquel C.
August 3, 2015
With granola, nuts, torn up dates, and torn up dried pineapple tossed in it! Drizzle a little honey on top for something extra sweet.
Faith B.
August 3, 2015
Nope, not gonna pass my lips, the association with deprivation is just too strong for me.
robin L.
August 3, 2015
Addictive with good old Lays potato chips!
Jennifer M.
August 4, 2015
Me too! Way better than sour cream dips! I line to add dill and granulated garlic when I eat it with chips!
Heidi C.
August 3, 2015
Love cottage cheese with Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and pepper. As a dip with ruffles potato chips! THE BEST!
Katu
August 3, 2015
Oh I wanted to add, I love the large curd much more than the smaller curd. I have plans to 'attempt' to make it some day!
Katu
August 3, 2015
I too, love cottage cheese. I only became a fan a couple of years ago. I love it many different ways. My most used way is to spoon a 1/4 c on top of my salads. I recently had it for a small lunch aside pickled beets and a few cracks of black pepper. Yum!
Katu
August 3, 2015
My favorite brand is Kalona Super Natural. I usually like full fat dairy better than any reduced fat. But the 2%, is better than full fat in my opinion.
Karen G.
August 3, 2015
Wide buttered noodles mixed with sour cream and large curd sour cream. To die for.... could eat an entire pot by my self. A must have at least once a year!
Jen B.
August 3, 2015
LOVE LOVE LOVE cottage cheese!!!!! always have, even as a little kid..... The bigger the curd the better & Salt and tons of black pepper only please! Have even made my own homemade....
Karen B.
August 3, 2015
On whole grain toast or flatbread, with strawberry jam or marmalade. Also, with egg noodles and cinnamon and sugar, like an instant stovetop noodle kugel.
Patricia C.
August 3, 2015
I eat it with orange juice poured in it. (I blame the pineapple juice that was left in my first bowl of cottage cheese w/ pineapple which got me started.)
Brenda
August 3, 2015
A wheat cracker topped with a cucumber slice, cottage cheese and a sprig of dill.
gwennw
August 3, 2015
My favorite way to eat cottage cheese is on a baked potato along with a dollop of mustard and a couple of splashes of Italian salad dressing. Mush it all together...so delish!
lastnightsdinner
August 3, 2015
I love it, either with fresh fruit or with lots of black pepper. I haven't had it in years, but a high school friend's grandma used to make us bowls of hot wagon wheel pasta tossed with cottage cheese for dinner. It was so good.
Linda L.
August 3, 2015
Lucerne brand makes a low sodium cottage cheese that I think is much more complimentary with fruit than the regular version. I like to chop up an orange, then add a little sweetner and some cinnamon to the cottage cheese, layer that on top of the orange, then top with chopped nuts and maybe a sprinkle of flax seed or chia. This is a great breakfast to put together the night before and take to work.
kidfromkalamazoo
August 3, 2015
I forget about cottage cheese for long periods of time, but I always love it when I buy a tub. It just so happens that I made Jamie Oliver's smoked beets with cottage cheese dressing (for about the tenth time) last night, so I'm firmly in a love phase again.
rasmirac
August 3, 2015
SPICIER NACHO DORITOS DIPPED IN COTTAGE CHEESE -- YOU'RE WELCOME.
But really, doritos and cottage cheese is an heirloom family snack. It's stupid good. I also love cottage cheese and pineapple for the easiest breakfast / after work snack ever.
But really, doritos and cottage cheese is an heirloom family snack. It's stupid good. I also love cottage cheese and pineapple for the easiest breakfast / after work snack ever.
Greenstuff
August 3, 2015
With a history going all the way back to Miss Muffet and beyond, I'd think cottage cheese was way to common to be thought of as "strange." But I think it's a generational thing. NPR recently had a piece, noting that cottage cheese consumption peaked in the US right around Nixon's time. The decline came just as yogurt began to be popular. I remember having yogurt for the first time. It was probably in the mid-1960s and I thought it was just pretty strange and "what-IS-it!?" as could be.
boulangere
August 3, 2015
Chris, cottage cheese is the only thing Richard Nixon and I ever had in common.
ChefJune
August 3, 2015
Cottage cheese is one of the 12 things that having eaten (made to as a child) I will not gladly eat again. For me it has always looked like a baby spit up on the plate. No thanks.
HalfPint
August 3, 2015
Love cottage cheese, but it's gotta be full fat. Those low/non fat versions are incredibly vile in both flavor and texture. I'll bet anything that people who say that they hate cottage cheese have been traumatized by the 'diet' stuff. I'm in the cottage cheese savory camp. Love it with fresh-ground black pepper. And I gladly swap it with ricotta cheese in a lasagna. BUT it's gotta be full fat. As for brands, I think my favorite is Trader Joe's.
Bevi
August 3, 2015
I grew up on cottage cheese (large curd only), sour cream, and blueberries or applesauce. Sometimes a touch of brown sugar. Rather than stir everything together, I kept all components separate and took 3 dainty spoonfuls of each ingredient. It was a slow and obsessive and completely enjoyable love labor of eating.
boulangere
August 3, 2015
When I was so sick for so long last winter, my first solid food after three weeks of nothing but water was cottage cheese with applesauce. I still remember how divine it tasted.
boulangere
August 3, 2015
My favorite breakfast is half an avocado, some lime juice, cottage cheese, more lime juice, Cholula, and chia seeds over the top
Barbie J.
August 3, 2015
Also in the love camp. I like to mix in chopped green onion, fresh dill and a few grinds of black pepper. I eat it on toasted multigrain for breakfast or lunch
dymnyno
August 3, 2015
I am definitely a cottage cheese lover, but only if I can find my favorite brands. Cowgirl Creamery used to make my all time favorite; I am so disappointed that they stopped making it (for now?) I like the tangy "Nancy's made by Springfield Creamery in Oregon. (Kesey family...yes, related to him)
Lauren K.
August 3, 2015
I'm in team "I used to love it but then I moved to the East Coast and can't find a brand I can even tolerate." It's always too dry or too bitter here—whereas on the West Coast, I could find creamy and subtly savory brands.
Help!
Help!
Kerry G.
August 3, 2015
i'm in the I LOVE IT camp. I especially love it in sweet applications. I sweeten the cottage cheese slightly and my faves with it are crunchy sweet grapes, apple slices (I just scoop it up with the slice), and.... ok, this sounds strange... but my ULITMATE favorite with it is prunes. Dried figs are yummy too.
aargersi
August 3, 2015
It's good sweet or savory! Mixed with salsa is delicious too. Or jam or fruit or plopped on a salad. The only place it does NOT belong is in lasagna. That is just wrong.
inpatskitchen
August 3, 2015
I have to disagree with you here Abbie...I LOVE cottage cheese mixed with spinach, egg and parmesan in Lasagna!! It's also great in spinach banitsa (spanakopita)!
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