When I think “cottage cheese” I think of my grandmother who would greet me, growing up, with an offer of diet chocolate soda (she stocked that stuff like it came from the fountain of youth) and cottage cheese with sugar and cinnamon. The texture of cottage cheese was so foul to me that when choosing a picture for the top of this post, I couldn’t even stomach what came up on Google Images. Somehow, though, I’ve been thinking about cottage cheese lately. Is that just a grandma thing? Has yogurt displaced it? Are there any young people who eat cottage cheese? If so, are you one of them? Please tell me more in the comments.
Is it really cheese?
Yes. It’s cheese curds and milk or cream.
I’m 26, and I can only handle it when blended into smoothies. The texture is just too gross, and I usually don’t have an issue with textures.
I think something changes in people as they get into 30s. I thought it looked nasty in my 20s. never went near it in my 20s. I eat it with peaches, pears, pineapple – you name it. But I’m not in my 20s anymore. I’ve been told a person’s taste buds change – every 7 years. So may be in 7 years – you will grow to like the taste? not sure about texture tho. I don’t know how to make cheese crunchy.
I LOVE cottage cheese. Grew up on it. We ate it with beets. Then I had some friends from the west coast advise me to eat it with salsa. Delicious. (Am I alone? I suddenly feel very alone in this…)
Kelly I love it with salsa too! (Just had it for lunch today, in fact!)
I just had some with beets! Cottage cheese friends!
humm. . .salsa. . I’d have to ask someone to make this since i never purchase salsa. never.
Beets taste like dirt (to me). Glad you love it, but I just can’t imagine them individually, much less paired! : )
Haha I am with you Jan!
try pickled beets. if you like pickles, you may enjoy pickled beets. i wonder if you had your beets fresh or canned. you can get canned beets – they both come in pickled or non pickled form in can. I never tried fresh beets before. oh i lied. when I had a juicer i used to buy them fresh.
I love it with Salsa! Another way I like it is with Jello and fruit. I mix one package of dry jello, say orange, with cottage cheese and then put a can of mandarin oranges in. I use it as a weight watchers dessert – only 3 points per 1/2 cup.
With salsa – never heard of that – but will try soon .
No you are not alone. I love beets – had them as a child all the time. I often wondered (since I love cottage cheese and often eat 1/2 cup daily with pears, peaches or whatever fruit) if it would pair well with beets. If you say it goes good with beets, I’m going to try that. Sounds like a sweet treat to me.
I add it to smoothies/shakes. But I can’t see myself ever eating it on its own.
When you mean “young,” how young are you thinking? I’m 36 and love the stuff – been eating it all my life. My favorite way to have it is with halved grape tomatoes, chopped green onion, salt, and pepper.
I was wondering ‘how young is young’ too. I’m 39 and I think of myself as a young person – I’m not a 90 year old person. At least not yet.
I like it and always have. I eat it with applesauce.
My mom used to give us cottage cheese plain as a snack, which I always enjoyed. It’s now a food that I can only have every few years but when I do have it I love it. It’s really good as a side to fresh vegetables as a snack, like tomatoes and cucumbers. I really like having something crunchy alongside it because of its texture.
I’m 33, and I love cottage cheese. I like it with savory things (ie, not canned fruit) – it’s great as a salad mixed with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and Greek or Middle Eastern spices.
I didn’t know cottage cheese was so controversial. I’ve been eating it since elementary school – it’s so delicious, especially on toast with lots of black pepper.
I eat it with black pepper all the time, I never tried it on toast.
i love it! i actually just had some as a mid morning snack. i eat it plain but my favorite is with perfectly ripe red grapes.
I love cottage cheese! I didn’t even know it was an old people thing. Cottage cheese with pickles. Yum
That’s my favorit way to have it too (and I am 35) but my husband thinks I am crazy. He will eat cottage cheese with anything sweet but not savory. Our 6 year old loves it too, especially on top on Eggo waffles with some apricot jam on top.
I used to eat cottage cheese when I was younger, visiting my aunt and uncle in Michigan. I rarely eat it now but I actually really like it. I grew up eating it with salt and pepper though. It’s a savory side for me. I got confused when I started seeing it paired with jam or fresh fruit.
I’m with you – I can’t eat cottage cheese on its own, however … I make a guacamole with the stuff that’s fabulous (and lower fat, or at least I like to think so). I’ve also made a spinach and walnut pesto type sauce with it. That said, I’ve only seen my mother eat it plain, and she’s a grandma.
I like to dip tortilla chips in cottage cheese, although it defeats the health purpose considereably.
Same! I love it with Fritos. Or just salt and pepper it and scoop with celery.
I love it and I feed my it to my 15-month old all of the time.
I’m 32 and I’ve been eating cottage cheese all my life. My dad would serve it sometimes as a quick dinner with canned fruit salad and toast, I still enjoy it to this day, but not really as a savory thing (my old roommate used to eat it with salsa and I always thought that was pretty gross) For you cottage cheese skeptics – I would say try the kind that’s labeled SMALL curds (as pictured above, I’ve only seen Knudsen sell this kind actually) and also drain any of the liquid off before serving.
I’m 28 and love cottage cheese. I despise yogurt and would pick cottage cheese over it any day. I only eat it plain though, and any mixing of it with fruit makes me want to curl up and die.
I almost always have a container of it in my fridge! I’ll eat it pretty much any which way… with fruit, with salt and pepper, mixed with tuna and eaten with toast or crackers, in baked pasta like lasagna or stuffed shells… yum. For the record, I’m 26.
My mother mixed it with Miracle Whip and chopped red onions, then served it on sliced tomatoes. I don’t think I’ve ever used Miracle Whip except for this, but I like this a lot!
I haven eaten cottage cheese recently, but I enjoy it on occasion. I like it with a sprinkling of Lawry’s seasoned salt and maybe some slices of apple. I like Knudsen’s texture best. Some kinds are weirdly dry or pellet-like. I’ve always thought pineapple was a weird mix-in.
My 3 year old daughter will do anything for cottage cheese!! Her and her Dad will sit at the kitchen island and eat a whole container.
I eat it for protein all the time, and like a lot of the other commenters I prefer it savory. I think 2% and nofat CC is disgusting, which may be what a lot of people encounter and hate. 4% small curd is the way to go.
I love it on the side of quiche or scrambled eggs, or really good summer tomatoes. Trader Joe’s roasted gorgonzola crackers offset it nicely as well. I guess I’m not “young” anymore, I’m 41, but I’ve been eating it all my life.
I’m 22, I love cottage cheese. Awesome with melons (and a lot of other fruit)
Coincidentally, I’m 22, have never tried cottage cheese and never plan on it. I’m usually pretty open to foods, but I can’t stand to even look at it. I have no idea what it tastes like at all.
There are two kinds of people on this planet…
Cottage cheese totally skeeves me out. So does mayonnaise, BTW.
I’m 28. So do I fall into the young demographic? :)
Not sure hat you mean by young. But I eat it a lot for breakfast with fruit or fruity salsa. Nice quality source of protein.
I’m 30 and I love it! I eat it as a side plain with lunch, with tomato, with a fruit plate, or with salt and pepper…pretty much any way I can get it! A go-to is cottage cheese and applesauce…yum.
I love cottage cheese and I always have. In my childhood, it was a part of a weekly dinner side “salad” composed of a leaf of iceburg, a generous scoop of cottage cheese and a few canned peaches or pineapple slices. Here in the midwest, the kitchy ’50s and ’60s Betty Crocker/Good housekeeping approach to food presentation has remained strong for the last 30 years and isn’t even meant to be ironic. As a teen, I preferred cottage cheese topped with Cheese Its. Now I usually eat it plain, and I always use it in lasagna (I am not a huge fan of ricotta, and I have no time for bechemel). I am actually partial to the less-heavy 2%. I am not a big fan of yogurt, and sweet fruity things. Texture people who don’t like mayo, soft sandwiches, etc, are the ones who would hate this stuff. It is not age related.
I’m certainly not young here, but let me suggest that not all cottage cheeses are created equally! Different brand processing and fat content really make a BIG difference on the texture and hence the likability. Find one you like. Also, there are many cottage cheese substitutions that work great with less fat and less expense. We like cottage cheese instead of sour cream on baked potatoes. Cottage cheese is great in lasagna with less of the other regular cheeses. Or just by itself as a quick snack — add black pepper and enjoy.
I love the stuff, have ever since I discovered it in college. I’ve put it in bruschetta, lasagne, it goes really well with tomatoes and olive oil.
I’m 22 and I grew up eating both chunky and plain cottage cheese. Chunky cottage cheese, diced gherkins, fresh garlic and a smidge of mayo make a delicious dip for crisps or crudités.
Yes, yes, yes. Not all of the time of course. The Amana colonies in Iowa make homemade cottage cheese and serve it with fried chicken. I also put it in smoothies for extra protein. It is also a good substitute for ricotta. I am below 30 :)
YES! I’m 28, and I have mad love for cottage cheese- I’m particularly fond of the TJ’s 4% fatty kind. I love it on Melba toast (do any young people eat Melba toast?) My favorite comfort food is onions sauteed in an obscene amount of butter mixed with egg noodles and cottage cheese. It’s magical.
Of course, at heart, I’m a Jewish grandmother, so there’s that…
I love how you said, “I have a mad love for cottage cheese.”
it’s so good on the side with savory hot dishes…or with garden fresh tomatoes and a little picalilly (green tomato chutney) my kids eat it plain, which I can not do. It has to be WITH something. Just like I can’t drink milk alone. blech.
There’s not much tastier than a little cottage cheese served with pepper, chunky, melt-in-your-mouth salt, tomatoes, cukes, leftover asparagus, leftover rare steak slices, all drizzled with very high end olive oil, served with well toasted, buttered, good bread. Save a few bites of toast to collect all the goodness at the end. But I’m guessing I’m old at 53. I probably thought cottage cheese was gross until I was in my 30s.
Well, I’m 23 and I’ve been eating cottage cheese my whole life. I love love love it. On top of raisin bread toast it is simply the best.
I love it, and I’m young!
I’m 31 and Dutch. Here it’s called ‘kwark’ which, admittedly, sounds pretty revolting. I’m also not sure if Dutch kwark actually tastes the same as cottage cheese as I’ve never had cottage cheese from the US. But there you go. I do like it. Plain, with bananas or other fruits, honey, granola or all of the above :) Or, my favorite, mixed with raspberries and whipped cream in a no-bake cheese cake!
Kwark and cottage cheese are not the same thing: what we call Hüttenkäse is cottage cheese, so with far bigger curds. Great idea to use kwark in a cheesecake though, will try soon!
I’m 20 and had never had cottage cheese until about 4 months ago, I now have it a few times a month as it’s cheap, very high in protein and low in fat. I tend to have it as a breakfast, with crushed summer berries and some sugar or honey on top. The texture is still a bit strange, however.
I LOVE cottage cheese. Is 30 young enough for your Young Readership?
Oh gosh… I absolutely love cottage cheese. I’m a Midwesterner and have eaten it since I was a baby (now 25). I am not a huge meat fan so as a kid my mom would let me substitute it for a protein source. Which led to my favorite combination that I get endlessly made fun of for… rice and cottage cheese. It’s a go-to meal for me now if I’m cooking dinner alone. You just have to make sure you cook the rice in stock, otherwise it’s a very bland meal. I’m also very picky about making sure the hot rice doesn’t touch the cold cottage cheese until I put them on the same spoon to eat. If you think about it, it’s really just a variation of macaroni and cheese. During the summer, you must put it on fresh sliced tomatoes from the garden with a sprinkle of pepper. Or you can put it on top of pan fried potatoes.
Otherwise, we grew up with cottage cheese salad which is shredded carrots, miracle whip, and cottage cheese with a heavy dose of black pepper. (We love our Miracle Whip in the midwest.) On occasion I will eat it with peaches or pears, but I’m mostly a fan of the savory applications. Also I always get it on top of my salads when I get a salad from a salad bar. Serious fan right here!
I LOVE COTTAGE CHEESE. I did grow up eating it, so it’s familiar, but also why I think Knudsen is the best. Tried buying Strauss, Clover and other brands I eat regularly, but Knudsen always wins. It could be nostalgia, but could care less.
My mom would top pineapple rings with a scoop of it, or would just give it to us sprinkled with dill, which I love to this day.
Define “young”? I eat it, but I didn’t like it when I was “younger”, supposedly it’s good for you too ;)
yes and only Nancy’s organic cultured cottage cheese (not affiliated). Tangy, complex, delicious. http://www.nancysyogurt.com/index.php/organic-cottage-cheese
I´m 28 and I eat cottage cheese! Not all the time, but sometimes I will buy it for a recipe and when I have half a container in the fridge I remember I love to snack on it. I just add salt and pepper to it. I really prefer the kind that has huge chunks of cheese and barely any liquid.
In college, I ate a TON of cottage cheese, which is probably why I still crave a diet coke when I eat it.
I’m 21 and really like it! I don’t actually think I’ve had it with anything before but can’t see it going well with sugar and cinnamon?! More like vegetables or on toast or bread. But yum. Yes. 21. Good.
I also love cottage cheese. I also prefer it savory, with good olive oil and cracked pepper or some vegetables. I had some of the best cottage cheese I’ve had when I visited Israel; really great stuff.
I love cottage cheese plain- just by itself. The thought of adding stuff to it just seems gross. I can eat a whole tub in a few days.
I’m nearly 38 and I love LArge Curd cottage cheese with a little sea salt.
I eat cottage cheese for breakfast with a little maple syrup and chopped walnuts… delicious!
Cottage cheese is the best but I have been told that I am a 30-year old with grandma traits. As a kid I would eat it with canned peaches, now I’ll have cottage cheese with Ak-Mak crackers and salsa but I don’t see too many other people my age casually eating cottage cheese.
I grew up eating it with just pepper and often fresh, sliced tomatoes from the garden. At friends’ homes, I learned to love it with canned peaches or pineapple. It is still a summer menu staple for me with either fruit or vegetables for breakfast or lunch. One way that I absolutely can’t eat it is with maple syrup. A childhood babysitter tried to convince me this was delicious, but I just can’t.
Haven’t eaten it much lately – but I’m definitely in the “with fruit” camp, as opposed to savory. Should get some….
I love it! My fav is to eat it with canned pear halves… mmmmm and I’m 30. Is that young? :)
I eat that Knudsen brand with cereal and bananas. Good with some maple syrup or cinnamon.
Hmmm, don’t know about young people but I used to eat it all the time. Alta-Dena’s was the best, and I especially liked their version with chives. Seems to have disappeared, tho’ – their cc is a lot different now & I don’t like it. I used to like a scoop of tuna salad, a scoop of the cc w/chives & Ak-Mak crackers. Yummy!
I am a young person who loves cottage cheese, though my fanaticism is revolting in the eyes of my roommates. I could eat it by the tubful, but most enjoy it with an avocado cut into it, eating it like dip with some sturdy tortilla chips.
I love cottage cheese and have eaten it all my life. (I’m 55.) Mix it with a little French or Italian salad dressing and eat it on Triscuits. Or in the summer over home grown tomato slices with Italian dressing.
I occasionally eat cottage cheese. My mom would make breakfast in the mornings when I was a kid and put cottage cheese on toast topped with apple butter. Till love it to this day. And i’m 27…and that is NOT old…at least not yet.
I’m 24 and I love it. When I was a kid the only thing my dad would get from salad bars at restaurants was cottage cheese, and I used to steal a little bit off his plate. Every time I eat some I remember those days…
My husband (26yo) eats it. I can’t look at it.
I am 25 and love to eat cottage cheese. It was an item that frequently ran out in the fairly expansive salad bar at my college. I have several friends around my age who eat it either with fruit, one salts and peppers it, or plain. I personally like mine plain.
I make a great salad..cut up red radish,cucumber,scallions,and celery ((chunky chopped) seasoned well with salt,pepper,and garlic powder(a pinch) half sour cream half cottage cheese mixed with veggies served with fresh rye bread or pumpernickel bread…yum!! Perfect light summer meal!
I love it, and I am soon to be 31! Is that too old? ;) I take a cup of it, a handful of fresh herbs, some cracked pepper, and a splash of something acidic like balsamic vinegar or citrus juice and pulse in a food processor til smooth for a great salad dressing!
Thanks-that sounds like a great idea for a dressing.. I’ve always loved cottage cheese, but alas, I’m not young.
And totally forgot to mention the fat content! 4% or higher! The nonfat stuff can gag a maggot!!!!
36, I eat it for low fat vegetarian protein. Plain, 1%. Small but filling. Cheap ish.
I go through phases every now and again where i love it. But not the low fat or fat free stuff. That’s worse than awful. 2% or higher.
My friend eats it she puts salt and Pepper on it with her Salad. Ihave no idea what it taste like it’s always freaked me out growing up and the texture just reminds me of things that I don’t want to mention. Now i did have it once in lasagna and i didn’t know but plain…no thanks.
I love it, and my 2 teenagers also love it. They specially like it with ham. I like it both with savory stuff as well as with sweets.
I am 20 and I know no one who is my age that enjoys eating cottage cheese.
I like it!
As far as I am concerned, it can be likened to lark’s vomit, both in color and texture.
Yes, I eat it and I love it! :-) It is a very good source of protein. If you work out regularly and eat healthy, you should definitely include cottage cheese in your diet. I personally alternate between cottage cheese and Greek yogurt for protein intake.
I hated it when I was a kid but I love it now. Tastes change, I guess. I like it straight up though–no fruit or sweetener of any kind.
I’m 29 and love it! I like it with celery sticks or my new fave — mixed in with eggs and sauted onions for slow scrambled eggs – top with mashed avocado and it doesn’t get much better!
I’m 32 and I love cottage cheese. I add it to pasta and for a snack, I like mixing in a few drops of hot sauce and eating it with pretzels :)
I’m 26 and I love cottage cheese. It’s pretty much been a staple of my diet for years. That being said, the only “mix-in” I can stand is pineapple but even that is iffy. I find it most palatable when it’s plain, either in a bowl of on bread/toast (something I had never thought to do until I ate it in England as a tea sandwich). I respect the right of other people to prefer not to eat it, however :-)
My friends and I sometimes get a craving for it occasionally. It’s quite pleasant! I did get sick of it when I got into a bike accident and could only eat mushy foods for awhile.
I’m 33 and I love it. I eat the exact one in the picture above.
Yum! I never had cottage cheese when I was younger (for the record, I’m 20. So, I mean…when I was younger…young. Like growing up until college), but I tasted cottage cheese in the dining hall for the first time and I actually really like it! I’m not a huge fan of really sharp cheeses (barring european cheeses – oh man I demolished that stuff when I went abroad), so cottage cheese is the perfect amount of salt/fat/goodness for me to eat without being overwhelmed. Go cottage cheese! And I eat it plain, too!
I love cottage cheese, but i often eat greek yogurt instead now, because i’ve become lactose intolerant. I miss cottage cheese!
I feel like a cottage cheese filled childhood is, for some reason, a jewish thing? The only other people i know who consider it to be a common food are my fellow jews. My childhood summer time lunches or breakfasts were almost always cottage cheese with fruit, or yogurt with fruit, or both with fruit. I loved it.
Cottage cheese is also a very Midwest food. Everyone I knew growing up in the Midwest ate it. We had cottage cheese on the table for almost every dinner. Granted I am not young, 61, but I still like it. Mix with salsa, eat with lots of black pepper, eat with a baked potato (instead of sour cream), can’t beat it with fresh tomatoes and cracked black pepper.
Small curd, IMO, is best. Do drain the excess liquid off.
I love cottage cheese. I add sunflower seeds to mine when I have them around, but plain is okay too.
I’m 20 but I already used to eat it around 16…I guess that DOES count as young?! I love it with chocolate cream on bread (uhm yes…rather weird) or simply as a yogurt substitute with honey or strawberry jam. But sugar and cinnamon sounds good too….
Oh or simply on toast with tomatoes and salt and pepper!!! (Which is absolutely delcious!!)
Greetings Jo :)
I add a cottage cheese, ricotta and spinach layer to meat lasagne -it makes the whole thing taste a bit lighter (and is probably a bit healthier than more cheese and bechamel
I dont know if 22 is considered young, but cottage cheese has been a staple of my diet for as long as i can remember. I grew up eating it either with scrambled eggs, on toast, or with some macaroni+salt+pepper. These days i live in an apartment with 3 other early 20 year olds and i would say we go through 6-8 containers of cottage cheese a week.
I rather like it in some food constellations. I haven’t had it in a long time, but I should get some again!
My favorite cottage cheese application is to eat it with tortellini – a base of cottage cheese (cold or hot according to your personal food temperature needs), hot tortellini on top, tomato sauce and grated parmesan over the noodles. It sounds odd, but try it – it’s delicious! A creamy, perfect foil to the stronger tastes of the sauce, cheese and noodles.
Don’t ask me what gave me the idea for this, btw. I have no idea. :-)
I did eat it sometimes as a teenager with just black pepper. I liked it, but I never went out of my way to buy it. I was thinking of CC the other day when I used ricotta cheese in a chicken recipe (http://tomhitt.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/chicken-with-ricotta-and-swiss-chard/)
I suspect ricotta and cottage cheese are made in a similar process. CC is definitely the WHITEST food I can think of! ~TH~
I love cottage cheese (and I am 26). I eat it with pineapple and salt! Delicious
I only started liking cottage cheese in college. Not exactly sure why, but once I hit the age of 19 I saw cottage cheese on the campus breakfast buffet and decided to get a nice big scoop. It’s been love ever since.
I’m glad to see so many people also eat cottage cheese! I like it sweet or savory. We grew up eating it on pancakes when I was younger. I’d make these 3 tiered stacks of pancakes with cottage cheese and strawberries between each layer, then top with maple syrup. I like how everyone seems to give their own twist to it!
Is it really such a senior thing? I knew some people hated it because of it’s texture, but I don’t think it was much related to their age. Personally I love it on dark bread with cucumbers or tomatoes, I had it for breakfast today actually. And I am 25.
I’m 39 and I too love cottage cheese. I’ve been eating it since I was a child.. I usually eat it sprinkled with black pepper, as odd as it sounds, it’s great as a dip for potato chips! cool and creamy and delicious!
I love cottage cheese! I prefer the larger, firmer curds for the texture, and I love the clean, refreshing flavor. I often pair it with purples grapes or fresh fruit, and in the winter I simply buy bags of frozen berry medley or mango to pair it with. My midwestern family would often have it as a dinner side, opting only to season it with salt and pepper. That seemed a bit strange to me, but with the fruit, I’ll eat it any day.
I’m 24 and regularly eat cottage cheese. I tend to half-follow a Jamie Oliver recipe: add lemon, lemon thyme and lots of black pepper to the cheese and serve with smoked salmon, balsamic vinegar soaked beetroot and salad (fresh crusty bread optional).
It cannot be fat free; that is just foul. But large curd, 4% milkfat cottage cheese is DELICIOUS.
hmmm…a “foodie” who doesn’t like something because of a childhood texture issue? Not quite adventurous and certainly not as open-minded as you would lead us to believe. Love it or leave it, not a very palate-educated post.
This one is much more amateur than gourmet, imho
Cottage cheese is just a low fat ricotta. Try making gnocchi with it, a couple eggs and mash sweet potatoes. Serve with pesto. Divine!
Love the response you are getting on this! I am 34 and have been eating CC for about 10 years. My family growing up wasn’t into it, but an ex-bfs Mom introduced me to it (only good thing I got out of that relationship). Love it on toasted multigrain bread topped with ripe tomatoes and salt. I’m definitely in the savory camp. Prefer pot-style or 4% large curd. Actually started using whipped lately and like that a lot. Not a fan of the kinds w/too much liquid, it makes my bread soggy!
I happen to love cottage cheese and will frequently eat it straight from the container. Sometimes when I’m feeling decadent I add a drop of truffle oil. Everyone, including my husband, thinks I’m gross for it.
I’m 29… so I think I’m young but I guess it’s all relative…
I ADORE COTTAGE CHEESE!
yup it’s delicious – with wheat germ and/or chia seeds – sweet stuff in it seems gross to me
I’m 29 and I enjoy large curd cottage cheese with fruit or pickles or just salt and pepper…not a huge fan of the small curd variety though, I like the texture of the bigger chunks.
I’m not that young any more (42), but I’ve loved cottage cheese since I was a kid. Especially the large-curd kind. I don’t know, something about the contrast of textures gets to me.
I love cottage cheese. My favorite way to eat it is how my grandma made it for me: over noodles with lots of pepper
and I’m 24!
I’m 29 and love cottage cheese! I grew up on the stuff. I will use it as a sour cream substitute in soups, eat it with black pepper crackers, or eat it plain.
Absolutly love the stuff. Have all my life. I will put grapes in it or sunflower nuts or just plain with a little bit of salt. My 13 yr old daughter eats it also. We can go through a container in less than a week.
I love cottage cheese with fruit (pineapples or strawberries) but I rarely buy it. Interesting!?
Yep, I love it. Have you ever had it with tomato aspic? Delish!
I love cottage cheese!!!! I love it most with pineapple, but it’s also great with salt and pepper. My boyfriend and I have a cottage cheese rule: only LARGE curd.
(Side note: A lot of people in Virginia eat cottage cheese with apple sauce, but I am against that. It’s gross.)
PS – It does great baked in mac n cheese or lasagna and blended with lemon to make a sour cream type consistency.
Not being young at all, I’m Portuguese and I think we call it “requeijão” over here.
With pumpkin jam and walnuts it´s a classic desert.
This sounds really delicious, but i’ve never had pumpkin jam. Is there a recipe or is it something you usually buy?
I’m 25 and I eat it!
I love cottage cheese! (and I’m 29) I like it with fresh cracked pepper. Although I recently ate it on top of a toasted cinnamon/raisin English muffin, with roasted strawberries on top of that, and it was delicious!
I love cottage cheese. The trick is to get large curd, so it’s thick & creamy. I recently discovered it tastes extra amazing with a sprinkling of smoked paprika & black pepper.
Oh, and I’m 28. So, youngish?
I’ve enjoyed cottage cheese all my life, especially on top of a baked potato or mixed into hot macaroni noodles. Breakstones 2% is my favorite. Amazingly, a plate of pasta and cottage cheese with pepper landed on my table at Sora Margharita’s restaurant in Rome’s Jewish quarter.
Love it on toast in the morning. Only low fat. Not nonfat, which is icky, not full fat. Perfect with tea or coffee. My grandmother also used it in noodle kugels with cinnamon and raisins.
I eat cottage cheese. :)
I like to eat it with black pepper and pineapple.
Never in my 36 year lifetime of cottage cheese eating enthusiasm has it ever occured to me to eat cottage cheese as a savory food. (I’ve always only eaten it with fruit.) I’m going to try one of the bajillion cottage cheese ideas here!
Well, we both know that I am not a young person but the trainer I worked with last year when I decided to get fit encouraged me to eat low fat cottage cheese with fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries for breakfast. I put cinnamon on the cottage cheese before the berries. I have never been a fan of cottage cheese but this seems to be a healthy choice.
I used to love it in my teens and not because I was dieting – I wasn’t – but it Had to be large curd! otherwise there was no point for me, lol. I would rinse all the cream off and just eat the curds as a snack.
I’m 23 years old and if I wasn’t lactose intolerant, I could eat the heck out of this stuff. However, sometimes, I will buy fat free and take some digestive bitters and deal with it. There’s something about cottage cheese that brings me a back to my midwestern childhood. To me, it’s really only good if it’s incredibly cold and loaded with lots and lots of black pepper (to a point that it’s almost grey) and a little salt. Am I just eating pepper that this point? Probably. Do I care? Not at all.
I live in Israel, and here it is almost a national food. The govt subsidized dairy corp was going to raise the price of “cottej” as its called here and it made the headlines in every major newspaper. Lqnd of milk, honey, qnd cottage cheese!
36 and love cottage cheese….didn’t know it was out of fashion. My favorite way to eat it is with a drizzle of honey and a handful of blueberries.
I totally eat cottage cheese and only recently started eating it by choice. What have I become?
I’m not young (anymore,) but I LOVE cottage cheese, and always have. I like it plain, in savory applications like creamed eggs (AKA soft scrambled eggs with cottage cheese mixed in as it cooks) and with lots of different fruits and vegies. I’d eat it every day if I still could. Alas, I’m now on pain meds that cause serious intestinal slow-down so I can only eat a little bit, once in a while. However, as much as I love cottage cheese, life without pain meds isn’t worth living, so there’s less cottage cheese than I’d like in my life.
The “Taster’s Choice” blog that’s at the SF Chronicle’s website, sfgate.com/food does taste tests of virtually every food you can imagine. When they did cottage cheese Lucerne 4% was the winner, and I have to agree. Lucerne 4% large curd, is my personal favorite, and I like it best with canned cling peaches in heavy syrup. Probably a childhood deprivation thing because I only ever seemed to get it at buffets and pot luck dinners. My grandmother loved pineapple and always served it with a ring of pineapple, salt, pepper and a small dollop of Best Foods. I always made her skip the salt, pepper and mayo on mine.
Nana used to make the Jell-o salad thing with drained, crushed pineapple, too. I always loved that stuff. (Especially made with lime Jell-o, not as much with orange. But that’s because I overdosed on baby aspirins when I was little and don’t like anything artificially orange flavored.) My son’s girlfriend’s family makes it, too, and calls it “floofy salad.”
It’s also good in lasagna and stuffed pastas or with homegrown tomatoes, salt and pepper. I haven’t tried it with salsa, but being a 4th generation native Californio, I’m pretty sure it would be right up my alley. I’ll have to give it a try when the tomatoes and peppers in my garden ripen.
Hm, how young is young? I am going to be 37 this month and I love cottage cheese with copious amounts of black pepper, or alternately, a healthy squirt of sriracha sauce.
I’m 26 and I love cottage cheese! I’ve loved it since I was a kid. By itself or with fruit or tomatoes. It’s great in salads, too!
Love cottage cheese – on a good cracker with season salt (yes i know high sodium) but very yummy. Also a scoop of cottage cheese with peaches .
Salsa? Beets? Tomatoes? I have only ever thought of cottage cheese as a pairing with sweet food. My favorite topping is apple butter. Best ever. I’m 26 and cannot get enough cottage cheese!
I’m 24 and I LOVE cottage cheese. I eat about a quarter to a third cup of it plain. Absolutely must be large curd though- small curd is squishy and gross. I think if more people tried large curd they would be surprised to find that they like it!
As a snack, that is
I like cottage cheese, but every time I look at it in the store, it has about 20 ingredients in it. It should have 4, maybe 5. Why do they need all of those extra ingredients? (It’s like sour cream. Daisy brand has 1 ingredient in the full fat version – cultured cream. 3 in their light version. Why do the other brands have a whole list?) I don’t eat it that quickly to make it at home (it will go bad before I eat it all). So I look at it sometimes, but rarely ever buy it. The one time I did find some with only a few ingredients, it tasted very bland. :(
It’s fairly decent with maple syrup I find though if given the choice I would go for ricotta.
I’m 56 and I think of it as old people food. Like my grandma.
I’m 27 and I love it! my step dad used to make it for me mixed with sour cream and canned peaches. so delicious!!
i’m 21 & i used to eat it all the time before i switched to veganism! i can’t eat it without a ton of fruit though.. the texture gets to me after a bit.
I am 44, but love it… I make what I call poor man’s caprese salad with it for pot lucks and it actually goes over very well.
It’s amazing with pickled beets, and with chips and salsa (instead of sour cream or guacamole). My dad used to eat it with season salt, but I like it with fresh pineapple and cracked black pepper.
i’m 17 and i LOVE cottage cheese!!!
17 year old vegan, before my transition to veganism I used to eat it as a protein during my vegeterian phase. Loved it, I was 14 at the time: ate it with pinapple, fresh diced fruit, celery, pepper, stuft it in large roasted bell peppers. It was awesome.
Cottage cheese is a fesh cheese, super easy to make even with milk and an acid plus salt. I love it esp. with applesauce – best sanck ever!
26 here – grew up with cottage cheese and love it. It is ALWAYS in the fridge. I mostly eat it right out of the tub, just grab a couple spoons if I’m hungry between meals. Any things can be dipped/mixed in it, try adding some ranch season for a change.
I eat it literally everyday for breakfast with mandarin orange slices! SO YUMMY! Btw Im 20!
I am 17, and have loved cottage cheese since I was a young child so to answer your question…yes! I’m pretty sensitive to food textures and get grossed out easily, so from the comments below, pretty surprised. I can imagine how the texture could gross someone out, though. It’s chunky and milky. It must be an acquired taste. I eat it by itself out of a bowl.
I hate cottage cheese. Hated it growing up (36 now). The look, smell, taste… yuck! But, about two months ago, i was craving it and bought sone in the little container you mix in with the side of fruit. Well, i ate a bit and offered some to my toddler and she seemed to enjoy it. Yet again, i was craving it a couple a days ago and bought a tub of it. I bought a side of strawberry preserves and my toddler and i enjoyed it together with some ritz crackers. Why? Never liked it. Couldnt stand it. But now eating it. I think it may have to do with my liking congeal. Its a pistachio mix with cottage cheese and pinapple with pecans. Ive could eat that cuz i pushed the thought of it containing cottage cheese, but i think it was a baby step towards actually eating the stuff out of a container. Of course with something like jam along with it.
Watergate Salad
How’d you know congeal was watergate salad? I would see it on the desserts section of our local Luby’s but never knew what that green stuff was called and never wanted to go near it. One day though, i tasted it and was hooked. They call it congeal. So i thought that was the name of this dessert.
How’d you know congeal was watergate salad? I would see it on the desserts section of our local Luby’s but never knew what that green stuff was called and never wanted to go near it. One day though, i tasted it and was hooked. They call it congeal. So i thought that was the name of this dessert.
Watergate salad is pistachio pudding mix, cottage cheese, pineapple, and pecans, and we also add marshmallows to it. Granted, not everyone likes adding cottage cheese to it but the grocery store near where I live does put cottage cheese in theirs and they sell it with the name Watergate Salad. Where do you live? If you live up north or west then perhaps they just have a different name for it.
Actually, i live in Texas and i did look it when you posted. It is exactly that. I was just told it was called congeal by Lubys and everyone around here, seems to know it by that name as well. That was how i started eating “some” cottage cheese. Thats was some years back but, this craving for plain cottage cheese was a couple of months back. Now, i dont even crave it. It was just for that time and for that month and a half. By your post, you sound as though ypu may be a southerner as well.
Yes, I’m from Tennessee and it’s one of my favorite desserts.
Oh ok (I have family up there in Tennessee)! Thanks Kanna! Have yourself a goodnight and Happy Easter! Too bad i found out this recipe a lil too late for tomorrows festivities!
No problem and have a good night as well.
Thanks for clarifying the name though. Looking it up lead me to recipes regarding this dessert. Always wondered how or what it exactly was made of.
American cottage cheese is terrible. Try Israeli cottage cheese – it’s a totally different texture and really delicious ( I like 3% but 5% is good too). You can get it at Glatt Mart on Pico or probably any of the other Israeli grocery stores in LA.
I love large curd cottage cheese, and I’m not that big a fan of the small curd. The creamy salty nature of curds and whey just makes me happy, yet there seems to be a grocery conspiracy against large curd. You’ll see row upon row of various fat-%’s, varieties with fruits and veggies, but only one row (if it exists) of large curd. Trader Joes’s doesn’t even carry the delicious large-curd style. I can’t be the only one who likes it, so does anyone know why this conspiracy against large curd exists??
My 10 year old eats cottage cheese with almost every meal. We used it as a bribe to get her to eat her vegetables when she was little. We also had to tell her that not everybody has cottage cheese at their house otherwise when we went to someone else’s house for dinner she would get really upset that they didn’t have cottage cheese.
I’m 29, and I always saw my grandmother eating it with cantaloupe or pineapple (gag). I hated the watery non-flavor of the cottage cheese with the sickeningly sweet taste of the fruit. It wasn’t until I discovered small-curd and/or higher fat cottage cheese, and here’s the key, served SAVORY, that I decided I liked it. Add some salt, forget the fruit, and you’re good to go.
I’ve loved it since I was a kid. My brother and stepdad hated it though.
Cottage cheese is misunderstood: Its association with a “diet plate” has made many not appreciate its merits. My taste buds have changed over time; and, while I have not had cottage cheese very recently, I do not DISLIKE it either; and certainly am open to buying it sometime soon: By the way, as a source of calcium, it is a definite plus. :-)
I’m 23 and just got into eating healthier and I actually love it raw without any additives. It feels so clean going into your body! And leaves you full just by eating a little bit of it. It’s the perfect midnight snack and I’m starting to find myself craving it. It’s a mini meal by itself, because it’s packed with protein, fiber and even carbs. I would consider getting used to eating it raw straight up but I’m sure it taste really good with fruits. Your digestive system, waist line and immune system will thank you for eating this super food!!! :)
I’m 15 and I adore cottage cheese. Plain. I hate it sweet, I believe cheese shouldn’t be sweet! But cottage cheese plain or with paprika or Worcester sauce is amaaaazing.
Yeah cottage cheese is dope son
I’m 14 and I love it it is great as dip even great with pepper
I’m 39. I’ve been eating it since my mid 30s I love it. all cheese is curds so to say in a way since all cheese is well – made from milk that is molded in sense. Wikipedia says “a required step in cheesemaking is separating the milk into solid curds and liquid whey. Usually this is done by acidifying (souring) the milk and adding rennet.” (the curdling processes is not only found in cottage cheese). But the number one reason why I think people hate it is due to the looks of it. It doesn’t look like mozzarella or cheddar. I think the lumpy look to it just turns people off. I wonder if blue cheese does this to people? I don’t like the taste of blue cheese, has nothing to do with the texture. When I was younger (under 25) I would judge cottage cheese based on how it looked. I just looked nasty to me. I didn’t even begin to taste it until my 30s. I guess if you like crunchy things you won’t like any cheese since I don’t know of any cheese that is crunchy and some are very spreadable such as brie or cream cheese.
My toddler loved cottage cheese! It was a great way to introduce dairy without sugar (as most mom’s do with yogurt or in cereal). Here is proof that it works! https://youtu.be/P53C0nr33Eg
I have loved cottage cheese since childhood. I like the 4% with lots of “juice” and have found the Reiter brand to be the best for my tastebuds. Just fascinated at all the different ways people eat it! I’ve never tried it as a smoothie and can’t wait!
I love cottage cheese, I’m 34 and eat if item. Usually in a bowl with a spoon, but sometimes I scoop it wound crackers or tortilla chips