A man from childhood is familiar with such an uncomplicated dish as cottage cheese. This most important nutritious product, the benefits of which can hardly be overestimated, is also tasty. It goes well with other products and serves as the basis for a large number of dishes. Many people like this product, and it will be useful for them to find out how cottage cheese is useful.
Cottage cheese is a universal food product
Curd is a protein fermented milk product that mankind began to use in the III-IV century BC, along with other dairy products, when it learned to tame wild cows and goats. Different peoples made and consumed cottage cheese in accordance with their traditions. From then until now, it is necessarily present in the nutrition of people.
Everyone knows that milk is the first human food. It is intended by nature to feed offspring. It contains almost all the nutritional elements that a child needs, and with its help a person adapts to existence in our world. Cottage cheese is a milk concentrate, therefore it is even healthier and more nutritious than milk. It has enough protein that is needed for the growth of the child's body. This protein is digested faster and easier than protein from meat. Therefore, for the sick, weakened, as well as for the elderly, cottage cheese is simply irreplaceable.
Everyone knows another feature of cottage cheese - a sufficient amount of calcium, which is involved in the circulatory system of the body and is needed to build a bone skeleton.
To more fully consider the question of how useful cottage cheese is for a person, you need to first study the process of obtaining it.
Homemade cottage cheese
Getting cottage cheese involves fermenting milk. Sourdough may be a crust of bread, sour cream or kefir. So milk is fermented in the center of Russia.
In the south of the country, a clean goat stomach is used for this, in which milk is placed and suspended for a while. Under the influence of the gastric enzyme, milk coagulates and cottage cheese is obtained. This method of producing cottage cheese using enzymes is called the rennet method.
Consider the second method of obtaining cottage cheese. After souring the milk, the yogurt is heated to 80-90 degrees, which leads to the formation of clumps of cottage cheese on its surface. And then the mixture is filtered through gauze or a sieve. This method of obtaining cottage cheese is called acidic. It should be noted here that heating to a temperature of 80-90 degrees leads to the death of lactic acid bacteria.
The process of obtaining cottage cheese in the food industry
In this case, the fermentation of pasteurized milk occurs under the influence of lactic acid bacteria such as lactococci and thermophilic lactic streptococci. These bacteria are introduced into milk, which is a nutrient medium for them, and ferment it, producing lactic acid. Lactic acid bacteria are very beneficial for the microflora of the human intestines. They inhibit the activity of pathogenic microorganisms and increase the functioning of beneficial intestinal bacteria. And as you know, human immunity, intestinal motility and all the activity of the gastrointestinal tract depend on the work of these beneficial bacteria. And this is one of the answers to the question, what is the use of cottage cheese.
Getting cottage cheese in an acidic way
This method of obtaining cottage cheese is similar to making it at home, that is, fermented milk is heated to 80-90 degrees. The mixture formed on the surface is placed in devices called dehydrators. Here it must be recalled that lactic acid bacteria appear to die.
A method of obtaining cottage cheese using enzymes
This method consists in adding special enzymes to fermented milk, which have the property of folding proteins. Next, the process ends in the dehydrator. With this method of producing cottage cheese, which is called acid rennet, the effect of high temperature does not occur, therefore lactic acid bacteria remain alive and unharmed.
Nutrition value of cottage cheese
The quantitative values of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the composition of cottage cheese with a fat content of 9% per 100 g of product are as follows:
- proteins - 16.0 g;
- fats - 9.0 g;
- carbohydrates - 2.0 g.
Mineral composition of cottage cheese
The quantitative values of mineral substances in the composition of cottage cheese with a fat content of 9% per 100 g of product are as follows:
- Ca (calcium) - 160 mg;
- P (phosphorus) - 220 mg;
- K (potassium) - 140 mg;
- Mg (magnesium) - 25 mg;
- Na (sodium) - 30 mg;
- Fe (iron) - 0.4 mg.
The quantitative values of vitamins in the composition of cottage cheese with a fat content of 9% per 100 g of product are as follows:
- Vitamin A (retinol) - 0.05 mg;
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) - 1.0 mg;
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.04 mg;
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 0.27 mg;
- Vitamin B3 (niacin) - 0.5 mg;
- Vitamin B4 (Choline) - 46.7 mg;
- Vitamin D (calciferol) - 0.29 mcg.
Benefit
The chemical composition and nutritional value of cottage cheese is determined by its components. Cottage cheese is a protein product. Proteins make up all the cells of the body, as well as all the enzymes and hormones. And the proteins of cottage cheese have gone through a cycle of lactic acid fermentation and are already hydrolyzed, therefore they are absorbed more easily and faster. In addition to proteins, irreplaceable amino acids are present in cottage cheese, such as tryptophan, methionine and lysine, therefore, all therapeutic diets for heart and liver diseases include this product. And this is another answer to the question of what is useful cottage cheese.
Patients with atherosclerosis are prescribed cottage cheese due to the presence of lecithin in it, which helps to remove cholesterol from the body.
After looking at the composition of the cottage cheese, you can see how much calcium is in the cottage cheese, as well as phosphorus and other macronutrients. Salts of calcium and phosphorus are associated with cottage cheese proteins and accelerate its digestion. And calcium, phosphorus and magnesium are needed for the regeneration of all tissues in the body, they contribute to the growth of hair, teeth and a satisfactory condition of the skeleton. Therefore, cottage cheese is very useful during pregnancy.
For patients with diabetes, cottage cheese is one of the most necessary products due to the small amount of carbohydrates in it.
Which cottage cheese is healthier: fat-free or fatty?
Fats are one of the important components of cottage cheese, and their high biological value is due to the presence of essential fatty acids in them. Fats are part of the cells of the body, especially nerve tissue, and supply energy there, in addition, they have a protective and plastic function. Of particular note is methionine, which is able to reduce the accumulated fat in the liver. Therefore, cottage cheese is the No. 1 product for people with liver diseases.
But what kind of cottage cheese is more useful: fat-free or fatty? The classification of cottage cheese according to the degree of fat content is as follows:
- non-fat <1.8% fat;
- non-greasy <4.0% fat;
- classic - 9.0% fat;
- fat - 18.0% fat.
And the dependence of the protein content in cottage cheese on the percentage of fat in it per 100 g of product is as follows:
- fat-free - 18 g;
- low-fat - 16 g;
- classic - 16 g;
- fat - 14 g.
Fat-free cottage cheese contains a little more protein than classic or fat cottage cheese. But calcium is worse. It turns out that calcium is absorbed in the presence of fats. Therefore, no matter how much calcium is in the curd, it still will not be absorbed. It will also lack fat-soluble vitamins, in particular vitamin A. The most balanced in this example is the classic cottage cheese, which will be most useful for a healthy person.
Cholesterol is known to be proportional to fat. Therefore, in fat-free cottage cheese there will be a minimal amount of it. For people who are prescribed a cholesterol-free diet, low-fat cottage cheese is an excellent food. But in addition, in this case, you need to take vitamins and other foods containing calcium.
How to choose cottage cheese: home or store?
This question arises before every mistress. It seems that home-made cottage cheese bought at the bazaar should be better, but there is reason to think. What can be said about this product? Most likely, nothing is known about him. What milk is cottage cheese made of, how was it fermented, and then filtered? This is a task with many unknowns. Of course, it can be used, but after being subjected to heat treatment in the manufacture of any dish from it.
Choosing store cottage cheese, you need not to lose vigilance. All product characteristics are indicated on its wrapper. They must be read necessarily. First, you need to look at the date of manufacture, choosing a fresh product. Cottage cheese refers to perishable products, since the process of fermentation in it continues constantly. Secondly, you need to read information about all its components.
If the cottage cheese contains only lactic acid bacteria and milk, then this means that it was further heated. Then these beneficial bacteria will not be in it, but other dietary qualities will be preserved.
If the curd contains lactic acid bacteria, milk and rennet, then the product did not heat up. Therefore, all the beneficial bacteria in it have been preserved. It remains only to determine the fat content.
If you want to determine which cottage cheese to give your child, you need to stop at a fresh store cottage cheese with a fat content of 4%. But it is much better to cook the cottage cheese for the child yourself. To do this, use boiled milk, which the child usually drinks, ferment it with lactic acid bacteria purchased in the pharmacy, and after fermentation, hang it for a while to remove the serum, but in no case heat it. The resulting product can be safely given to the child.
Storage conditions for cottage cheese
This product is stored only in the refrigerator at a temperature of 2-6 degrees for up to 3 days. For longer storage, the cottage cheese can be frozen, then it can be stored up to 7 days.
Properly selected or cooked cottage cheese will bring much more benefits to the body than a product that is hastily selected or improperly made. It turns out that this also requires knowledge, because knowledge is power!