Our ancestors have learned to make cottage cheese for a long time. In many countries, this product was revered for its nutritional value, and in some it was even endowed with magical power. Thus, according to legend, cottage cheese was Krishna's favorite dish. He praised him for his ability to prolong a person’s youth, protect him from illnesses and give strength. The inhabitants of ancient India gave the cottage cheese the ability to bring good luck. For this, a special rite was even devised to knock down pots of this product from special posts. Those who succeeded, secured happiness and prosperity for a whole year.
In the modern world, cottage cheese is also considered a very popular food product. It is easy to digest and compatible with so many products. The beneficial properties of cottage cheese will be perfectly reflected on the health of a growing organism and older people. It is also indispensable in the diet of those who control their weight.
How to benefit and not harm the body by eating cottage cheese
Despite the fact that meat is considered the main source of protein, cottage cheese practically does not lag behind it in terms of protein content. And if you use low-calorie cottage cheese, you can not worry about raising blood cholesterol, which adherents of meat products cannot boast of.
The value of cottage cheese is hidden already in the process of its preparation. After all, it is at the moment of ripening that its most useful components stand out: protein and milk fat. Using 300 g of cottage cheese, you can satisfy the body's need for a daily dose of protein. The amino acids that make up this product can prevent liver disease. Minerals strengthen bones. And vitamins protect against the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. The consumption of cottage cheese restores the metabolism and nervous system, and also increases hemoglobin. But cottage cheese is useful not only as a food product. It is also used as a cosmetic product for the skin.
Along with the benefits of cottage cheese, harm can also bring the body. So that its consumption does not adversely affect the state of the pancreas, you should not eat it every day. 200 g twice-thrice a week for the body will be enough.
Compared with other fermented milk products, cottage cheese deteriorates faster, thereby provoking the multiplication of E. coli. This fact must be considered when buying a product. Not having confidence in the conditions of its production and storage, it is better to refuse the acquisition. An expired product may affect the intestines and kidneys.
It will not be possible to extract any benefit from the curd product, to which vegetable fats are added. Although it is he who is not able to harm the vessels - unlike fatty cottage cheese, which increases cholesterol and contributes to a disease such as atherosclerosis.
For the purpose of weight control, it is not recommended to use fatty and medium-fat cottage cheese for dieting people and pregnant women. It is best to opt for low-calorie or grained cottage cheese.
It is not recommended to use fresh cottage cheese for people who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract. For them, it is preferable to dishes that have undergone heat treatment: cheesecakes, casseroles, dumplings, etc.
Cottage Cheese: Product Composition
Curd is made from milk - a valuable product that the first person tastes in his life. Therefore, all useful elements are concentrated in the curd. First of all, it is rich in protein, as well as trace elements: iron, calcium and phosphorus. The curd also contains 12 vitamins. All of them are harmoniously balanced, which helps the human body to easily absorb the product.
What good and harm does cottage cheese bring to the human body? The nutritional value is provided by the presence of protein in the product. The formation and strengthening of the skeletal system is facilitated by phosphorus and calcium. The presence of minerals helps prevent anemia. And B vitamins regulate metabolism, improve eyesight, and prevent atherosclerosis.
However, abuse cottage cheese is not worth it, so as not to harm the liver. It is enough for an adult to eat 200 g several times a week. Preschooler - 300 g in 3-4 doses. Kids can be fed cottage cheese not earlier than 7-8 months of age, or even later. The first curd lure should not contain any additives.
Calorie Curd
The nutritional value of cottage cheese directly depends on its fat content. So, 100 g of a fatty product contains 230 kcal, medium-fat - about 160 kcal, and fat-free - 85 kcal.
Moreover, the presence of protein in fatty and low-calorie cottage cheese is not particularly different. Therefore, of course, it is better to choose a non-fat product.
Curd value - in calcium
This trace element plays an important role for the human body. It is necessary to strengthen nails, teeth and bones, which is important for both children and the elderly. Calcium promotes the growth and physiological development of young children. Its deficiency leads to urolithiasis and poor blood coagulation.
100 g of cottage cheese contains approximately 100-120 mg of calcium. In home-made cottage cheese, the calcium content is less. This is due to the fact that during its manufacture most of the trace element remains in serum and does not enter the final product in the required amount.
Why cottage cheese is recommended for children
For children, cottage cheese is an obligatory product in the diet. It is necessary to feed them a child so that he grows well and is strong. For the first time, children are introduced to this sour-milk product even before the year. For babies who are breast-fed or have rickets, they introduce cottage cheese into the diet earlier. Lure begins with half a teaspoon and in a few days, gradually, bring to the dining room.
It is in infancy that the child actively forms teeth and bones, and cottage cheese rich in phosphorus and calcium contributes to this. Milk protein helps to support the development of immunity, as well as the formation of cells and enzymes in the body of a young child.
It is extremely important to include cottage cheese in the diet of pregnant
What is the benefit of cottage cheese for pregnant women? For the full development of the child in the womb, this product is needed, rich in calcium, protein, iron and other trace elements. If something is missing, the child will begin to make up for the deficiency from the mother's body. And then the woman will begin to complain of bad teeth and brittle nails, weak bones and muscles, hair loss. If there is a lack of iron in the body of a pregnant woman, which is involved in the structure of the circulatory system of the child, then she can suffer from anemia and even feel the risk of miscarriage. In order to prevent all this from happening, it is enough for the expectant mother to eat about 200 g of cottage cheese 2-3 times a week. Excessive consumption of the product can lead to problems with the pancreas.
Having decided to include cottage cheese in your diet, the benefits and harms must be discussed with your doctor so as not to harm yourself or your child. Pregnant women should take into account that a home product can be dangerous for them, because it is not known whether sanitary standards were observed in its preparation. You can eat such cottage cheese only if it has been selling for years by a seller you have verified. It is best to give preference to the product from the store, produced in accordance with GOST. Cottage cheese must be purchased without any additives, and also refuse to purchase marked “cottage cheese product” - vegetable fats and preservatives are added to it, and the requirements of Gosstandart are not met in their manufacture.
How to choose cottage cheese in a supermarket
For those who prefer store cottage cheese, you should buy it in transparent plastic packaging. It’s not worth taking in soft, because it is not known whether it was disturbed during storage and if pathogens did not get inside. You need to choose a product only with the name "cottage cheese". Modified names like “cottage cheese” or “cottage cheese product” have nothing to do with a natural product.
The composition of high-quality cottage cheese should not be anything but milk and sourdough. And natural cottage cheese can be stored no more than 7 days. With an increase in shelf life, the manufacturer adds preservatives to it.
What to look for when buying cottage cheese in the market
Fresh cottage cheese should be white with a delicate pastel shade. Yellowness or blue in the product indicates its deterioration. Sometimes unscrupulous sellers mix fresh and stale cottage cheese, as indicated by the heterogeneity of the color.
Fresh cottage cheese should not be bitter or too sour. And its smell should not be harsh.
To increase the volume, semolina can be added to the curd. Recognizing this is easy. Cottage cheese with an admixture will crumble into small parts during a break, while high-quality cottage cheese will be divided into large pieces.
It will not be superfluous to also pay attention to the amount of cottage cheese sold by the seller. If it is more than 10 kg, then, most likely, the cottage cheese is stale and gathered for several days. Because one private trader is unlikely to have so much milk to produce such a large amount of dairy product. Large volumes are available only to farms.
Cottage cheese, which crumbles, will be stored longer, but it is extremely difficult to prepare any dish from it. If the curd is too liquid, then this indicates that it was diluted with something or it began to sour.
Is a low calorie food really good?
Most often, cottage cheese with a minimum fat content is chosen by people who monitor their weight. But not everyone knows that manufacturers often add sugar to such a product to improve its taste. You can read about its availability on the packaging. For the same purpose, cottage cheese is flavored with a large amount of salt, which retains water in the body and leads to edema and excess weight. Therefore, fat-free cottage cheese with its inattentive choice can not always be beneficial.
Not so harmless is grained cottage cheese. It is tastier than diet because of its higher fat content. But you should know that during production such cottage cheese is flavored with cream, which increases its calorie content.
You can make a quality product yourself
This can be a great solution for those who are afraid to run into unscrupulous sellers or producers of cottage cheese. After all, when preparing home-made cottage cheese from milk, you will definitely know what you put in it and in what conditions you cooked.
To prepare a home-made product, you need to take 2 liters of sour milk and salt. We put a deep iron bowl with milk in a water bath and add half a teaspoon of salt. Heat on low heat. In the process, sour milk will begin to curd. We stand for about five minutes and throw the resulting mass into a colander, covered with several layers of gauze. When the whey drains, wrap the cottage cheese in cheesecloth and leave it for a couple of hours in limbo. The output is about 250 g of delicious homemade cottage cheese from milk.
How and how much to store cottage cheese
The shelf life of cottage cheese in the refrigerator is no more than three days. After this period, the product can only be consumed in processed form. If the cottage cheese began to sour, it should be discarded, because it is impossible to stop this process, and its use can adversely affect health.
It is necessary to store the product at a temperature of + 2 + 6 ° C. The shelf life in the refrigerator of cottage cheese purchased in a store can be extended if the manufacturer stated this on the package. But in this case, you must be prepared for the fact that preservatives are present in it. Frozen food can be stored for up to six months. But in this case, the useful properties of cottage cheese are lost by a third. There should not be meat or fish near him, otherwise he will absorb their smells. Thaw the cottage cheese gradually, moving it first to the refrigerator, and after a few hours - to room temperature.
Sending cottage cheese to the refrigerator, it is best to place it in a glass jar or plastic container with a lid. You can also wrap it in parchment or foil. In a cling film or plastic bag, it will quickly deteriorate due to the formation of condensation inside. To extend the freshness of cottage cheese, you can add a piece of sugar to the container.
After heat treatment, curd products can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day, and in the case of baking, up to two.
Delicious cottage cheese dishes
We discussed what benefits and harm cottage cheese brings to the body. It is also worth knowing that many low-calorie dishes can be prepared from this product. That is why people who lose weight often choose it. Curd desserts are easily absorbed and make up the body's need for vitamins and minerals. Let us dwell on a few delicious cottage cheese diet dishes. It’s not difficult to prepare them, and the result will meet all your expectations.
Curd Nut Appetizer
Add salt and finely chopped dill to the curd. Form balls and break them into chopped nuts. This dish can be consumed for dinner.
Cupcakes
Grind the banana in mashed potatoes - it will be in this dish as a sweetener. Mix it with cottage cheese. Add 1 egg and a couple of tablespoons of fiber. Soak blue or ordinary raisins for 10-15 minutes in cold water - this way you will get rid of the toxic chemical substance - sulfur dioxide, which is used when drying dried fruits in industry. Then rinse it and pour boiling water over it for a few seconds. Add the raisins to the curd mass, mix and place in the muffin pan, send to the oven. At a temperature of 200 ° C, the muffins will be ready in 20-30 minutes. It is better to eat them in the morning because of the presence of carbohydrates in them.
Dried Fruit Pie
Mix a glass of oatmeal with the same amount of kefir. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes to swell. Add a pinch of salt, 250 g of cottage cheese and 150 g of various dried fruits (dried apricots, dates, prunes), previously soaked in cold water. 1 tsp extinguish soda with lemon juice. Beat 1 egg into the mass, mix. Put in a silicone form without fat and send to the oven for 40 minutes at a temperature of 200 ° C. It is recommended to use such a cake in the morning.