What Does Cottage Cheese Taste Like?

Ever heard Little Miss Muffet and wondered what those curds and whey were? Well, chances are they were cottage cheese. 

Generally, cottage cheese is salty and a bit sour, with an overall mild flavor. However, it’s the texture that most people take issue with. It’s chunky, lumpy, and somewhat wet.

Depending on the type of milk used to make the cottage cheese, you could end up with a more sour or creamy taste.

Taste

Like we mentioned, different types of milk will produce different types of cottage cheese. 

Higher Milk Fat

If the texture of cottage cheese turns you off, look for one that is made with a higher milk fat percentage. 

This will give the cottage cheese a saltier taste along with a creamier texture.

Low Milk Fat

If you enjoy a chunkier texture to your cottage cheese, try to find one that is made with either fat-free or 1% milk. 

With this milk, you will have a much more sour-flavored cottage cheese that retains the lumpy texture of the curds.

Smell

Another thing that is distinctive about cottage cheese is the way it smells.

Overall, it has a smell that is somewhat reminiscent of milk that has just gone bad. It has a sour aroma that doesn’t smell particularly appetizing.

Is It Similar to Ricotta Cheese

While cottage cheese and ricotta cheese have some similarities, you certainly wouldn’t want to substitute them for each other.

Ricotta is also a textured cheese. However, cottage cheese has large clumps of curds in it, while ricotta has a much finer texture.

Ricotta is also sweeter and creamier than cottage cheese, which is fairly sour.

Why You Should Eat Cottage Cheese

So, we’ve just told you that cottage cheese is a salty, lumpy, wet mixture that smells like sour milk. Why would you want to eat it?

Well, believe it over not, cottage cheese is fairly popular. While not everyone’s taste, plenty of people like texture in their food.

If the texture is not an issue for you, cottage cheese is healthy and versatile. You can add a little sugar and fruit if you’d like something sweet. Or you can mix it with avocado and top some toast with it. 

While it is both salty and sour, the flavors are mild and pair well with other tastes.

The Takeaway

Cottage cheese is a fairly decisive food. However, if you enjoy a little texture in your food and taste that’s more sour than sweet, give it a try.

If you’re scared off by the chunkiness and sourness, look for cottage cheese with a higher milk fat content. It will be somewhat sweeter and much creamier.