Curd cheese: how to make at home, calorie, benefit and harm

Curd cheese appeared on the shelves of Russian stores relatively recently, but has already managed to conquer consumers due to its exquisite taste and the ability to use to create savory snacks, sweet pastries, main dishes and vegetable salads. The possibilities of using this type of cheese in cooking are truly endless, but it is extremely important not to confuse the dairy product with its vegetable counterpart.

Despite the fact that this product is called cheese, it has absolutely nothing to do with all other cheese products of semi-solid and solid varieties. Here you will not find either a rich yellow color, or mold or cheese holes. Curd soft cheeses have a rather soft texture, and their structure is similar to coarse-grained cottage cheese.

Generally speaking, cottage cheese and curd cheese are very similar, since both of them at the production stage do not go through the standard stage of prolonged ripening. It is safe to say that curd cheese is a kind of food product that takes up the middle position between the traditional type of cheese and cottage cheese.

As a rule, curd cheese is made from cream or whole cow milk. This raw material is fermented by special lactic acid bacteria, as a result, the process of souring and fermentation of lactose begins, therefore such cheese can be used even by people who are intolerant to dairy products.

Nowadays, some manufacturers sell curd cheeses in the widest range, but when you buy, you must carefully read the inscriptions on the packaging - if it says that you have cheese, then you are dealing with a natural product made from real milk. But if the inscription says that there is a cream cheese or cheese product on the counter, this indicates that its structure includes vegetable components, including palm oil.

Keep in mind that high-quality cheese can only be white, the presence of any colored impurities indicates artificial additives and vegetable substitutes for natural ingredients. When purchasing cheese, make sure that there is no liquid and no traces of green mold - the appearance of a particular sign indicates the deterioration of the food product.

In the product range of manufacturers offered cheeses with a real creamy smell and taste, with special additives from spices, red fish, mushrooms, herbs, etc.

Curd cheese is very beneficial with parsley, dill and cilantro, selected types of vegetables, as well as fruits, sea fish, meat and pasta. With the use of the product you can cook a variety of dishes without any problems. Spreading this cheese on thin pita bread and adding to it some greens or salted fish, you can roll a spicy roll, in addition, they can also stuff tomatoes, stuff tartlets or create a sharp stuffing for cannelloni.

Many housewives take curd cheese for making sweet cakes without baking, cupcakes and other desserts. The product is universally included in the savory sauces for fish and meat dishes.

The market of soft cheeses in our country is mostly represented by products of foreign manufacturers. Among the most popular brands are Almette, Milkana, as well as President, Creme Bonjour and Viola.

Domestic manufacturers have mastered the technology of manufacturing this product more recently - no more than 3-5 years ago. The most famous brands are the cheeses Delissir and Violette - reviews of the products of these brands are always positive.

Cheese from cottage cheese can have different quality and different composition, the structure of the product directly depends on it.If the packaging of the product says that the composition of the proposed product includes regular milk or cream, as well as milky sourdough and salt, then you have a nutritious natural product. If the structure includes various preservatives, flavors and various flavor enhancers, the purchase of such a product should be immediately abandoned. But the definition of "thermalized" signals that during the processing of raw materials, it was subjected to heat treatment. This approach causes a long shelf life of the product, which can reach 4 months.

If you are planning to prepare a sweet dessert, then it is best to buy cheese with a creamy taste - it has a very necessary structure, it is characterized by a white tint without any extra impurities.

Curd cheese has a balanced composition of BJU, contains a lot of animal protein essential for the body, as well as significant concentrations of many other nutritional components.

100 grams of the product contains the amount of calcium, which by 10% satisfies the daily need of the body for this trace element, and phosphorus - 20% of the daily value.

Cheese can not be called a low-calorie dish - the same 100 g of the product contains 317 calories. However, this indicator may vary slightly depending on which additives are included in the product structure.

Cheese made from cottage cheese is rich in various vitamins, especially retinol, thiamine, riboflavin and pantothenic acid, as well as phylloquinone and folic acid. In addition, the product is rich in magnesium, potassium, fluorine, iron and selenium.

The structure of the product is dominated by fatty acids - their content is 50% of the total chemical composition of the product.

Curd cheese is very good for health, it contains a large amount of phosphates, which contribute to the full growth and development of tissues and internal organs. Cheese is a good source of milk protein, as well as carbohydrates and fat.

The product is a leader among other lactic acid products in the concentration of essential amino acids, which are the main building material of all tissues and cells of the human body.

The benefit of the product is due to its exceptional vitamin and mineral composition. Phosphorus and calcium significantly improve the condition of the body, help strengthen and regenerate muscle and bone tissue, as well as strengthen teeth, nails and hair.

The presence of iron improves the qualitative composition of blood and increases hemoglobin, making the product considered a good prophylactic against anemia and anemia.

The use of cottage cheese cheese normalizes the work of the cardiovascular system, optimizes the metabolism and the most beneficial effect on the processes of digestion.

A high concentration of vitamins of group B helps to optimize the nervous regulation, reduce the manifestations of emotional stress and depression, and in addition, improves the quantity and quality of sleep.

Vitamin A improves visual acuity, and vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, that is, it suspends all the aging processes and reduces the manifestations of age-related changes.

Curd cheese has no obvious contraindications except for the individual intolerance of its components. However, for some health problems, it should be treated with caution.

Cheese has a high calorie, so it is not recommended to include in the menu for people suffering from obesity and trying to get rid of extra pounds, that is, dieters.

The product is not recommended for people with severe pathologies of the heart, elevated levels of cholesterol, it is also worth limiting its use in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in the acute stage. In this case, the body is quite difficult to digest such a large amount of fat at a time.

In addition, the product contains salt, which is sodium chloride, so this product is not very useful for patients with hypertensive and ischemic diseases.

There is an opinion that curd cheese is a derivative of curd, and therefore it has the same effect on the body. This is a common misconception - yes, the product is made from cottage cheese, but in the process of technological processing its composition and structure undergo significant changes. Therefore, it is not necessary to include in the diet curd cheese as a complete substitute for cottage cheese.

If you like to feast on soft cottage cheese, but the store products cause you to have serious doubts about the quality and naturalness of the composition, you can make the product yourself at home. Such an appetizer will be completely natural, all the components necessary for its preparation have an affordable price and relatively low cost, and the technology itself is so simple that even a child can cope with it.

Classic cheese is made from sour cream, kefir and salt. Experienced housewives recommend taking kefir with a fat content of 3.6%, and sour cream - with an indicator of 18%. It is very important that all products are exceptionally fresh. At the exit it turns out cottage cheese cheese and whey, which can be drunk, and can be used for cooking pancakes or fritters.

So, for the preparation of the product will need (instructions step by step):

• kefir - 500 ml;
• sour cream - 500 g;
• salt - 1 tsp;
• dill - 1/2 bunch.

All ingredients (except greens) should be placed in an optimal volume container, mix and leave for some time so that the salt is dissolved in full. To speed up this process a little, it is advisable to use dairy raw materials heated to room temperature - in this case, the salt dissolves almost instantly.

Then you need to take a sieve or colander and cover it with gauze, folded in 3-4 layers. Alternatively, you can use a thick cotton fabric and gently pour the resulting sour cream-kefir mixture there. Do not forget to put the pan under the sieve, since transparent whey will begin to flow into it. In this form, the workpiece should be left in a warm place for a couple of hours, and then move the entire structure to a cold place where the product should spend another 7-9 hours. During this time, a part of the whey will stand out from it and the initial weight will slightly thicken.

Then it follows a little to bend the edges of the cloth so that your future cheese is closed on all sides, move it to a flat plate and put a yoke (even a jar of favorite jam is suitable for this) and send it again in the refrigerator for 11-12 hours. Then the napkin can be removed and enjoy the delicate taste of cheese from the curd.

About 450 g of cheese curd and the same amount of whey is obtained from the specified volume of ingredients.

If you want to add dill to the cheese product, then you need to spread food film, foil or parchment on the table and scatter finely chopped greens on it, then put the prepared cheese on it and, helping your hands, cover the product with dill or parsley. Then we roll everything into a roll and send it in the freezer for 30 minutes - in this case, you will get a spicy white-green sausage.

If you don’t have time to bother at all, then you can make some kind of cottage cheese cheese - for this, 250 g of low-fat cottage cheese are mixed with 100 g of butter, half a cucumber, celery root, salt and a few sprigs of parsley or cilantro are added. All prepared components should be stirred until a homogeneous mass by a blender and left in the refrigerator for half an hour.

With the use of low-fat cottage cheese and rustic milk you can cook cheese, which will vaguely resemble the melted one. In this case, you must prepare the following set of products:

• cottage cheese - 1 kg;
• milk - 1 l;
• egg - 1 pc .;
• butter - 110 g;
• soda - 2 tsp;
• salt - a pinch.

To make cheese, boil the milk and mix the cottage cheese with it. After that, boil the entire contents of the pan for another 5-7 minutes with constant stirring until the whey separates. You can do this in a slow cooker or microwave.

After that, as in the first recipe, you should take a colander, cover it with gauze or cloth and pour the curd mass there, wait until the liquid has completely drained, tie it in a knot and hang it.

While the remaining liquid is removed from the future cheese, in a separate container, you need to mix the butter, as well as soda, salt and yolk of the chicken egg.

Of course, homemade cheese is slightly different from the store product, but it contains only natural ingredients. Each housewife can be sure that she has prepared a natural milk dish for her family without adding various concentrates and thickeners.

Curd cheese is a truly unique product that can be included in both savory savory dishes and in sweet pastries.

A very interesting taste is a warm salad made from cottage cheese, basil, garlic, mustard and chicken breast.

For its preparation it is necessary to prepare:

• poultry breast fillet;
• cottage cheese;
• basil;
• garlic;
• peaches;
• red onion;
• mustard;
• some honey;
• lemon juice;
• apple vinegar;
• pepper;
• vegetable oil;
• nuts.

The recipe for cooking is simple: finely chop the chicken breast, fry it in a hot frying pan, then add spices and seasonings. Onions and peaches are crushed separately and a dressing is made from flower honey, vinegar, mustard, sunflower or olive oil and lemon juice.

Combine all components, add diced cottage cheese cheese and season the salad, sprinkle chopped nuts on top of the dish and serve warm to the table.

Another salad is no less tasty - with cottage cheese, mango and arugula. For its preparation take 1 mango, 1 celery root, a handful of greens and cheese to taste. All components are cut, mixed and seasoned with a sauce of honey, Dijon mustard and vegetable oil.

Soft cheese makes savory and delicious steam pancakes. For them, chop the cheese and nectarines finely, place on rice paper, moisten with plain water and add spicy ketchup, then wrap in thin pancake and heat for a few minutes. Serve with rice vinegar, sugar and hot chili pepper sauce.

An interesting snack in haste is obtained from the French baguette and cheese. For this, a crumb is taken out of the baguette and in its place is placed cheese, which is poured with jam or jam to taste, and sprinkled with nuts on top - a sweet snack is ready in 5 minutes. She looks very appetizing and can decorate any holiday table.

Curd cheese blends very well with fruit and is often served as part of a fruit plate - most often melon, peaches or kiwi are put with it.

The ideal snack is a roll prepared from cottage cheese with the addition of red fish and a few sprigs of asparagus (if desired, it can be replaced with ordinary dill). All components are mixed and a thin layer is smeared on the pita, and then rolled into a roll.

Adherents of proper nutrition will certainly appreciate oatmeal, which can be baked using curd cheese. To do this, mix soft cheese, eggs, milk and any berry to taste, as well as oatmeal, ground in a blender. Everything is molded and baked together like a pancake.

This breakfast is very useful for the body, because it provides it with energy and nutrients, but it does not create a load on the digestive organs. By the way, if desired, such a pancake can be made spicy - in this case, sweet components should be replaced with greens or fish with the addition of cucumber or mango.

Irreplaceable curd cheese for making sweet pastries without an oven. If you mix it with sour cream and berries, and then pour the gelatinous mass, you get a gentle and sweet jelly cake.

And if you add a crumb of biscuits to the cheese, you can get a cake that resembles the “potato” that you have loved since childhood.

In addition, cheese cheese is often used as a filling for traditional cakes, so that they become tasty, but perfectly safe for the stomach and shape.

Natural curd cheese has a short shelf life. It should be borne in mind that the beneficial live bacteria are stored in this product only 10 days, while the shelf life is less, the more useful the curd cheese.

Individual manufacturers are trying to increase this time in various ways. The most popular is heat treatment, which increases the shelf life of the product up to 4 months. However, acquiring such a product, it should be borne in mind that during such processing the useful microflora is almost completely destroyed in the product. However, all other useful components remain unchanged.

Three options for making cheese cheese, see the video below.