Manufacturing Outlines and Applications of Selected Cheese Varieties 291Table 11.10. Approximate chemical composition of various cultured, acid – coagulated cheeses.
Cheese pH % Moisture % Fat % Protein % Salt % Lactose
Cottage, creamed, 4% fat 4.9 79.0 4.1 12.5 1.0 2.7
Cottage, 2% fat 4.9 79.8 2.0 14 1.0 2.8
Cottage, 1% fat 4.9 79.9 1.0 15 1.0 2.9
Cottage, fat free 4.7 79.9 < 0.5 17.3 0 1.8
Bakers 4.5 74 0.2 – 0.6 19 < 0.1 2.6
Cream, regular 4.6 53.7 34.9 7.5 0.7 – 1.2 2.7
Cream, low fat 4.6 64.1 13.5 13 0.7 – 1.2 2.5
Cream, fat free 4.6 76.0 < 0.5 14 0.7 – 1.2 2.7
Neufchatel 4.6 62.2 23.4 10.0 0.75 2.9
Quark, creamed 4.4 73 12 10 0.1 – 0.7 2.6
Quark, low fat 4.5 82 0.5 13 0.1 – 0.7 2.7Adapted from USDA (2002) , Chandan (2003) , Nath (1993) , Lucey (2003)
million lbs; 360,748 million lbs; and 420,844
million lbs, respectively (USDA, 2008).
A good - quality cottage cheese should
have a clean, creamy, cultured milk fl avor;
natural creamy color; and meaty, soft texture.
It should have reasonably uniform curd size,
and should not be pasty or too fi rm. It should
have a uniform cream layer around the curd
particles with a minimum of free cream.
Depending on the plant schedule, short - set,
medium - set, or long - set methods may be
used. The long - set method calls for 1%
starter and an incubation temperature of 22 ° C
(72 ° F) for 12 to 16 hours. The short - set
method uses fermentation with 5% to 7%
starter at 32 ° C (90 ° F) for four to six hours.
The intermediate - set method employs condi-
tions between the two.
The manufacturing operation may consist
of a simple cheese vat and equipment for
whey removal, curd washing, draining, and
creaming. The creamed curd is pumped to a
fi ller for packaging. In general, large - scale
operations employ automated systems to
continuously carry out the various steps out-
lined below.- Setting. Raw skim milk is pasteurized at
73 ° C for 16.5 seconds. It is desirable to
avoid previously heated milk because a
minimum of heat treatment is needed to
avoid curd weakness and subsequent shat-
tering of the curd. The pasteurized milk is
The fermentation is continued to reach a pH
of between 4.5 and 4.7. Coagulation to a fi rm
curd is achieved while heating to a maximum
of 48.9 ° C (120 ° F) without agitation. The
coagulated mass may be cut and stirred, fol-
lowed by whey draining. The curd is washed
with water, stirred, and further drained. It
may be pressed, chilled, worked, and sea-
soned with salt.
Alternatively, food - grade acids (hydro-
chloric, phosphoric, citric, lactic acids) or
D - Glucono - δ - lactone with or without rennet
may added in such amounts to reach a fi nal
pH in the range of 4.5 to 4.8. The mixture is
held until it becomes coagulated. The coagu-
lated mass may be cut, cooked, and drained
and processed further as in the cultured
process. However, the product must be
labeled “ directly set, ” “ direct acid set, ” or
“ curd set by direct acidifi cation. ”
To extend the shelf life of cottage cheese,
sorbates are allowed. It may contain fruits,
seafood, meats, and vegetables. It is mar-
keted as small curd (less than 4 - cm diameter)
or large curd (greater than 8 - cm diameter).
Cottage cheese contains signifi cantly lower
fat content than most cheeses. It is a good
source of protein and is a popular part of
low - calorie diet. Cottage cheese is a major
dairy product in the North America. In 2007,
the United States production of cottage
cheese curd, creamed cottage cheese, and
low - fat cottage cheese totaled 460,630