Fermented Dairy Ingredients 345the cottage cheese. Well - soured cream with a
low pH reduces liquid separation because it
does not separate into free cream (Walstra
et al. 2006 ). Salt can be incorporated into
the cream before mixing with the curd or
added separately during mixing of the curd
and cream (Kosikowski and Mistry 1997 ).Shelf Life of Cottage Cheese
The shelf life of cottage cheese is quite
limited because its composition permits
microorganisms to grow (Walstra et al. 2006 ).
When refrigerated, the shelf life of most
commercial cottage cheese is about 12 days,
though there are products manufactured
under stringent quality controlled conditions
that can have a shelf life up to 21 days. The
defects of cottage cheese include lack of fi ne
fl avor; high acid; bitterness; grainy - mealy,
pasty, or weak - soft texture; over - creamed,
shattered curd; and free whey appearance
(Kosikowski and Mistry 1997 ).
Attempts to increase the shelf life of
cottage cheese include the addition of sorbic
acid to the creaming mix. Cottage cheese also
may be packaged under carbon dioxide to
inhibit the growth of undesirable bacteria,
especially the Gram - negative psychrotrophs
(Walstra et al. 2006 ).Use of Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese can be eaten directly, with
fruits, with fruit puree, with green salad, on
toast as a spread, and as an ingredient in
many different foods. Its use as a fi lling is
notable in products such as blintzes, a
pancake - like food originating in Eastern
Europe that is associated with Jews during
Hanukkah. Cottage cheese mixed with ricotta
cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spinach in
lasagna. It can be combined with quark and
used in cheesecake. In India, sandesh, a cot-
ztage cheese analog, is mixed with 10%
herbal paste containing turmeric, coriander,such as mesolactide and glucono - δ - lactone as
well as inorganic acids such as phosphoric
and hydrochloric acids have been used
(Kosikowski and Mistry 1997 ). Acidifi cation
is carried out at a low temperature with vigor-
ous stirring of the milk until the pH reaches
4.6. Heating is carried out by passing an elec-
tric current through the milk without agita-
tion. The milk is then allowed to set for about
12 minutes. The remaining manufacturing
steps are the same as in the short - set method,
above (Walstra et al. 2006 ).
Quality of Cottage Cheese
The appearance and fl avor perception of
cottage cheese are directly affected by the
curd size and their distribution. The freshly
cut curd is soft and fragile. Leaving the cut
curd for 10 to 15 minutes drains out a little
whey; hence, increasing the fi rmness of the
curd granules and preventing damage during
stirring. Slower cooking of the curd results in
more even syneresis, whereas faster heating
produces grainy curd with a dry, fi rm rind.
Therefore, the rate of heating affects the con-
sistency and fi rmness of cottage cheese
(Walstra et al. 2006 ). Heating at a higher
temperature terminates the activity of many
bacteria and deactivates the rennet.
Curd washing is typical in cottage cheese
manufacture. Insuffi cient washing results in
a product with a rather acidic fl avor, render-
ing it unacceptable. The curd is washed three
times by pumping in cold water equal to the
amount of whey drawn off, and 5 to 20 ppm
of active chloride is often added to the last
wash water to prevent growth of undesirable
microorganisms (Kosikowski and Mistry
1997 , Walstra et al. 2006 ).
Adding cream (sweet or cultured) to the
low - fat curd improves the cottage cheese
fl avor and texture because it replaces the fat
that is lost during manufacture and lubricates
the curd granules. The pH of the cream plays
important role in determining the quality of