The unique texture of cottage cheese begins with milk, rennet and a buttermilk starter. The home cook or manufacturer heats the milk and then adds the starter and rennet to the heated milk to begin the cooking process. The process takes from five to 24 hours, depending on the method. Cottage cheese can be a healthy addition to your diet, as the cheese is high in protein and can be low in calories.
Serving Size and Calories
A serving of cottage cheese is 1/2 cup. The calories in cottage cheese vary depending on the ingredients used to make the cheese. In a 1/2-cup serving, regular-fat cottage cheese contains 103 calories, low-fat cottage cheese contains 81 calories and fat-free cottage cheese has 52 calories.
Fats
Regular cottage cheese has 4.5 fat grams per serving, or 39 percent of the total calories in 1/2 cup. The fat in regular cottage cheese is 40 percent saturated fats and 60 percent healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. You should limit your saturated fats to help keep your heart healthy. Low-fat and fat-free cottage cheese contain 1.2 g and .21 g of fats, respectively. The fat-free cottage cheese has a trace of saturated fat, while the low-fat has less than 1 g of saturated fat.
Other Nutrients
Cottage cheese contains 87 mg of calcium, about 9 percent of your total daily value. Calcium is important for bone density in both children and adults, making cottage cheese a healthy addition to your diet. Calcium is also relatively high in protein, with 1/2 cup having 12 mg of protein, or about 20 to 25 percent of the recommended consumption for men and women, respectively. Cottage cheese contains riboflavin, vitamins B-12 and B-6, folate and vitamin A. Cottage cheese is a source of other minerals such as zinc, potassium, phosphorous and selenium.
Warning
While cottage cheese has both protein and calcium, the processing of the cheese involves salt. A 1/2-cup serving of regular cottage cheese has 382 mg of sodium, which is about 25 percent of your daily allotment of 1,500 mg. Purchase low-sodium, fat-free cottage cheese to avoid both saturated fats and excess sodium. Regular cottage cheese also has 18 mg of dietary cholesterol per serving, which is 6 percent of the recommended intake of 300 mg as recommended by the American Heart Association. Too much cholesterol contributes to heart disease. The lower-fat versions of cottage cheese contain just 5 mg of cholesterol.
Uses
Consider eating 4 oz. of non-fat cottage cheese mixed with fruit for a mid-morning snack or as part of your breakfast meal. You can use low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese in a healthier version of cheesecake, in casseroles, as an alternative to butter in mashed potatoes or in macaroni and cheese.
References
- University of Missouri Extension; Homemade Cottage Cheese; Harold J. Bassett; October 1993
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Cottage Cheese, Large or Small Curd, Cottage Cheese, Low-Fat, Cottage Cheese, Non-Fat
- Virginia Department of Health: How Much is a Serving?
- Ask the Dietitian; Heart Disease, Cholesterol, Saturated and Trans Fat; Joanne Larsen, M.S., R.D., L.D.
- National Institutes of Health: Calcium
- Institute of Medicine; Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
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