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Cream cheese / cottage cheese....


Kanniewagnie

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Hi,

 

I want to make a tart with smooth cottage cheese as one of the ingredients, but when I'm at the supermarket, I'm so confused with all the different options - last time I made the recipe, I've bought the 'bulla cottage cheese' - it did not say chunky on the lable, but I had to try and smoothen it with a stick blender... (don't laugh, I call it my donderstokkie)

 

This time I've bought the Philladelphia cream cheese to make the recipe - hope it does'nt matter that it's not cottage cheese?

 

Can some enlightened person share with me what the differences (and uses) between these are?

 

Cream cheese

Cottage cheese

Mascarpone

Smooth Ricotta

 

Thank you!

Edited by Kanniewagnie
Grammar
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Hi @Kanniewagnie, Although I cannot fully answer your question I have lately been following a fellow by the name of Gavin Webber on youtube who makes his own cheese. Maybe take a look at his website and see if he has videos on the making of those cheeses and then you will be able to see the difference in the ingredients. https://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/

 

I also had a very interesting chat to a lady who had come to view my house (? that she places an offer on it) she mentioned off the cuff that in her studies through South Africa and Australia in the last 10 years, she has learned that South Africa specialises more in diary farming and related products more than Australia. I thought that tied in quite nicely to what some people have been saying on the forum about not being able to find their favorite cheeses in Australia. Anyway hope you find a good answer :)

 

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Ricotta is made from whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking,  and my understanding is that is essentially a double cook of that product (some people say ricotta is not a cheese at all).

Mascarpone is made from cream.

Cottage cheese has milk as the main ingredient, which is curdled - the cottage cheese is the curdled bit and the whey is drained away.

Cream cheese is made from cream (like mascarpone) and milk.  It is then thickened and stabilizers added to maintain the texture.

As a result they are all different in composition and taste.  Ricotta and cottage cheese is grainy, while cream cheese and mascarpone is smooth.  Cream cheese is generally not as sweet as mascarpone, which is why mascarpone is used for things like tiramisu, while cream cheese is used for things that want a thicker slightly consistency but less sweet (like cheese cake).  Ricotta is great for filling pasta like ravioli as it allows the flavours of the sauce to come through.

For a cheese cake I would use cream cheese, while you can use cottage cheese and it would be a lower fat version, the texture will be slightly different and the taste would be slightly less sweet.  All of the above are available at Coles and Woolies so should be realitively easy to find what you need.  The difference may be in which section of the fridge you will find them in.  

 

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Thank you for the replies - so the tart will be much richer with the cream cheese than with the cottage cheese. Sunnyskies, can you recommend a cottage cheese that is smooth (equal to Simonsberg)?  I was not impressed with the bulla tub that I've bought the previous time...

 

Wow, you guys are so clued up!!

 

Jonathan,  sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not the type of person who makes pasta / cheese / boerewors / jam at home...  where on earth do people find the time?  I'll go as far as baking rusks... I even  made canned beetroot when my dad in law had a vege garden - but it's so cheap here, (and fresh beetroot so expensive in comparisson!)

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Hi Kanniewagnie

 

I use Paul's, but I'm not a cottage cheese connoisseur!

 

Sunny

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I use cream cheese for my cheesecake, and it is always Philidelphia Cream Cheese.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi @Kanniewagnie

 

Cottage and cream cheese are worlds apart. Both as people say, in flavour, texture, use and cost. Your best is to go to a cheese shop, not the Coles/Woolies stuff. ONLY if you are fussy like me! :) For me, the taste between Coles/Woolies and a little home made cheese shop are MILES apart.

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@Mara

 

I cheat sometimes and will use some Philly to thicken up a sauce or a soup. I love the richness it gives a bowl. For summer I use it with gazpacho and the like.

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  • 4 months later...

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