Move aside Greek yogurt – cottage cheese wants more of your shelf space and a starring role on the American plate like it used to have years ago.  Who can forget eating cottage cheese mixed with canned fruit cocktail or that green Jello salad grandma made combining cottage cheese with pineapple?  Yes, those were the days.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal did a feature on the coolness factor of cottage cheese.  Now wait a minute, cottage cheese is cool?  Well, kind of.  Since the 1970’s when eating cottage cheese was a dieter’s dream, this dairy food has quietly been taken over by yogurts, Greek yogurts, kefir and all other forms of new-fangled milk-based concoctions that have challenged cottage cheese’s domain.  When yogurts hold 13% of total dairy sales and cottage cheese has only a mere 2% in sales, that’s not good for a national food treasure and something has to give.

But cottage cheese has had enough and is now resurrecting itself searching for its spot in the limelight once again.  You see, cottage cheese has always been a nutritious food but consumers are just now finally figuring that out.

Sales of cottage cheese have sagged over the years but there are signs of life of making a comeback stronger than ever.   At the end of October, sales reached $1.1 billion which is encouraging.  Part of what is driving the increase in sales and demand is a cottage cheese makeover.

When you think of cottage cheese, what are your first thoughts?  Maybe you think bland taste, old-fashioned, goopy mouthfeel or white.   And this is exactly the image cottage cheese wants to change.  To meet the ever demanding public’s fickle food taste preferences, what do you think of these new cottage cheese creations– maple syrup cottage cheese, blueberry acai chia cottage cheese or Kalamata olive and basil Parmesan flavored cottage cheese?  This isn’t your grandma’s cottage cheese anymore.

If this is what it takes for consumers to come back to cottage cheese by reinventing and infusingit with exotic flavors, a melt-in-your-mouth experienceand selling it in single serving cups like yogurt does instead of the antiquated tubs, why not.  Cottage cheese has always been a healthy food with substantial nutritional benefits.  Here’s why:

·         Contains casein

Cottage cheese is an outstanding source of casein, a slow-digesting milk protein accounting for around 80% of the protein in milk – the other 20% is whey protein.  This slow digestion means it provides a steady release of amino acids – building blocks of protein – to rebuild and repair muscle fibers and to prevent muscle breakdown.

·         Protein plus

In case you didn’t know, cottage cheese is a protein lover’s dream.  One cup of this dairy food provides a whopping 25 grams of protein, equivalent to the amount found in a 3-ounce chicken breast.  It is recommended to have between 20-30 grams of protein at each meal.  Cottage cheese is an excellent way to make this happen as it is easily adapted as a good protein source at breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks.  Not only can you add fruit to it but it can also be blended into a smoothie, or added to whole grain waffles.

·         Contains bone-building calcium

Cottage cheese is obviously going to be a rich source of calcium – one cup contains 125 milligrams of this necessary mineral.  This helps meet the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine that most adults need 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day.  Eating cottage cheese on a regular basis means strong bones and teeth – lacking calcium can lead to the brittle-bone disease of osteoporosis.

·         Maintains weight

Cottage cheese has a reputation – a good one though!  Years ago, it was considered a “diet” food and to this day a one-half cup amount of 1% low-fat cottage cheese has only 81 calories and just 1.2 grams of fat.  Its reputation still rings true in helping to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight primarily due to the large amount of protein it contains.  That extra protein helps increase satiety, that feeling of fullness. 

It is recommended to consume either the low-fat or fat-free versions of cottage cheese to avoid the unhealthy saturated fat it can contain which can increase blood cholesterol.

The only other caveat of cottage cheese is the excess sodium content it contains – a one-half cup of low-fat cottage cheese contains 406 grams of sodium compared to plain, low-fat Greek yogurt which has only 34 grams.  Maybe the cottage cheese makers can work on that one.  Other than that, it’s a very nutritious food product. 

Be on the lookout for the new and improved cottage cheese brands in your grocery stores to try out.  Here are some brands to learn more about on their websites – Muuna cottage cheese, Breakstone’s cottage cheese, and Good Culture organic cottage cheese.