Many people try to keep track of what foods end up on their table. Obviously, even the most correct diet can be spoiled if it includes low-quality foods. Today we will talk about how to determine the quality and naturalness of cottage cheese.

Checking the curd in the store

The first thing to do when your hand reaches out to the curd shelf is to look at the price. Natural cottage cheese in a store cannot cost less than 350-400 rubles per kilogram! If you have cheaper products in front of you - a little below you can find out how the manufacturers achieve this.

The second thing to look out for is the expiration date and production date. Often, people find out at home (even worse if after eating cottage cheese) that it has expired. This is fraught with serious poisoning! The shelf life of a natural product should not exceed 7 days. Otherwise, the manufacturer used additives to increase shelf life.

The third important element is the consistency of the curd. If the cottage cheese is too liquid or too dry, it is likely that technical violations are committed in production, which inevitably affect the properties of the product.

If the cottage cheese has passed the specified checks, the next stage is a check for naturalness. Natural cottage cheese should not contain vegetable fats and starch.

Checking cottage cheese for vegetable fats

Manufacturers in an effort to reduce the cost of the product can replace animal fats with vegetable fats (palm or coconut oil). Vegetable fats are much less absorbed by the body, therefore the nutritional value of such a product is significantly reduced.

The easiest and worst way to test for vegetable fats in curd is to try it. An unpleasant feeling of “oily film” will remain on the tongue.

You can do otherwise - leave a small amount of cottage cheese at room temperature for 8-10 hours (for example, at night). The vegetable fats in the curd will cause the product to turn yellow and crust. In addition, natural cottage cheese after such "stress" will slightly acidify, but cottage cheese with vegetable fats in the composition will not change in taste.

Checking curd for starch

Unscrupulous manufacturers add starch to the composition in order to increase the mass of the product.

Meanwhile, starch, when consumed regularly, prevents the body from burning fat, which is especially important for those who use cottage cheese to lose weight or achieve sports results.

You can use iodine to check the cottage cheese for starch in the composition. A couple of drops of iodine on a piece of cottage cheese and the product with starch turns blue. If this does not happen, you are very lucky, there is no starch in the curd.

Cottage cheese, which has passed all the stages of testing, rightfully deserves a place on your table. However, the process of finding high quality curd can be time consuming and costly.

A much simpler and more profitable way is to use a curd sourdough and prepare natural curd yourself. You are guaranteed to get cottage cheese without extraneous additives and the price of such a product is much more attractive than cottage cheese on the store shelf.

Hello dear readers! We are sure that many of you watch your health and pay attention to what they eat. Especially for you, we have prepared the most accurate and simple tips on how to check the quality of cottage cheese.

How to identify quality by name

The easiest way to check the quality of an ingredient is by its name. Such a check does not give 100 percent accuracy, but it is a great option for those who do not know how to determine whether there is cottage cheese in front of you or a curd product.

According to modern standards, only an absolutely natural product can be called cottage cheese, in which there are no preservatives, butter and other impurities.

All other products similar to it are called cottage cheese, curd mass and other tricky names.

How to check the quality of cottage cheese with iodine

However, the named product does not have to be of high quality either. The name guarantees only the absence of impurities, but this fact is not responsible for the quality of the product itself.

Checking the component with iodine will not take you much effort, but thanks to it you can be sure of the quality of the product you are using.

Here's how to do it:

1. Take the test substance. A small piece will suffice for this experiment.
2. Drop a little iodine on it.
3. After a few minutes, the curd should change its color.
4. If the product turns blue, then it definitely contains starch. It is quite often added to various products, since it is cheap, practically unnoticeable and not prohibited by standards. However, the quality in most cases suffers from this.
5. If the product has taken on a natural brown color for iodine, then all the requirements for the quality of cottage cheese are met in it, and you can enjoy the purchased delicacy without harm to your health.

If you don't have iodine on hand, you can test the cottage cheese at home using regular air.

This is done very easily:

1. Leave a small piece uncovered, provided that there is open air to it.
2. It is better to leave the product at room temperature, since it is in such conditions that it is easiest to distinguish a fake.
3. If the cottage cheese is covered with a dense yellow crust, but its taste remains the same, then most likely you purchased something like a curd mass or a product with unknown additives.
4. If the component practically did not change its appearance during the test, but at the same time a strong smell began to emanate from it, and its taste became sour, then you have purchased a quality product without vegetable fats.

Heat treatment has always been considered the most effective way to distinguish counterfeits. This test will help you learn about the presence of palm oil, which is very unhealthy.

1. Take a piece of the product, prepare hot water (boiling water) and dishes for the experiment.
2. Pour a small amount of boiling water over the product and watch its further reaction.
3. Bad curd will behave like this. It will almost completely dissolve and only a light sediment will remain on the surface of the water.
4. If there are factors that shape the quality of the curd, it will curl up into a tight lump. This is a sure proof of the absence of vegetable fats.

Famous brands rating

If you are the type of people who choose products according to their estimates, then this sub-item is for you.

• "Clean line";
• "Vkusnoteevo";
• "President".

Fast spoilage is a sign of quality

Some believe that if the cottage cheese deteriorates quickly, then it is of poor quality and made in unsanitary conditions. Especially often this false opinion applies to products made in the village.

In fact, this is an indicator of quality, since, for example, curd mass with various preservatives can be stored for a long time and not spoil, and only this product has a short shelf life.

On the topic of spoilage, let's look at one more question about how to find out about the unsuitability of cottage cheese.

After long-term storage, even in the refrigerator, the curd products have a bitter taste.

This is the first sign that the product is stale and will soon deteriorate. Unscrupulous sellers can pass off bitterness as the wormwood flavor that cows eat. They say that the product is so natural that even the bitterness has not gone away from it. Of course, this is a deception, because cows do not even eat wormwood.

Correct composition

And also often to find out whether the curd is real, the usual reading of the composition helps.

If it contains something other than milk, sourdough and special clotting enzymes, then in your head you should automatically have a doubt about whether you are holding a natural product or not.

Do not forget to pay attention to the organoleptic characteristics. Take this as a habit and then you will not be deceived by unscrupulous manufacturers.

Market or shop

Consider the last point regarding how to determine whether a good cottage cheese is sold on the market or is it still worth giving preference to a store.

Of course, in the market, where even the composition and the place of its production are not written on the product, it is easier to be deceived, because you get all the information only from the words of the sellers.

But if you find a really good product through trial and error, you can get an even better product than in the store.

Therefore, when buying on the market, ask the seller more questions, take small portions for testing, and in some situations it may even be appropriate to ask the product to taste.

Many people do not like it when a friendly lunch or a simple treat of a neighbor to cheesecakes with maple syrup ends in death. Therefore, home "incoming control" of products that come to our table from the bazaar or grocery stores is relevant.

We check the quality of cottage cheese at home

Product price

However, first of all, products, including cottage cheese, should be checked in the store. First, look at the price tag, and if a kilogram of natural cottage cheese costs less than four hundred rubles per kilogram, you should ask how profitability is achieved at this enterprise. Most likely, this product looks like curd, but is not curd.

Date of manufacture and expiry date

Be sure to pay attention to the production date and expiration date. Unfortunately, the expiration date is found already at home, when it is too late to file claims. The use of a natural product with an expired shelf life is fraught, and the period in this case cannot exceed seven days, unless, of course, the manufacturer has used preservatives to increase the shelf life. In this case, this product cannot be considered completely natural.

Alarming consistency

An external suspicious sign may be the alarming consistency of the curd. Excessively liquid or dry cottage cheese can result from technological disruptions in production, which almost always negatively affect the quality of the product.

After these preliminary checks, a naturalness test should be carried out, assuming that vegetable fats and starch should be absent in natural curd.

Replacing animal fats with vegetable fats

Often, manufacturers seek to earn extra money by replacing animal fats with vegetable fats. Usually acts in their role. Since vegetable fats are much more difficult for the body to absorb, the nutritional value of such curd is markedly reduced. At the same time, the savings are rarely used to help the poor and the poor, affected by AIDS and earthquakes, but are simply put into their pockets.

How to determine the presence of vegetable fats in cottage cheese?

Determining the presence of vegetable fats in curd is quite simple. You just need to remove the sample and chew a piece. Vegetable fats in this case will leave an unpleasant sensation of "oily film" on the tongue.

There is another way, you can simply leave a small amount of cottage cheese at room temperature overnight, or during the day, for eight to ten hours. The presence of vegetable fats in the curd initiates the appearance of a crust and yellowing of the product. In addition, such exposure in the open air will lead to some acidification of the natural product, and the taste of cottage cheese "enriched" with vegetable fats will not change.

Checking curd for the presence of starch

You should also check the purchased cottage cheese for the presence of starch, which the impudent producers add to the cottage cheese to make the product heavier. Moreover, in addition to unnecessary costs, the buyer also suffers from the fact that starch, with constant use, does not allow the body to burn fat, and this is a blow to those who use cottage cheese to lose weight or improve athletic performance.

To test the curd for starch, iodine is used, a couple of drops of which are applied to a piece of curd. If starch is present, the product turns blue. Otherwise, consider yourself lucky and the manufacturer forgot to put the starch in the cottage cheese this time.

conclusions

It's good when cottage cheese that has passed all the checks takes place on your table, however, it is not so easy to find a similar product.

There will definitely be no extraneous additives here, unless, of course, you add them yourself. Undoubtedly, the price of this product will be much lower.

Olga Dekker

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Today I will tell you a few more tips: how to choose a good and truly natural cottage cheese for your family. Let's see how you can determine the true quality of a dairy product.

Have you bought cottage cheese in a store or at the market? Do you doubt its quality and naturalness?

You can quickly and easily find out at home if your favorite food contains harmful additives. For example, here's a simple way: how to check the quality of cottage cheese.

Watch the 3 minute video: Curd test. How to distinguish a fake?

What are "curd mass", "glazed curd" and "curd curd"?

“Although we live in rural areas, and we always have the opportunity to buy homemade cottage cheese, I notice that in stores many people buy various curd masses and curds with additives for themselves and, worst of all, for their little children, they seem sweet and tasty. ... "

Tatiana D.

Once I talked to a specialist who works at one of the dairies.

He said that quite often cottage cheese, whose shelf life is already coming to an end, is "flavored" with starch, water, "fruit" fillers, vegetable fats ... And sent again to stores and markets for sale: (

By smell and taste, it is already very difficult to identify such "low-quality" products. Moreover, a new production date is set when this batch is made, and not when the cottage cheese was made!

My advice to you: it is better to buy natural cottage cheese, fresh seasonal fruits or dried fruits. Make yourself a tasty and healthy curd mass for your child :)

Pay attention to the price. Inexpensive cottage cheese, without specifying the composition, is better not to take. If besides milk and sourdough there are other components, it is already difficult to call cottage cheese natural.

Don't have time or desire to make curd mass at home?

Then be sure to watch a short story on how to choose the right healthy curd mass.

• The packaging must be sealed.
• Moisture, water droplets should not appear on the inside of the package
• The shelf life of this delicacy is no more than 72 hours
• The composition should contain only cottage cheese, butter and sugar. This is a basic GOST recipe.
• The product should not flow. The mass should keep its shape and be of a natural color.
• Smell. Is there a sour fermentation smell? Better not to eat that!

What other problems do you face when buying cottage cheese?

“It is not always possible to get information about a product. Often I buy loose cottage cheese, and even the seller cannot answer me what is the shelf life of this product and, even more so, the composition ... They only answer: "They brought it today" or "Yesterday" ... "

Julia S.

A good cottage cheese should have a homogeneous structure without large lumps and a slight sourness to the smell.

Before buying, ask the seller for a document confirming the quality of the product. The production date will be indicated there. Or there should be a label on the wholesale container, you can ask to read it.

At the very least, you will see the reaction of the seller, and you will be able to decide whether to buy or not.

If for various reasons the documents are not shown to you, then it is better to buy cottage cheese from another seller or packaged.

Does it make sense to overpay for packaging? What to look for first?

Hear the opinion of a quality dairy expert in this video.

How to check the quality of "home" cottage cheese?

“I buy cottage cheese at the grandmother's market or at the farms' fair at the Sunday fair. How can I determine the quality of the curd? "

Alexey I.

• In such cases, pay attention to the seller himself, look at the cleanliness of the counter. Is the salesperson wearing clean or dirty overalls? What is the cottage cheese stored in?

• If you are buying for the first time, you can ask people from the line: "Did they take cottage cheese here or not?" Look calmly, is there a queue for this seller?

Sometimes it happens that there are three sellers on the market, and there is only one queue.

• Then try some cottage cheese. If the taste suits, then ask to apply it from the same container from which you tasted.

By the way, about the container ...

Once I saw the suppliers arrive at the market before the farmer's dairy counter arrived. They just left two tall white square cans of cottage cheese labeled from some dairy factory.

The girl came a little later, put the cottage cheese on the counter and began to sell it as her own, natural ... :(

• As you stand in line, look at where the vendor is putting the curd from. I noticed that farmers who keep cows themselves usually have different containers: now a can, then a basin, then a saucepan :)

• You can also ask the seller very simple questions about cows:

Where do they graze? In which area? How many of them do you have? What's your name? What do you feed them with? How far to get to the market? How many hours do you drive?

By his answers, you can easily determine whether they tell you the truth when they call cottage cheese their homemade. The farmer usually answers questions quickly and easily without delay.

And the seller who bought from the dairy finds it difficult to tell right away, answers in general terms, look somewhere at the floor, etc. You will feel it right away!

You know, I think that a lot depends on you and me!

Let's stop buying impudent fakes and harmful chemistry! .. After all, in our native country everything is natural: milk, butter, and cottage cheese ...

It is difficult to determine the naturalness of cottage cheese, butter and cheese at home.

Some people determine by taste whether a product contains natural ingredients. But there are few of them.

Such analyzes are done in special laboratories, but nothing at home.

As far as I know, the curd should crumble. If it is molded like plasticine, you need to be on your guard.

Natural oil is defined as follows:

If the oil deteriorates quickly, you had a natural product.

Regarding purchased cottage cheese, alas, I can’t say anything, but I’ll tell you which homemade cottage cheese is not worth buying, it may come in handy. You should not buy cottage cheese in the form of small grains, it is made at a high temperature and will be dry and tough. Do not take cottage cheese of a uniform yellowish color - most likely, dyes are added to it. In normal curd, the butter should come across in small fragments, such as yellowish blotches the size of a maximum of a small coin over the entire area. Also, high-quality homemade cottage cheese should not be sold as a shapeless mass, but have the shape that it acquired while excess whey was removed from it.

Also, do not take too wet cottage cheese - unscrupulous sellers do not specially squeeze the whey to the end to increase the weight of the product.

The cheese, which is made on the basis of milk fat substitute, does not have a pronounced cheese taste, it tastes soapy. It is either too elastic or crumbles when slicing. Natural cheese, if left in the sun, becomes soft, loses its elasticity, melts. Prepared with the use of plant materials, it remains elastic and greasy drops appear on its surface. Natural butter melts gently in your mouth, and made with vegetable fats sticks on your teeth. In a frying pan, poor-quality oil turns into a homogeneous liquid and fizzes. Low-quality cottage cheese left on the table becomes aired, covered with a yellow crust and does not change its taste. Low-quality sour cream is felt in the mouth as a greasy film on the tongue and does not dissolve in the mouth to the end.

Determining naturalness is very problematic. I would like cheese or butter to be beneficial (primarily to children). It should be noted right away that store-bought butter or store-bought cottage cheese is increasingly made with additives. Therefore, they can hardly be called natural. This is, of course, about big cities. So if you want natural cottage cheese or butter, it's better to buy it in a small village store. At the worst, the grandmothers (who sell at the metro).

You can, of course, try to determine by smell - natural is more fresh. And so I repeat - it's problematic.

With cheese, naturalness can be defined as follows - click on it. If you add a lot of palm oil, the cheese will dent and moisture. It is important not to confuse with tear which is provided by high-quality non-hard cheeses.

Palm oil is rarely added to blue cheeses.

It is impossible to determine the naturalness of cottage cheese and cheese at home. If only oils. I once read a lot on the Internet about this. and you know, one article contradicts another. But there are reliable ways. Most important, in my opinion, this frozen butter can only crack. Non-natural product can be cut. I recently bought it at Coin the oil seems to be good, and tastes, and prickles when frozen. But here's a surprisingly long shelf life - 120 days !!! Natural oil is not stored so much! This means that all sorts of preservatives were stuffed into it, but on the packaging, apart from cream, nothing is indicated in the composition (.

You don't have a laboratory at home, do you?

At home, the quality of the product can be determined only by taste. If you are familiar with the natural taste of high-quality dairy products, you will immediately identify a fake. This also applies to cheese and butter and cottage cheese. Sometimes they look as good as real ones, but the taste cannot be faked.

The problem is that it is very difficult to distinguish between cheese, cottage cheese and butter from the store at home. The only thing that you can identify by smell. Homemade will immediately smell of a cow, but store-bought in no case. After all, in addition to natural ingredients, vegetable fats are added there, and the smell is removed.

In fact, even without special means, at home in the kitchen, you can conduct a number of experiments that will test cottage cheese, cheese, butter, and other products for naturalness and determine their quality.

So, with regard to cottage cheese, iodine will help us. Here you just need a couple of drops of iodine, drops on cottage cheese (two drops per spoon), in order to understand whether there is starch or not. Has the curd turned blue? There is. If we want to check the cottage cheese for vegetable fats, then we just need to leave a little cottage cheese (literally for two to three hours)

Oil is more difficult.

But we can check the cheese with the help of our own taste sensations, here we will not even need any aids.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, it is impossible to determine the naturalness of cottage cheese or cheese at home; this requires special equipment and reagents. Because both cheese and cottage cheese can simply be made of poor quality, but the same product with additives of great taste and looks good.