Diet Food Reviews
Nancy's Cultured Cottage Cheese
By: | Jun 1, 2007
As a vegetarian, I am often in search of an alternative source of protein. Meat alternatives such as veggie burgers and "faux" meat products usually provide sufficient amounts, but also often carry a hefty price tag. Cottage cheese is usually the food that I turn to when I want to add a reasonably priced, good source of protein. We are talking a whopping 12 -14 grams of protein per half cup! And it does double duty because it can function as a snack or you can use it in your cooking - it helps thicken up protein shakes and smoothies.
When I stumbled upon Nancy's Cultured Cottage Cheese on sale a few months ago at Whole Foods, I was excited to try it because this particular brand adds a little something extra to the mix. It is "slowly cultured with L. acidophilus, B. bifidum and four strains of lactic cultures, to develop its unique old-fashioned tangy character." So basically this cottage cheese is an attempt to incorporate yogurt's health benefits into another form of dairy. A superstar hybrid of yogurt and cottage cheese would be a welcome addition to my diet, filling in many nutritional gaps.
Unfortunately, my hopes for a yummy nutritional powerhouse turned out to be a sour tasting tub of goop. The texture was liquidy, and the taste was reminiscent of a horrible past experience with expired milk. In fact, I checked and rechecked the expiration date and made sure that my refrigerator was still functional. I even purchased a second tub, thinking that perhaps I had sampled a tainted batch. My investigation confirmed that this cottage cheese just tasted funky, plain and simple.
If you're willing to sacrifice your taste buds, then you'll get 14 grams of protein with only 80 calories, 1 gram of total fat and 3 grams of sugars (and total carbohydrates) per 1/2 cup serving (there are 2 servings per container). Nancy's is surprisingly low in other nutrients, delivering a mere 6% of the RDA for calcium. However, it is lower in sodium than most other brands, with 12% of the RDA per half cup; cottage cheese often contains upwards of 20%.
I purchased Nancy's Cottage Cheese on sale at Whole Foods; otherwise I think it is a bit expensive at almost $4.00 for a 16 ounce tub. I won't be buying this again anyway - sale or not!
See more on: Cold Snacks
, cheese, cottage cheese
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I just became a vegetarian this year and I am always at the gym lifting weights so this is a great one for me! Thanks
I happen to be a vegetarian and have been for over 10 years now. I have to say that "taste" is very personal. I LOVE NANCEY'S COTTAGE CHEESE. First of all it's not like a yogurt. It's more a cross between cottage cheese and Kefir (similar to yogurt but liquid, tart, tangy and better for you because it recolonizes the intestenal tract whereas yogurt does not). I normally can't stand cottage cheese but my husband and I will not buy any other brand. It's delicious, tangy, and bright. And I put it in lettuce wraps, pasta, mixed with fruit or during the winter mixed with raisins/currants apples and brown rice. Never take anybody's word when it comes to taste. Have a curious mind and try things in life. If you find they offend the palate then never eat it again:)
Hey Red: we know taste is personal, so we are just giving our opinion of ours. We open the comments so that other people can also give their opinions and get a dialogue going. Thanks for sharing your opinion with us.
I didn't write this review (Caroline did), but I happen to have some of this in my fridge now and I say *yuck* - but then again, to all cottage cheese, I say, yuck :0)
I have been eating Cottage cheese and flax oil combined per "Budwig diet" for cancer treatment since January and have tried several brands of cottage cheese. The first time I tried Nancy's I had the same repulsed reaction, but for some reason I tried it again, and am now totally hooked on it. Like with most health foods, your taste buds change with time and the more you eat it. I eat the Budwig mix (6tbls Nancy's cottage cheese thorougly blended with 3 tblsps Flaxseed oil and add to papaya morning and night topped with a couple of tblsp of ground flaxseed and am feeling better than I have in years, healing my body of colon cancer. I think the extra cultures in Nancy's are a big plus for healing and for those with digestive issues and dairy intolerances.
I love Nancy's cottage cheese. I find all others to be absolutely terrible. The 6 months per year I'm in Arizona I use nothing but Nancy's but while in Ontario the rest of the year I'm Nancy-less. I have found though that adding some of PineHedge Farms' wonderful kefir to the typical yucky cottage cheese makes it passable. Unfortunately, PineHedge Farms, situated in southeastern Ontario, does not make cottage cheese.
I also have found that tastes can be changed - like habits. I never liked tea until meeting my husband in 2000 at age 58. I developed a definite liking for it, especially when drinking it with lemon.
My great grandfather used to work in a dairy, and I can still remember how they made cottage cheese. This seems like it's not completely done processing - it has a rawness to it, and you either love it or, like me, are repulsed by it.
The only reason I found this post was because I typed in "nancy's cottage cheese sour?" in google. My thought is the same happened to the rest??? I just bought it on a whim and just about threw up when I tasted it. Well, it was a chance I took trying something new at Mothers. I just noticed it says Tart and Tangy on the top of the container which I didnt see when I purchased it. Oh well, I will probably throw it out... Cant see any way to make it better. It tastes like way old milk.
I stumbled here just like the above commenter. Wondering what the heck happened to my cottage cheese?! Preparing myself for a bad case of food poisoning, I'm relieved to find out that Nancy's is naturally THAT sour and tangy. Upon reading more carefully, the packaging does mention it has a "unique" tart/tangy flavor. I didn't mind it too much...it reminded me of tart yogurt similar to Yakult type drinks w/o the sweetness. But, I think this brand of cottage cheese would be really suitable for those who love tart and sour flavors. It's not awful, but definitely acquired. Since I eat yogurt mostly for breakfast, I'll probably end up going for the traditional flavor..more mild.
This is really good or healthy way to eat nutrition.
Thanks Nancy's Cultured Cottage Cheese