Cottage cheese is a very healthy and tasty fermented milk product, which is actively used in various diets, because it can be eaten even by infants and for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract). It is also used as an independent dish, and very often cottage cheese is the main component in baked goods. This product is rich in nutrients, vitamins and is very nutritious.
All types of fermented milk products tend to spoil quickly, cottage cheese is no exception. The fermentation process, even after processing, does not stop, so the shelf life of such products is very short.
How long does cottage cheese last in the refrigerator? The shelf life of cottage cheese depends on many factors: whether it contains preservatives, how and where the product was stored before purchase, whether GOST standards were observed during production.
Is it possible to freeze cottage cheese in the freezer for storage? Definitely, in sub-zero conditions the fermented milk product will last longer.
The harm and benefits of cottage cheese
There is no debate about the usefulness of cottage cheese. It contains many vitamins and microelements that are beneficial to the body. The product is rich in protein, vitamins A, E, P, B2, B6 and B12, and folic acid. The big plus is that cottage cheese has lipotropic properties:
- helps normalize metabolism and cholesterol;
- improvement of teeth, hair, nails;
- strengthening bones;
- mobilizes fat from the liver and oxidizes it, which leads to a decrease in the severity of fatty infiltration of the liver.
Fermented milk products, most often low-fat, are often preferred when losing weight. After all, the calorie content of such cottage cheese is very low, and the protein content is high.
Like any food product, cottage cheese has its own contraindications, which include:
- presence of gastritis;
- lactose intolerance;
- kidney diseases.
The main danger of cottage cheese is overeating. This can lead to swelling, which can lead to kidney problems. This product can be consumed in small quantities, namely 200–250 g per day. There is a risk of constipation.
The digestibility of cottage cheese is also quite slow - 3 hours. The product should be eaten in the morning.
Unique qualities
Cottage cheese has outstanding nutritional properties, as it has a high content of calcium and protein.
It can be eaten in its pure form, because a small portion of the product can replace a full breakfast. This dietary product is perfectly absorbed by the body, having a beneficial effect on the digestive functions of the body. Thanks to this ability, cottage cheese occupies a significant place in the diet of older people, as well as expectant mothers. Little children love cottage cheese. For this category of the population, this lactic acid product has long become a nutritious treat. Children eat it with special pleasure when the milky-white mass is flavored with yogurt, sweet syrup and other tasty additives. But along with the benefits, curd products can become hazardous to health. If the product is stored incorrectly, pathogenic flora begins to actively grow on it.
Therefore, the issue of storage worries many fans of this valuable product. Consumers are especially interested in the possibility of freezing curd mass and the rules for this process.
Store-bought cottage cheese
Pasteurized cottage cheese in vacuum packaging is best opened immediately before use. Do not rush to throw away the packaging after opening, because the expiration date is written there. If vacuum packaging is not available, you can use cling film for storage.
Note! Any fermented milk product that has expired is dangerous to consume. This can lead not only to digestive disorders, but also to serious poisoning. If the expiration date was just a couple of days ago, it can be used as an ingredient for casseroles or cheesecakes. During heat treatment, harmful substances are neutralized.
The shelf life of purchased cottage cheese in the refrigerator in vacuum packaging can last up to 1 month, but after opening - for 5 days at temperatures from 0 °C to +8 °C.
Shelf life of loose cottage cheese
Many people prefer to buy only home-made cottage cheese, believing that only such cottage cheese contains necessary and useful elements. Others buy only factory-made cottage cheese. We all have the right to choose, but we need to know that both a high-quality factory product, manufactured according to the regulations of GOST 31453 - 2013, and cottage cheese from a farm, have certain characteristics:
- the consistency is soft, plastic, with the presence of small particles of milk protein;
- the color is uniform, milky, with a slight fawn tint throughout the entire mass;
- the low-fat product releases a small amount of curd whey;
- sour milk taste;
- there is no foreign odor.
The shelf life of loose cottage cheese without packaging is 24 hours, but do not forget that cottage cheese will not be stored longer in a plastic bag (the kind of container most often used on the market).
And only pasteurized cottage cheese that has undergone heat treatment can be stored for up to 5 days.
How long does frozen cottage cheese last?
If there is a lot of cottage cheese left, freezing is best to preserve its freshness and taste. Can cottage cheese be stored in the freezer and for how long? The product can be kept in the freezer even for up to 2 months, the exact period depends on the temperature:
- From 0 to -2 degrees, cottage cheese will last well for up to 6 days.
- Up to -18 °C - no more than 2 weeks.
- At temperatures from -18 to -24 - 21 days.
- The fermented milk product can be stored at -25–35° for 2 months.
Cottage cheese can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months, provided the temperature is maintained at -18 degrees.
What temperature is needed for freezing?
To freeze cottage cheese, you need to set the freezer temperature to at least −18 degrees. “For all types of dairy products, including ice cream, butter, etc., the ideal temperature is considered to be −18 degrees, but many household refrigerators only provide −12 degrees. This is not critical for cottage cheese, but you need to understand that its shelf life in the freezer will be short: the lower the temperature, the longer the product can be preserved. In addition, the lower the temperature, the less likely it is that condensation will form, which then freezes into grains of frozen water. This should be avoided as there is a risk of bacteria, yeast and mold forming in it,” says Jourová.
How to properly store cottage cheese at home
The best solution for storing cottage cheese is the refrigerator. It should be taken into account that after 24 hours of storage, the product is not recommended to be consumed directly; it is better to subject it to heat treatment.
There are also situations when there is no refrigerator in the house (for example, it has fallen into disrepair). How long does cottage cheese last at room temperature? The maximum permissible period is up to 5 hours, if the product was lying next to heating devices - no more than 2 hours.
There are several unique ways that have been used since ancient times to increase this period:
- Wrap the curd in a clean white cloth, previously soaked in cold water. Place the “bundle” in a cooler place, with a temperature no higher than 15 degrees.
- Use foil or parchment paper. Then place in an enamel bowl and close the lid tightly. If you put a few pieces of sugar in the container, the shelf life will increase.
Proper defrosting
When you need the product, you need to remove it from the freezer and move it to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Defrosting should be gradual. If the product will be cooked in the future (baked, fried), then you can leave the container with the contents on the kitchen table. Defrosting takes from 6 to 10 hours, depending on the initial volume.
If after thawing a white liquid (whey) appears, it must be drained. To do this, transfer the defrosted curd to a colander or gauze folded in several layers and leave for a couple of hours, then squeeze by hand to remove all excess moisture. A high-quality product after defrosting has a snow-white color and a pleasant milky smell, indicating that the process was completed correctly and all the beneficial properties were preserved. After defrosting, cottage cheese can be consumed fresh as an independent dish, or with additives (raisins, honey, prunes, dried apricots, fruits), or added to food when cooking. It is suitable as a filling for cheesecakes, pies, flatbreads; it makes excellent cheesecakes and curd dough.
Is it possible to freeze cottage cheese
You can prolong the freshness and taste of fermented milk products by freezing, but some storage rules should be taken into account.
Here are a few conditions for storing cottage cheese in the freezer for a long time:
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- Only fresh grain products can be frozen.
- Cottage cheese must be kept in a ceramic or glass container with a tightly closed lid. In a regular plastic bag, this delicate product may darken and acquire an unpleasant odor. There is an option to purchase a special package called a ziplock. In such packaging, the cottage cheese freezes and defrosts faster, but when it comes into contact with polyethylene, the product becomes wet and sticky.
- Do not fill the storage container to the brim with the product; after freezing, the volume of the whey will increase.
- To store cottage cheese in the freezer, you need blast freezing: first place the product in a place with a temperature of -30 degrees and only after 6 hours move it to a compartment where the temperature reaches -18 °C.
Note! Cottage cheese can only be frozen ONCE, so you should freeze the product in portions. Repeated freezing will change the taste and structure of the curd mass.
Curd products that cannot tolerate freezing
- Curd cheeses with fillings and glaze - when defrosted, they will simply turn into an unsightly mush due to their crushed consistency.
- You should be careful when freezing curd mixtures and masses - if you still want to freeze them, then ensure that the curd is dry, since frozen moisture will turn the curd mass into mush when defrosting.
Freezing semi-finished curd products
Sticking dumplings, cheesecakes, dumplings, wrapping the sweet curd filling in pancakes, and then quickly freezing it all is an excellent alternative to store-bought semi-finished products. There will always be a preparation at hand for a quick breakfast or treating unexpected guests.
Important: such stocks do not need to be defrosted; they can be fried or boiled immediately. Otherwise, the result will not be satisfactory: the curd dough will become loose and fall apart, and the filling will spread.
The terms and temperature conditions for storing dough pieces and fermented milk products correspond to those indicated above. Consuming spoiled dairy products can lead to serious food poisoning.
Is it possible to eat a product that has expired?
Cottage cheese is a living product, therefore, if the storage terms and rules are violated, the bacteria and enzymes included in the composition can cause serious poisoning. That is why it is not recommended to consume cottage cheese that has expired.
However, if the storage period has already ended, but this did not affect the other qualities, the product is allowed to be eaten, but only after heat treatment. For example, in the form of cheesecakes or casseroles.
Remember that cottage cheese poisoning can cause irreparable harm to your health. Therefore, in order to get the maximum amount of useful microelements and vitamins, be sure to follow the rules for storing curd products described in this article. Using these tips, you can prevent damage to such a valuable product.
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Why is cottage cheese frozen only once?
The purpose of freezing cottage cheese is to “fix” the quality of the product. At subzero temperatures, bacterial growth stops. Due to this, the cottage cheese is stored longer. It is best to freeze recently purchased cottage cheese or one that has been in the refrigerator for no more than 3-4 days.
Frozen cottage cheese may change its taste. The whey contained in the curd crystallizes. Therefore, the product loses its consistency after thawing. We do not recommend eating such cottage cheese, but it is good to prepare various dishes from it.
We recommend reading: How long do boiled eggs last in the refrigerator?
Taste and texture of defrosted cheese
What will we get as a result? Kefir cottage cheese in the freezer is more like cheese, which is made especially for children. This curd is not grainy, it resembles a soft, moist mass, light and tender. You can eat it once, as soon as all the ice in it has defrosted and drained. Sometimes such curd is crushed with sugar or berries or raisins are added to it if you want to eat the curd as sweet. But you can also add herbs, tomatoes or olives with nuts.
The creamy curd mass is already a ready-made filling for many dishes. Just take into account its soft texture. Perhaps, if it is one of the ingredients of the dough, you will have to add a little more flour or semolina. Fillings, sauces or creams, on the other hand, require fewer liquid and creamy ingredients so that their texture allows them to be absorbed but not leaked out of the dish.
How to keep it fresh for a long time
Low-fat cottage cheese has the longest shelf life. According to the rules, it is made from milk after separation - removal of cream. Dairy products are stored a little worse (5-9%). Cottage cheese 12-18% sours faster and becomes slimy.
How to keep cottage cheese fresh for a long time in the refrigerator:
- Immediately after purchasing, divide the weight of cottage cheese into portions and transfer from the bag to an airtight container.
- You can place a piece of sugar at the bottom. It will extend shelf life and improve taste.
- Place on the refrigerator shelf.
To prevent the cottage cheese from drying out on top, we recommend choosing containers according to size. Can be covered with cling film.
Storing cottage cheese at home
Storage conditions
The optimal storage location is the refrigerator. The recommended temperature according to SanPin requirements is from 2 to 6°C, freezing is allowed at parameters -1-0. In this way, you can increase the shelf life by 1-2 days.
What should you store it in?
For store-bought cottage cheese, the best option is factory packaging. There is no need to open it in advance, introduce oxygen and microbes. The situation is more complicated with loose and homemade fermented milk products.
Housewives often use plastic containers for storage. We strongly do not recommend doing this. Such dishes spoil the taste and accelerate rotting. An alternative is ceramic, glass, enamel containers with lids.
What you can do:
- ceramic, enamel containers;
- glass containers;
- vacuum bags;
- foil, parchment;
- cotton fabric.
What should not be stored in:
- plastic bags;
- plastic containers;
- open plates, bowls;
- metal containers.
Vacuum
Vacuum bags are ordinary, the air is squeezed out, the edges are sealed. There are also special bags and devices for removing oxygen. In the first case, the shelf life is 4-7 days. If you have a special device, the storage period increases to a month. You can freeze in vacuum bags, which is not recommended in regular polyethylene.
Foil and parchment paper
Modern thin parchment is not suitable for storage. You need thick sheets, there may be problems finding them. Foil is more affordable, it has many advantages, it is ideal for storage, and extends shelf life. It is easy to tear off a sheet of the desired size, form a container of the desired size, and seal without additional tools.
Cotton fabric
Weighing to remove whey is carried out in linen bags. Preferably lint-free cotton fabric is used. You can also store finished dairy products in it. We recommend using a bowl to protect the shelves from whey. The lid will help prevent the absorption of foreign odors. It can easily be replaced with parchment or food foil.
What is useful to consider
I want to share my experience and tell you what happened. This is not the first time I’ve tried this simple recipe, and all in order to sweep away false paths and check some options. Now I know for sure that:
- To ensure that the yield of cheese mass is not small, it is desirable that the fat content of kefir should not be less than 3.2%. This is important, since the quality of the final product, and in general, whether the cottage cheese will turn out, depends on this. The lower the fat content of the original product, the less curd you will get, if at all.
- You can use kefir both in bags and in tetrapacks, it makes no difference. It freezes well in any package, as well as without it. You can even pour the kefir into an iron bowl.
- The curd will be very tender, with a soft, creamy structure. This is important to consider if you plan to prepare any dishes from it. This type of cottage cheese makes excellent cottage cheese cookies, very tasty!
No additional steps are needed for this recipe. Cottage cheese from frozen kefir does not need to be kept under pressure or squeezed through cheesecloth. Since it takes no more than 12-18 hours to prepare the curd, the product is fresh and therefore suitable for both adults and children. The taste of the cheese is slightly salty, suitable for both desserts and first courses and appetizers.
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