Cottage cheese is a fermented milk product obtained by fermenting milk with subsequent removal of whey. In pursuit of profit, some manufacturers add palm oil and starch to it, without considering it necessary to inform the consumer about this on the product label.
What iodine will indicate
Sometimes the producers of cottage cheese mask the addition of extraneous ingredients so skillfully that even an experienced gourmet does not notice it. Iodine will allow you to bring counterfeiters to clean water. With its help, you can check the quality and naturalness of the purchased cottage cheese at home. Iodine will identify starch in the curd, which unscrupulous manufacturers add to the product to increase its weight. This is not done to improve the taste of cottage cheese: the manufacturer includes starch in the recipe solely in order to extract financial benefits.
To check the quality of the cottage cheese, it is enough to take a small amount of the product, one teaspoon is quite enough. Place the curd on a saucer and add literally a couple of drops of iodine to it. If the product turns blue, then starch is present in its composition. You have purchased high-quality cottage cheese, if, as a result of the addition of iodine, it has not changed its color. The product without starch in the place of contact with iodine should only turn a light yellow color.
Vegetable Fat Test
The absence of starch in a product does not mean its unconditional quality. To increase the shelf life of the product, some manufacturers secretly add vegetable fats to it. You can also check cottage cheese for palm fat content at home, and in several ways.
First of all, vegetable fat is felt quite well on the tongue. To do this, eat a spoonful of cottage cheese, sip it in your mouth for 15-20 seconds. A quality product should not leave the sensation of a greasy film on the tongue.
There is another way to identify vegetable fat in curd. To do this, place some food on a plate and leave it at room temperature for a few hours. Cottage cheese stuffed with vegetable fats will slightly change its color. As a rule, such a product, when exposed to air, is quickly weathered and covered with a yellowish crust. In addition, it usually does not change its smell and taste. Under the same conditions, the cottage cheese begins to acidify a little without extraneous additives, but at the same time it does not change its color.
Important points
If the quality of the curd is important to you, always pay attention to its packaging. A product with a shelf life of more than seven days is more likely to be rich in preservatives. Before buying, do not be lazy to evaluate the appearance of the cottage cheese. Too liquid or dry product indicates violations in the technology of its production.
After making sure that the cottage cheese you purchased has successfully passed all the tests, remember its manufacturer and try to buy a product of this particular brand.
