Can You Melt Cottage Cheese?
Cottage cheese is a staple snack and ingredient for many people thanks to its delightfully creamy flavor and impressive protein and calcium content. You may have already tried the two-ingredient air fryer cottage cheese flatbread or TikTok's cottage cheese ice cream recipe, which makes us think that this dairy product could be added to practically anything, right? Well, if you are thinking of melting it onto your next pizza or using cottage cheese in lasagna, think again.
Cottage cheese does not really melt and instead simply softens and breaks into smaller curds. This means that any dishes that require a smooth, gooey texture are better off with meltable cheeses like cheddar or mozzarella. If you're set on adding cottage cheese, blending it will give you a smoother, creamier texture, but keep in mind that it still won't melt completely; it will just become runnier and some curds will still remain.
Why doesn't cottage cheese melt?
Cottage cheese is almost impossible to melt due to its composition. Because of the texture, density, and acidity of the curds, they tend to split instead of melt as they are heated. Cottage cheese also has a naturally low fat content; fat typically aids the melting process since it encourages protein molecules to separate. This is why, generally speaking, low-fat cheeses don't melt very well.
Since cottage cheese isn't heavily processed like some cheeses — such as American cheese –there are no added ingredients that encourage melting. Plus, cottage cheese is naturally lumpier compared to more cohesive varieties like cheddar or Swiss, so it's impossible to achieve a stretchy or smooth melted texture.
While cottage cheese might not be able to replace stretchy mozzarella on pizza or a cheese toastie, there are still plenty of great uses for it. Blend it into an avocado dip for a protein-packed snack or bake a cottage cheese gluten-free bread. You can even use it in conjunction with meltier cheeses so you get the best of both worlds. Putting aside its refusal to melt, cottage cheese still deserves all the hype it gets.