Boom boom cottage cheese

Demand for versatile and healthy foods is growing – and one recent star in this trend has been cottage cheese. Thanks to being low-fat and high in protein, the once ‘old-fashioned’ dairy staple is now seeing a modern-day revival, with demand increasing by 97 per cent in the UK alone.

What’s more, consumers are increasingly discovering new foods through social media, with the hashtag “#cottagecheese” surging in popularity on TikTok. UK influencers are contributing to the trend by sharing recipes that incorporate cottage cheese in new ways, such as in pancakes, pasta sauces, breads and desserts.

And yet, dairy manufacturers face increasing pressure to reduce resource consumption and operate as efficiently as possible to produce products more sustainably. This means that finding ways of optimising the production of cottage cheese while meeting growing demand will be crucial to the success of the category. So, how can this be done?

Keeping up with evolving trends

Major UK retailers, such as M&S and Waitrose, have reported year-on-year cottage cheese sale increases of 20 to 30 per cent, with dairy company Arla reporting a double-digit increase. This demand is also being replicated further afield in Australia and the US.

Despite this surging interest driving global shortages, producers have risen to the challenge by ramping up production, and the availability of cottage cheese on supermarket shelves has grown as a result.

The US is the largest producer of cottage cheese today, and has also seen increased production of key ingredients for the product, such as cream and curd. In fact, market share by leading US companies and brands has surged by nearly 16 per cent over the past 12 months, closely followed by Russia, Italy and Turkey.

Manufacturers are now increasingly diversifying their product lines by introducing new cottage cheese-based items, such as dips and spreads, to capitalise on demand for the high-protein food. Others, such as Arla, are beginning to offer diet-specific variants, including low-fat, lactose-free and organic alternatives.

How cottage cheese is made

With cottage cheese the latest trend and production growing around the world, producers are scrutinising each step of the process used to make the product to ensure maximum efficiency. Currently, the process is demanding due to the delicate grain used, wide range of sourness and need to make sure the end-product has the right appearance for consumer consumption.

Cottage cheese is traditionally produced by adding a starter culture and rennet to pasteurised skimmed milk, causing it to coagulate into curds. These curds are cut, gently heated, and stirred to release whey (a by-product of cheese production), before being rinsed with cold water to prevent further cooking and improve overall texture. After draining, the curds may be mixed with cream to create creamed cottage cheese, and the fat content is adjusted as needed.

The machinery used in this process includes specialised equipment for milk pasteurisation, coagulation, curd cutting, heating and whey separation. Heating systems carefully control temperature to firm the curds without overcooking them, while rinsing modules use cold water to stop the process and improve the final texture. Cream dosing systems also allow for accurate mixing of cream into the curds for the desired fat content.

However, for manufacturers to keep up with demand while meeting the specific requirements for the cottage cheese product, new methods will need to be harnessed to make the process more efficient.

Optimising production

One way this can be done is by reducing the consumption of water, energy and chemicals across the production line to reduce operational costs.

Technologies such as nanofiltration can support this by recovering clean chemicals and water for future re-use, and in some instances recycling as much as 90 per cent of the total liquid. Reverse osmosis, using proprietary membrane filtration technology, can also improve resource efficiency across applications such as milk separation and milk re-use. For example, by concentrating milk before curd formation, cheese makers can reduce the volume of liquid that needs to be handled and heated during the processing stage.

Heat pumps can also lower the amount of energy consumed during the production process by allowing manufacturers to facilitate the re-use of waste heat to produce steam across plant equipment or upcycle waste heat for usage in the factory elsewhere. Solar thermal collectors can also use sunlight to power the delivery of hot water and steam at temperatures above 150°C.

In addition, using a closed-vat system during the preparation stage can reduce the amount of product lost during production due to the position of the cutting tools which help to minimise the volume of uncut curd. The system’s use of hot water instead of steam can lower the risk of overheating the curd and denaturing whey proteins, while controlling the temperature of the heating medium and actual product to avoid burning. This can help ensure the final product is of good quality, and meets consumer requirements for appearance, taste and texture.

By adopting these technologies, manufacturers can optimise production and meet soaring demand across the UK and wider world.

Looking ahead

With sales for cottage cheese continuing to surge worldwide, dairy manufacturers must strike a balance between meeting this demand and sustainably reducing the consumption of the materials required to produce it. By using processing technologies such as nanofiltration, heat pumps and a closed-vat system, manufactures can lower the amount of chemicals, energy and water used during the production and preparation stages. This will reduce resource consumption while accelerating production, and supporting manufacturers in navigating the cottage cheese boom.