The expert gave advice on choosing high-quality cottage cheese

Cottage cheese helps strengthen bones and teeth, but overeating such a product can harm the liver. Irina Lyalina, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the State University of Education, told Izvestia how it is useful and harmful, as well as how to choose it correctly.

"Cottage cheese is a fermented milk product, represented by a complex protein called casein, rich in all kinds of amino acids. It is a source of calcium and phosphorus and strengthens bones and teeth. It contains vitamins of group B, A, D. It promotes muscle recovery, and is important when exercising. It is useful for osteoporosis, anemia. Cottage cheese helps to normalize lipid metabolism and lowers cholesterol levels in the blood, so it is good for weight loss," she said.

According to her, cottage cheese can only harm if there is an individual lactose intolerance or it is of poor quality, "unnatural" with additives, starch and preservatives. In addition, overeating especially fatty cottage cheese will harm the liver.

"Grained cottage cheese (cottage cheese grains, "granulated") has the shape of individual large grains, usually with the addition of cream, mild taste, slightly salty. It is often considered a dietary product (especially low-fat). It has less acidity, it is more delicate in texture," Lyalina clarified.

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Ordinary cottage cheese — in briquettes and by weight — is a homogeneous mass with varying degrees of fat content. It can be dry, crumbly, or creamy. At the same time, the smooth structure of the curd indicates the addition of palm oil to the composition.

"Cottage cheese should contain only milk and sourdough — without additives, starch, preservatives or stabilizers. Cottage cheese is normally white or slightly creamy in color. The smell is fermented milk, without acid or fermentation. There should be no bitterness. [Otherwise, it] means that the cooking technology was incorrect or the cottage cheese was of poor quality," the expert explained.

However, the date of manufacture is important. Cottage cheese is considered fresh for up to 3-7 days from the date of production, depending on the packaging.

"Cottage cheese of 0-2% fat content is dietary, light, but dry. Natural cottage cheese, without additives, of medium fat content (5-9% is the ideal ratio of protein, fat and calcium), cooked without heat treatment, but from pasteurized milk, is considered the most useful. Cottage cheese 15-18% is rich, tasty, but very high in calories, it's better not to lean on it," Lyalina advised.

Cottage cheese can stay in the refrigerator in a package for 3-7 days, "homemade" without preservatives — 1-3 days. Frozen can be stored for up to two months, but this affects the structure and taste.

Earlier, on April 25, Andrey Martyushev-Poklad, a market expert at the Helsnet National Technology Initiative, Candidate of Medical Sciences, told Izvestia that poor nutrition increases the risk of serious diseases. At the same time, if enough vital substances are supplied, the body is in longevity mode. Therefore, it is important that foods are rich in micronutrients. The list of foods with the highest micronutrient content includes liver, seafood, and various types of meat.