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Cottage cheese is not usually associated with boycotts, but in the summer of 2011, that produced by the Elite company was boycotted in Israel because of its high cost, in comparison to its cost in the US. Elite is an Israeli company, so it didn’t seem fair that the price of its cottage cheese was higher in Israel than it was in other countries. The boycott was successful and the price was eventually lowered.

In the Indian subcontinent cottage cheese or ‘paneer’ is used in many savoury dishes, and goes well in a spicy dish with spinach. It is used to tame the hot spices used in traditional dishes, and these are very tasty.

Little Miss Muffet was clearly greedy and impatient. She sat on her “tuffet, eating her curds and whey” which are the precursors of cottage cheese. If she had waited a little longer she may not have had that traumatic encounter with the spider.

Cottage cheese is made by curdling pasteurized milk and draining off most of the liquid or whey, so that the only the curds are left in squishy lumps. You can curdle the milk with lemon juice, and make it from low-fat milk, so that it has fewer calories.

This type of cheese has been made for millennia and was made by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. It gets its English name because it can so easily be made at home, and can be pressed into a thicker consistency to make a creamy white cheese with all the whey removed, until it becomes what is known as farmer’s cheese, which is solid but crumbly rather like feta cheese.

It was a favourite of former US President, Richard Nixon, whose last meal as president was cottage cheese with a slice of pineapple. Doubtless the fresh pineapple makes for a better gourmet experience than the cottage cheese and pineapple you can buy in local supermarkets.

This type of cheese is ideal for dieters as its bland taste can be mixed with tastier things such as paprika or chilies, and eaten as a snack or in a main meal as it has only 98 calories per 100 grams, and this contains 11.1.grams of protein, and very little fat. It also contains high levels of selenium which is great for healthy skin and a general feel-good factor. It also contains vitamin D – the sunshine vitamin, and calcium, which is essential for healthy bones.

According to a USFDA report, Americans buy around 600 million pounds in weight of cottage cheese a year, although I suppose that doesn’t mean they eat all that as it doesn’t have a very long shelf-life. It is worth noting though that it takes a hundred pounds (weight) of milk to produce only fifteen pounds of cottage cheese.

It seems to be a favourite food, although I can’t say I am a great fan, unless it is mixed into sweet pancakes or a spicy meat dish, as it tastes bland to me. However, it is this that makes it so versatile.

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