The Difference between Homemade Soft Cheeses like Cottage Cheese, Farmers Cheese, and Ricotta

Cottage cheese, farmers cheese, and ricotta are soft, non aged cheeses that have been around for centuries. However it can get a bit confusing when you start to research how to make your own homemade soft cheese as some of these terms seem to be used interchangeably. Cottage cheese is sometimes referred to as farmer’s cheese and vice versa. To further complicate matters, store bought cottage, farmer’s and ricotta cheeses may actually differ from there homemade versions.

The truth is ,there is no one definition of these cheeses. The way each is made has evolved over time and changed throughout cultures. So American farmer’s cheese and European farmer’s cheese may not be the same thing. Clear as mud, right?

For simplicity sake we will focus on American style homemade soft cheeses in this article.

Jump to:

• Casein vs Whey Cheeses
• Cottage Cheese vs Farmer’s cheese vs ricotta cheese
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Casein vs Whey Cheeses

To fully understand the difference between soft cheeses you must first understand the process in which they are made.

Milk has two different proteins, casein and whey. Casein is the most abundant protein , making up about 80% of the total protein in milk. Casein proteins can further be classified as A1 or A2 amino acids. Milk can have both A1 and A2 casein proteins or just A2 proteins that can be used to make A2 cottage cheese which is thought to be better for digestion and therefore recommended for people with mild dairy sensitivities.

During the cheese making process, casein is retained in the cheese curds as the milk coagulates whereas most of the whey proteins are lost in the liquid whey that is leftover and drained from the curds.

While most cheeses are made with casein proteins, both casein and whey can be used to make cheese. Cottage cheese and Farmer’s cheese are casein cheeses while ricotta is a whey cheese.

Cottage Cheese vs Farmer’s cheese vs ricotta cheese

To further breakdown the differences between each cheese, let’s look at how each are made.

Cottage Cheese

American style cottage cheese and Farmer’s cheese is made exactly the same way initially. They differ in the way they are finished. With both cheeses, the milk is heated to a specific temperature and then acid is added to separate the cheese curds from the whey.

When making cottage cheese, the whey is slowly drained from the curds and then the curds are rinsed to remove the access whey.

Cottage cheese can be either small, which can be made with acids like lemon juice or vinegar, or large curd which is made with a more powerful enzyme called rennet. Cheeses that are made with vinegar or lemon juice may also be referred to as Paneer.

Farmer’s Cheese

Farmers Cheese is made the exact same way as homemade cottage cheese however the whey is pressed from the curds, instead of drained and rinsed, resulting in a drier cheese with a more crumbly consistency.

Farmers cheese can be made from a variety of milks including cow, goat, or sheep milk whereas cottage cheese is typically made with cow’s milk. Farmer’s cheese may also be referred to as queso blanco meaning “white cheese”.

Ricotta Cheese

Homemade ricotta cheese is made from the leftover whey that was drained from the curds after making a rennet cheese. The left over sweet whey is then reheated with an acid, resulting in very fine grains of cheese curds that is skimmed off the surface of the heated whey.

It is important that you only use sweet whey when making homemade ricotta cheese or it will not work. So the leftover whey from making homemade cottage cheese and farmers cheese is not a good choice for making ricotta cheese.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, there is no one definition of these cheeses as it varies between cultures and industries. However, regardless of what they are called they are all delicious, soft, non-aged cheeses that are worth exploring.

Frequently Asked Questions