The Canadian Costco Dairy Find That's The Versatile Protein Boost Your Meals Need

Protein has been trending in the modern diet, with shoppers flocking to purchase protein bars, protein powders, and more products that will increase their daily intake. If you're looking for different varieties of high-protein foods, there's a versatile product available at Costco locations in Canada that may become a part of the next trend in the protein-rich nutrition landscape.

Pressed cottage cheese is a crumbly form of cottage cheese with a variety of appealing nutritional and culinary properties. The M-C Dairy Pressed Cottage Cheese at Costco contains a whopping 27 grams of protein per ¾ cup serving, and about 1 gram of fat. Pressed cottage cheese, also called dry cottage cheese and farmer's cheese, is made by adding an acid, such as vinegar or rennet, to milk — just like in a recipe for making conventional cottage cheese. However, it goes a step further by removing the liquid whey and pressing the curds, creating a drier product. The pressed cheese still has some moisture, but usually much less than conventional store-bought cottage cheese, which has milk added to it after the curd has formed. This versatile ingredient has a mildly tangy flavor and can be used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes to add a burst of protein.

Dry (pressed) cottage cheese is easy to use, and home cooks may prefer the dry texture for some dishes. For simple uses, pressed cottage cheese is a good topping on salads and rice bowls. Cottage cheese can also be used as a ricotta substitute in lasagna or stuffed pasta, as it adds less moisture than conventional cottage cheese and heats well. In addition to pressed cottage cheese's similarity to ricotta cheese, it has slight similarities to products like paneer or even tofu in its texture.

While soft cottage cheese is more common in North America, pressed cottage cheese has a place in several Eastern European recipes, where it's called tvorog. It's perfect for a variety of pierogi dishes, such as pierogi stuffed zucchini or pierogi potato salad. Pressed cottage cheese is also a handy ingredient for sweet dishes, serving as a key ingredient for cheesecake bites, pastries, or syrniki (fluffy cheese pancakes). If you like the tangy flavor of conventional cottage cheese but want a firmer version for your recipes, the 2-pound package of M-C Dairy Pressed Cottage Cheese from Costco is a nutritious, highly adaptable option for many culinary uses.