‘Lip-smackingly sour’: the best (and worst) supermarket cottage cheeses, tasted and rated

Guardian journalism is independent. We earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Creamy, high-protein and all over our socials, cottage cheese is having a moment. We test the best … When I was growing up, cottage cheese was tasteless and mostly only eaten by dieters. Its recent revival in the UK, most likely driven by social media, has similar health reasons at its root – the current protein obsession in gym bros and weight watchers alike – but cottage cheese has become cool. The flavourless squeaky varieties of yesteryear are still around, but a whole new category now exists on supermarket shelves that is unabashedly fatty, rich and full of flavour, with artisanal complexity and a lacto-fermented sour twang. I scored these based on flavour; the more complex and sour, the better, especially when balanced with a rich, sweet and creamy suspension. None of these products were bitter. Texture is also key. I find tough, squeaky curds a bit unappetising, but I do enjoy them with a bit of size, and the silkier, the better. Some of the products were less like cottage cheese and more like a grainy yoghurt. It’s rare I give five out of five, espec