Good Culture Cottage Cheese

Pretty sure you never expected me to review cottage cheese, right?

Bear with me.

Good Culture is a brand of, yes, cottage cheese.  Just cottage cheese.  Premium cottage cheese.

"Cottage cheese, but better. Real food, simple ingredients, no artificial anything."

They make two product lines, one with whole milk (organic) and one low-fat (natural).  Not sure why they choose to make only the whole milk line organic?  Each line comes in different fruity flavors, along with classic plain flavors.

I haven't had cottage cheese much (at all?) in at least 15 years, but, when I was younger, I actually ate quite a bit of it.  I loved it drizzled with Catalina dressing (ok, smothered by), and served alongside some sprouts.  I think my mom got me hooked on it at some point.  So when I had the opportunity to try Good Culture, I said yes, wondering if I'd find myself liking cottage cheese again.

I tried several varieties (and no, I didn't smother it in Catalina, although I did try adding thousand island, since that is what I had on hand ...).  It didn't re-inspire me to eat cottage cheese,so I shared the rest with my family.

My sister quite liked it, and shared a bite with her 11 month old, even though she had never liked cottage cheese before.  And ... she liked it!  My mother also enjoyed it, and she too gave some to the baby, who again accepted it.  So while it wasn't the product for me, I was glad to see it appreciated by others.

Certified Organic, Whole Milk, 4% Milkfat

"We've got the goods. A thicker, creamier, simple ingredient experience." 

I had only the fullest fat option, the 4% product line, all organic.  Available in "classic", strawberry chia, blueberry açai, pineapple, and mango.

Packaging.

The flavored versions all come in only one size, a single serve, loaded with 17g of protein!  The classic flavor is also available in a larger format.  My sister loved the size, calling it "perfect for a snack."

Pineapple: The Curd.

When you tear off the lid, all flavors look like plain cottage cheese, as all varieties have the fruit on the bottom, in a layer at the base, like "fruit on the bottom" yogurts.  You need to mix in as you please.

Which of course, for me, meant that first I'd try the plain cottage cheese to evaluate it.

The first thing I noticed is how small the curd is.  Very, very small.  A bit too small and mushy for my preference.  I like to see distinct curds!  I think this is the aspect of it the baby liked though, and both my mom and sister said that while it was different, they didn't mind.

The cottage cheese to me was ... fine?   I mean, it was cottage cheese, not particularly exciting as a concept.  Creamy, sure, but I didn't taste anything particularly notable about it, and thought I'd taste more difference from the fuller fat content.

Pineapple: Compote.

"Paradise awaits! our organic pineapple is a tantalizing tropical temptation for your tongue (cabana boy not included)."

The first flavor I tried was the pineapple.  After much digging, I was able find the fruity compote at the base.

It was good.  Sweet, fruity, some chunks of pineapple.  Not too sweet, not a goo.  The pineapple and cottage cheese were a nice, classic pairing, something I used to make on my own from regular cottage cheese and canned pineapple actually.

The layer of fruit compote was pretty thin though; I would have liked more.  It also was hard to reach, just like those fruit on the bottom yogurts - personally I prefer the style with the mix-in on the side, so you can access it immediately and add it in as you please.

So, overall, a good flavor, standard cottage cheese, good for what it was.

Strawberry Chia: Compote.

"In the mood for something sweet? our strawberry chia blend is sweeter than a pile of kittens snuggling a pile of babies. yeah, believe it."

Next I went for strawberry chia.  This time I knew what to expect.  Same basic small curd cottage cheese that was fine, but still cottage cheese, and still a smaller curd than I wanted.

In the base, the fruit, this time, strawberry chia. I didn't care for this at all -  the strawberry was just kinda sweet, not chunks of fruit as I was hoping, and, well, I don't really like chia.  I also didn't find the cottage cheese + strawberry combination to make sense in my head.

Blueberry Açaí Chia.

"Good things come in threes.  Organic blueberries, açaí berries, and chia seeds make for the perfect trifecta on your tongue."

The blueberry açaí chia was slightly better than the strawberry chia.  At this point, I knew what to expect with the boring small curd cottage cheese, and went right for the goodies on the bottom.  While I didn't think blueberry and açaí would go well with cottage cheese, I do like those fruits and was interested to see what this was like.

I was pleased to find a more substantial layer of the fruit than in the other varieties.  It did have a few small whole berries, plus a little bit of the chia seed, in a blueish-purple goo.  Fruity, sweet, but not what I wanted with cottage cheese.  The chia was fairly insignificant, so if you are looking for crunch from chia, you won't get it here.

Another one that just wasn't for me, but this is the flavor my sister and her daughter particularly enjoyed.