cottage cheese

American  

noun

1. an extremely soft, or loose, white, mild-flavored cheese made from skim-milk curds, usually without rennet.

---

cottage cheese British  

noun

1. a mild loose soft white cheese made from skimmed milk curds

---

Regionalisms

Farmer cheese and farmer's cheese are widely used throughout the U.S. as terms for a kind of cottage cheese. This same kind of cheese, with varying curd size and sourness, is also called sour-milk cheese in Eastern New England; curd or curd cheese, chiefly in the Northeastern and Southern U.S.; pot cheese, chiefly in the Hudson Valley; smearcase, chiefly in the North Midland U.S., and sometimes cream cheese in the Gulf States.

Etymology

Origin of cottage cheese

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Compare meaning

How does cottage-cheese compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cottage cheese vs. cream cheese
• ricotta vs. cottage cheese

Example Sentences

"Cottage cheese," she quipped, stressing on the cheese, before she told me how she had coaxed the recipe out of a friend.

From BBC • Jul. 18, 2023

Cottage cheese, when enjoyed in its full-fat glory, is a culinary treasure.

From Salon • Aug. 23, 2021

Do not use: Cottage cheese or yogurt containers, bread wrappers, produce bags, wax paper.

From Washington Post • May 13, 2020

Cottage cheese and Gatorade are two things that should never, ever, under any circumstances, be combined.

From Golf Digest • Apr. 25, 2020

Cottage cheese with a dry curd, not creamed.

From The Complete Book of Cheese by Brown, Robert Carlton