Will Cottage Cheese Melt When Heated?

A lot of dishes are better with melted cheese involved, but why is it so rare to use cottage cheese in this role? Due to its relatively unique properties, cottage cheese doesn't really melt like stringy mozzarella on hot pizza. But although it doesn't melt, it does become softer and creamier with heat, which can give cottage cheese a molten-like texture that works well in some dishes. 

One of cottage cheese's limiting factors in this regard is its high water content, which evaporates under heat instead of contributing to a good melt. Another is the cheese curds themselves, which break apart into smaller, creamier pieces but, again, don't achieve a proper melted texture.

To maximize the nutritional value of low-calorie, high-protein cottage cheese, it's often low-fat. But fat is the natural emulsifier which gives melted cheese its gooey, stringy texture. Low-fat cheeses simply don't melt as well as full-fat cheeses, at least not without added emulsifiers (which help give the worst cottage cheese brand on the market its disappointing texture).

Despite its difficulties with achieving a true melt, it is possible to smoothly incorporate cottage cheese in recipes as a replacement for heavy cream. The creaminess of cottage cheese can be enhanced into a molten-like texture by folding it into warm scrambled eggs. As the cottage cheese "melts," its cheese curds blend into the eggs for a decadently creamy breakfast without adding heavy cream. You can get similar results replacing heavy cream with cottage cheese in mac and cheese, where the curds will smoothly mix into the warm cheese sauce.

You can even add cottage cheese to homemade sauces by blending it with the other ingredients and gently warming them until ready. The cottage cheese acts as a healthy alternative for cream-based sauces. Although it won't melt, between the blender blades and hot stovetop, the curds should disappear nicely into the background.