<P> The first known use of the term "cottage cheese" dates back to 1831 . It is believed to have originated because the simple cheese was usually made in cottages from any milk left over after making butter . The ancient Mesopotamians made a type of salty, sour cheese very similar to cottage cheese that dates back to at least 3000 B.C. A common legend is that it was invented when a desert traveler filled his sheep stomach saddle bags with milk prior to beginning his journey . </P> <P> Cottage cheese is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose . The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet - curd cheese . It is not aged or colored . Different styles of cottage cheese are made from milk with different fat levels and in small - curd or large - curd preparations . Pressed cottage cheese becomes hoop cheese, farmer cheese, pot cheese, or queso blanco . </P> <P> Curd size is the size of the chunks in the cottage cheese . The two major types of cottage cheese are small - curd, high - acid cheese made without rennet, and large - curd, low - acid cheese made with rennet . Rennet is a natural complex of enzymes that speeds curdling and keeps the curd that forms from breaking up . Adding rennet shortens the cheese - making process, resulting in a lower acid and larger curd cheese, and reduces the amount of curd poured off with leftover liquid (whey). Sometimes large - curd cottage cheese is called "chunk style ." </P> <P> Cottage cheese can be eaten in a variety of different ways: by itself, with fruit and sugar, with salt and pepper, with fruit puree, on toast, with tomatoes, with granola and cinnamon, in salads, as a chip dip, as a replacement for mayonnaise in tuna salad or used as an ingredient in recipes such as jello salad and various desserts . Cottage cheese with fruit such as pears, peaches, or mandarin oranges is a standard side dish in many "home cooking" or meat - and - three restaurants' menus in the United States . It is also used in dishes such as lasagna where it takes the place of ricotta . </P>

What is the process of making cottage cheese