Reader Question Vinícius Demarzo, Sorocaba, SP
It’s in the details. In both, the production stages are: fermentation to create the curd, addition of emulsifiers and inclusion of cream. But the curd cream cheese is obtained from fermentation by external microorganisms (such as bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus).
Cottage cheese, on the other hand, is usually made with the addition of an enzyme taken from the fourth stomach of a ruminant animal, such as the cow. This enzyme, called rennet, gives a rigid texture to the curd, so it goes through another stage, mass melting. It is this process that gives the characteristic creaminess.
O cream cheese appeared in Chester, USA, in 1872, when the dairy farmer William A. Lawrence tried to reproduce the French cheese neufchâtel. Requeijão, on the other hand, was born in the afternoon tea ritual served in the houses of colonels, in Colonial Brazil.
– (Adam Benyoussef; L. Wall/Jmol; National Cancer Institute/Reproduction)
Dead heat
The nutritional differences are also small*
cream cheese
Energy value – 84 kcal
Saturated Fats – 5.1g
Sodium – 123 mg
Cream cheese
Energy value – 81 kcal
Saturated Fats – 4.1g
Sodium – 144mg
* Portion of 30 g. Comparison between the cream cheese Philadelphia and Nestlé cream cheese
CONSULTANCY Bruno Ricardo de Castro Leite Júnior, professor at the Department of Food Technology, Federal University of Viçosa (MG)
SOURCES Milknet, Imperial de MinaWs, Philadelphia, Forward, Nestlé, Danubio It is university.menu