Fussy

I've become something of a cottage cheese connoiseur recently. Who knew? It's not as if I set out with it as a goal or something. It's just that I've been packing it in my work cooler for breakfasts and lunches a lot lately. It's tasty - or at least my favorite brand never disappoints - has premeasured amounts for steady, dependable nutrition values, and is great with fruits. Those are fast to add for quick total prep time on a busy rushin-out-the-door-late morning, as most are these days. I vary sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, cherries and raspberries as the add-in. They all work great except the raspberries. There's something about them that demands being eaten on the side, that just doesn't quite mix right. That's OK, I still love raspberries.

When I hit the store, I tend to buy several days' worth. I shop often enough as it is, keeping track of my needs, household needs, and my dad's needs. Trouble is, often somebody else gets there before I do and the pickins are slim. So I've tried other brands. That's how I found out I've become a connoisseur.

I started with Old Home, the cottage cheese of my Minnesota childhood. Now you know that means it's been around a long time. And it's just as good as it ever was: lovely flavor, firm curds, very little whey left in the carton or separated out, nice and white. Exactly as I remember and prefer it.

Only...

These days it comes in low-fat too. And that's just as good. That's the carton I go for first.

One day they were very low on that so I tried Land O Lakes. Local brand again, good rep, reasonable price. It was almost as good as the Old Home, just a bit yellowish, a wee bit of whey swimming on the top, and nearly the flavor of the other. Perfectly adequate, just not first choice.

Last week I saw a new brand, Daisy, with a sticker price $.50 cheaper a carton. I figured why not? The way I'm going through it, 5 cartons a week, I could save a chunk.

Big mistake. Worse mistake was buying two cartons without waiting for the taste test results. The first bite told me all I needed to know. Texture soft, not well-defined curds. Mushy. Ick. In some things, texture is a real biggy, the feel of it in your mouth or between your teeth telling half the story of your satisfaction and willingness - craving, even - to take the next bite. This one failed. Even worse was the flavor. It more resembled cardboard and paste than it did cottage cheese, and don't make the mistake and think I'm referring back to that delightful library paste we snuck tastes of back in grade school. That had zip! This had more of a gag quotient than anything else.

Unfortunately, I'd packed it for both breakfast and lunch, with nothing to fill in in its stead, and no time nor opportunity to find a replacement. Plus, I'd mixed in some lovely blueberries, really well stirred and blended, and there was no way I was going to let the blueberries go to waste. I did my best to pick them out of the surrounding crud, but inevitably some clung and I wound up eating it.

On a positive note, my dog isn't a connoiseur and was delighted to get some free people-food protein. He'll eat almost anything off a plate that finds its way to the floor.

I informed Paul that if he can find a recipe to use the second carton so it disguises the flavor, like maybe lasagne, he's welcome to it. Otherwise he can feed it to the dog or dump it in the trash. I refuse to eat it.

Tonight I picked up all six of the Old Home low fat cottage cheese cartons in the case.