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Most kinds of cheese melt but cottage cheese does not at usual cooking temperatures.

During the preparation of various kinds of cheese, I have heard of a coagulant named ‘rennett’ being added along with the acidifying agent. For cottage cheese it is just lemon juice mostly (acidifying agent). Does this have anything to do with the difference in properties?

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  • $\begingroup$ Well, it's valid question, but you should elaborate a bit. $\endgroup$ – Mithoron Dec 28 '17 at 15:30
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You essentially make cottage cheese in the process of making cheddar cheese. But cottage cheese is about 80% water. The "cheese" solids are soluble in oil, but not in water. So cheddar cheese will "melt" but cottage cheese won't.

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  • $\begingroup$ I do not get how solubility and melting are connected.. $\endgroup$ – Swaroop Chandra Dec 29 '17 at 10:17
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think the cheese solids "melt" as much as they dissolve in the oil present in the cheese. So if you "melt" the cheese once and separate the oil, then you wouldn't be able to get the "cheese" which is left to melt again. $\endgroup$ – MaxW Dec 30 '17 at 22:16
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It melts but only if it is in a proper medium. I discovered that shredded cottage cheese melts in my pasta sauce.

I do not know if it is the acidity or the presence of extra ingredients that does this but any macro-physical trace of it is gone, just like mozzarella.

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  • $\begingroup$ “Macro physical” . The usage of the term itself conveys the ambiguity. Melting is definitely not defined as the transit of the solid state of a material is from macro to something less.. please rethink and modify your answer.. $\endgroup$ – Swaroop Chandra Feb 11 '18 at 17:10

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