
Curd surge: TikTok recipes drive a national cottage cheese shortage
If you've spotted a cottage cheese-shaped hole in the dairy aisle recently, you're not alone. Australians' suddenly insatiable appetite for the product has left dietitians grinning and supermarkets scrambling to restock.
The curd surge is being driven by trending recipes on social media, which emphasise the cheese's high protein content. On TikTok, cottage cheese is touted as a core ingredient in everything from dips to ice-cream to bagels.
It's a welcome development for accredited practicing dietitian Anna Debenham. 'As a dietitian, I've always been a big fan of cottage cheese,' she said. 'For the last decade, we've been trying to incorporate it into people's diets without much success.'
Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning
Debenham said cottage cheese's recent ascent to 'it ingredient' was great to see, although she noted it had made it harder to find in supermarkets. A representative from Coles said: 'We have been seeing tubs flying off the shelf faster than we can keep up.'
Both Coles and Woolworths said they were working with suppliers to improve availability.
Nick Hickford, chief commercial officer of Bulla Dairy Foods, one of the country's largest cottage cheese manufacturers, said the company had been scaling up production by adding manufacturing shifts and hiring more cheese makers to keep up with the product's 'significant double-digit growth'.
'This is quite a unique situation,' Hickford said. 'While we have seen shifts in consumer preferences within the dairy industry, such a rapid and widespread resurgence of interest in a traditionally niche product is rare - but exciting.'
Debenham said cottage cheese had significant nutritional benefits, since it is high in protein, low in fat and lower in sodium than other cheeses. 'In the cheese world it's one of the healthiest options. It's also pretty budget friendly.'
'There's so much that trends on TikTok that's absolute nonsense, so harmful,' she said. 'But the cottage cheese trend is awesome, because it's utilising a healthy ingredient in creative ways.'
Debenham has even tried a few viral recipes herself. She praises cottage cheese as a base for dips, with the addition of chickpeas, avocado or other vegetables. On the sweet side, 'I've tried cottage cheese mousse, and that was surprisingly delicious,' she said.
Guardian Australia also attempted one viral recipe – two-ingredient cheese crisps made by baking cottage cheese and powdered seasoning in a moderately hot oven, which has been viewed more than 1m times on TikTok.
Given the limited availability of cottage cheese, we tested the recipe using four soft white cheeses: cottage cheese, quark, feta and bocconcini. Our first attempt, cooking the chips at 190C for 30 minutes, as per the original TikTok instructions, was a tar-black catastrophe.
Sign up to Saved for Later
Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips
after newsletter promotion
On our next attempt, we lowered the oven temperature by 20C (most Australian ovens use convection heat; most American ovens do not); shortened the cooking time by five minutes and used baking paper instead of tin foil to line the tray.
This batch of chips was somewhat more successful.
The outer edges of the cottage cheese chip burned before the centre became crisp, resulting in a chewy, limp disk with a mild sour taste. The quark chip was worse: floppy, grainy and strongly sour. Meanwhile, a cube of low-fat feta remained steadfastly cube-shaped throughout the cooking process, but acquired a springy, halloumi-like texture.
A piece of bocconcini became by far the best chip. It melted across the baking tray then formed a lacy, golden layer that was crisp but not burnt. In addition to a satisfying crunch, the bocconcini chip had a mild taste that did not overpower the onion-salt seasoning. At 16g protein a hundred grams, bocconcini has a higher protein content than cottage cheese – but almost 10 times the fat.
This substitution still received a thumbs up from Debenham . 'Look overall, I see that as a pretty healthy snack,' she said when described the two-ingredient recipe. 'Maybe combine it with a bit of fruit to get a bit of fibre.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Costco shoppers divided over new 'overpoweringly sweet' food court item
Costco shoppers are divided over the food court's new and 'overpoweringly sweet' Frozen Strawberry Lemonade. Members expressed their concerns about the item on Reddit after it dropped in select locations last week. Commenters on the social media platform said the $2.99 frozen lemonade was available to purchase at Costco locations in California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan. While some users have expressed their love for the fruity flavor, others found it 'too sweet' or 'too tart' to handle. 'I was hit by intense sweetness followed by an intense sour,' a Reddit user wrote, adding that customers 'looking for something extremely sweet and sour' would be fans. 'It's a little too tart for me. The strawberries were nice. It's just the strawberries from the sundae, but it's a nice touch,' another person commented. Others believed it was the perfect treat to enjoy for a 'hot summer day' or 'relief from the Florida sun.' The new food court item, along with the hot turkey and provolone sandwich, is one of multiple recent menu changes at the big box store. Although flavoring was a red flag for some Costco shoppers, others also claimed that the store's straws made it challenging to enjoy the drink. Described as 'inadequate for this drink,' customers complained that the strawberries would get stuck inside the straw. 'At the end, we needed a spoon to get the little pieces of strawberries,' a customer revealed in a TikTok video. A few other customers were not interested in the beverage at all, and were disappointed to learn it had replaced Costco's Strawberry Banana Smoothie. Shoppers in recent months have also been divided over Costco's decision to only offer California Crab Rolls in Canada and make Kirkland-brand Signature Combo Pizzas unavailable in food courts. Many customers were also enraged after the chain announced a controversial plan to swap Pepsi for Coca-Cola beverages in its food courts. The chain confirmed Coca-Cola machines would start appearing in stores this summer. However, some Reddit users were furious after noticing Costco installed a Coca-Cola machine at a California store that opened in March. The new drink was one of various menu changes made by Costco at its food courts An Instagram user spotted a Coca-Cola machine at a newly-opened Costco food court in Brentwood, California, in March Costco has also been embroiled in controversy on social media due to possible price hikes. Reddit users claimed earlier this year that food court sandwiches rose from $3.99 to $6.99 at select locations. These changes came months after Costco enraged shoppers by increasing its membership fees. Costco later placed limits on gold bars in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The retailer also expanded its gas station hours and began taking steps to install scan-and-go style features at checkout.


The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Should young Australians be worried about Labor's superannuation tax changes?
As debate rages over the Labor government's tax changes for large superannuation accounts, some young workers have asked their financial advisers whether they will be caught by the reforms. Advisers have told Guardian Australia that some young workers have even questioned whether they should stop making additional contributions. Experts say it's unlikely that younger Australians will get caught by the changes, with older, high-income earners the most exposed to the reforms. Here's what young Australians need to know about the changes. Most workers are legally entitled to be paid a guaranteed 11.5% of their wages into their superannuation fund, or 12% from July this year. The government levies a tax of 15% on the earnings on super balances of workers yet to retire and of retirees with more than $2m. Labor has proposed to lift that 15% tax to 30%, but only for the earnings from the portion of the balances over $3m. Earnings on the first $3m in an account would still be taxed at 15%. The tax would be levied each year. You can read a broader breakdown here. Economists expect most young people currently working will not hit $3m balances, though higher-income earners will have a higher chance at getting there. By the 2050s, when millennials will be looking at retirement and gen Z and Alpha will dominate the workforce, one in 10 people will have $3m balances, Treasury and Grattan Institute modelling shows. That could rise to three or four in every 10 people in the 2060s according to Diana Mousina, an AMP economist. But she says it is unlikely that 'half of gen Z' will reach $3m in super balances, contrary to some media reporting of her analysis. Mousina's modelling shows a worker earning more than $90,000 a year who works for 40 years consecutively with a 3% pay rise every year would probably achieve a $3m balance. This means a worker in their 20s who reaches $90,000 or over soon, then maintains it for the rest of their working life, could one day be affected. Workers on lower incomes who made no extra contributions and took time off work, for example to have a child, would be unlikely to reach $3m, according to Harry Chemay, a superannuation and wealth management consultant. The Financial Services Council, meanwhile, expects about 500,000 people of 14.6 million currently employed would earn enough to see their top-range tax breaks reduced slightly under the new proposal. While the reform would increase tax rates on big balances, superannuation would still be an effective way for high-income earners to reduce the tax they pay. The average superannuation balance in mid-2022 was $164,000, so most Australians are nowhere near balances over $3m. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The proposed 30% tax rate is still lower than the top income tax rate of 45%, meaning superannuation contributions would continue to offer a tax break for well-paid workers. Public debate over the tax illuminated how lightly superannuation is taxed, according to Jonathan Philpot, a wealth management partner at accounting firm HLB Mann Judd in Sydney. 'It actually highlights that super actually has much lower tax rates than virtually any other structure you can have in your retirement years,' he says. 'I wouldn't want people changing their super plans.' Experts believe it is likely the threshold for the new tax would be lifted above $3m at some point in the future, so some young people who hit the $3m figure may not end up paying extra. Mousina is among those who agree the $3m benchmark for the new extra rate will probably rise but she suggests the increase could be baked into the new laws for the tax, which need the Greens' support to pass. 'We should think about indexing it, rather than just having no legislation around when it's going to cap out,' she says. The lack of assurance on whether the tax threshold will be lifted above $3m has attracted some media outcry, despite expert consensus that the figure would have to rise. Debate has also focused on the proposal to tax a type of investment return called unrealised gains, which would see high earners pay tax on a rise in value of some assets on paper while leaving them unable to get that money back if the asset value falls in the future. Most super accounts would have limited exposure to unrealised gains, according to Chemay. Australians with self-managed super funds are more likely to struggle with this type of investment. However, self-managed super funds only make up about 1 million of the 20 million or so super savers – and just 15% of them are under the age of 45. For perspective, four million Australians have more than one super account. The government in 2018 estimated the resulting extra fees would leave the average worker about $50,000 worse off by the time they retired.


North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
TikTok creating more than 500 new British jobs as UK users top 30 million
The Chinese-owned social media firm said its UK workforce would expand to 3,000 this year as part of its 'deep commitment' to the UK. It will also open a new 135,000sq ft office in London's Barbican, which is set to open early next year. The group already has its UK headquarters in Farringdon, London, which were opened in 2022. TikTok unveiled the plans as it said it now has more than 30 million regular users in the UK each month, which makes the market is biggest user community in Europe. Adam Presser, director of TikTok UK and global head of operations and trust and safety, said: 'Whether through direct investment in jobs and innovation, or the wider economic contribution from millions of British businesses on TikTok, we're pleased to be increasing our investment and presence here in the UK, an important hub for TikTok.' But it comes after Cabinet minister Pete Kyle signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew. Mr Kyle was asked on Sunday morning whether he would look at limiting the time children spend on social media to two hours per app after the Sunday People and Mirror reported the measure was being considered by ministers. The Online Safety Act has passed into law, and from this year will require tech platforms to follow new Ofcom-issued codes of practice to keep users safe online, particularly children. Hefty fines and site blockages are among the penalties for those caught breaking the rules, but many critics have argued the approach gives tech firms too much scope to regulate themselves. TikTok's Mr Presser said that, as well as its UK expansion plans, the group also invests 'significantly' in safety. He said: 'What underpins our continued growth is our deep commitment to safety and to creating an enjoyable and secure digital space to sustainably support creators, entrepreneurs and the wider economy, which is why we also invest significantly in safety.' TikTok first launched its UK operations in 2018 and is financially incorporated in Britain. The group was fined 530 million euro (£446 million) by the Irish data protection watchdog last month for breaching EU privacy rules around transferring user data to China. The video-sharing app was also sanctioned for not being transparent with users about where personal data was being sent and ordered the platform to comply with data protection rules within six months. TikTok said it would appeal against the decision. The social media giant, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over how it handles personal data, and is also facing a ban in the United States over its China links, which the US government has said is a national security issue.