Cottage cheese Cottage cheese Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese curd product with a mild flavor. 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. Cottage cheese
Farmstead cheese recently gained accolades for its farmstead cheeses, even creating the WNC Cheese Trail. Farmstead cheese Farmstead cheese, less commonly known as farmhouse cheese, is produced from the milk collected on the same farm where the cheese is produced. Unlike artisan cheese, which may also include milk purchased and transported from off-farm sources, farmstead cheese makers only use milk from animals they raise. According to the American Cheese Society, "milk used in the production of farmstead cheeses may not be obtained from any outside source". As a result, the cheeses produced often have unique flavors owing to the farm's local terroir.