Don’t you love it when you can do good by buying something you were going to buy anyway? Until the end of the year, the Whole Planet Foundation is donating a portion of Whole Foods’ sales of Good Culture cottage cheese to fund microloans to entrepreneurs in impoverished communities around the globe. I had already fallen for this creamy cultured cottage cheese, but now I love it more.
Good Culture was launched in 2015 by Jesse Merrill and Anders Eisner, two young men who saw a business opportunity in a lackluster dairy category. Most Americans rarely eat cottage cheese. Gen Zers really don’t eat cottage cheese. But Merrill and Eisner thought they could rejuvenate the niche for a younger generation by producing a “clean” cottage cheese with no stabilizers (like carrageenan or guar gum) and making the packaging more hip. They use organic milk from pastured cows and the product contains live active cultures.
According to the company’s origin story on its website, Merrill cured himself of ulcerative colitis by switching to a more wholesome diet that included, in part, cultured dairy products. The experience inspired him to start the company. I knew none of this when I first picked up a carton of Good Culture cottage cheese at Whole Foods. What I liked was the absence of any stabilizers or preservatives and the presence of live active cultures. The donation sealed the deal.
What a tasty product. The flavor is rich, buttery and mellow, with a buttermilk scent. The small curds are moist and tender, cloaked in a light, tangy cream dressing. (The low-fat version is drier and not much lower in calories; why bother?) The salting is just right. I’m not a regular cottage cheese eater, but I reached the bottom of this pint tub in two days.
Good Culture is a Southern California company, but the milk comes from Wisconsin and Minnesota dairy farms and that’s where the cheese is made. The company is a Certified B Corp and a supporter of 1% for the Planet, which means Good Culture donates one percent of its sales to environmental causes. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with Dairy Farmers of America to promote farming practices that prioritize soil health. What’s more, the packaging is fully recyclable.
It’s hard not to admire such a progressive company even if you don’t like the cottage cheese. But you will like the cottage cheese. Enjoy it with persimmons or pears and granola for breakfast, or for lunch on whole-grain toast with avocado and pumpkin seeds. You can find it at many Whole Foods, Target and Safeway stores or consult the store locator on the company’s website.