A few months ago, I made a friend in the gym. Everything was relatively normal until our conversation turned to the inevitable topic of protein intake. I said I probably don’t eat enough of it, at which point she proudly presented a Tupperware container carrying her lunch: protein-rich chopped chicken floating in a mysterious pool of lumpy white goop. It was cottage cheese.

Not the most appetising lunch, I thought. But there is method to this culinary concoction: 100g of low-fat cottage cheese contains around 11g of protein, and it’s perfect for incorporating into a low-calorie diet, since, as well as being high in nutrients, it’s low in carbohydrates, fats and sugars (especially in comparison to other types of cheese). My new gym friend isn’t alone in her pursuit of throwing the white stuff into absolutely every meal, either. Cottage cheese has recently undergone a major rebrand, leaving behind its 1970s, denture-friendly status to become the miracle wellness curd of the moment, aiding everything from weight loss to muscle growth.

Across the internet, you’ll find influencers sharing endless cottage-cheese-based recipes. There’s one that recommends blending it up in a smoothie with added protein powder for breakfast. Another suggests spreading it on a slice of sourdough toast with smashed avocado at lunchtime. And, if you’re feeling really adventurous at dinner time, you can turn it into a pizza base and bake it in the oven, choosing your own toppings. For dessert? Why not try a cottage cheese and Reese’s lava brownie, which allegedly contains 15g of protein?

Our current cottage cheese moment is a result of our growing obsession with wellness, which has put protein on everyone’s mind. Monitoring your protein intake is no longer reserved for gym bros trying to get “gains”; the average person following health content will know that having a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet is the ultimate wellness goal (alongside taking dozens of supplements per day and subjecting yourself to reformer pilates, of course). Those who are chasing that impossible standard of modern wellness will know, then, that cottage cheese is the magic ingredient.

Made from semi-skimmed milk curds, the product boomed in sales by 40 per cent last year, with multiple businesses reporting a surge in demand. Last year, Scottish firm Graham’s Family Dairy reported that sales of cottage cheese had risen by more than a third over a 14-month period, while Marks & Spencer said that sales of the chunky stuff were up by 30 per cent, according to The Guardian. This has all fuelled a hole in the dairy aisle recently, too, with supermarkets in Australia reporting cottage cheese shortages.

Scott Baptie, a nutritionist and a creator of high-protein recipes, tells me that cottage cheese is “a bit of a gem” when it comes to achieving your healthy-eating goals. “It’s gained popularity for good reason,” he says. “It contains high amounts of protein – particularly slow-digesting casein, which helps maintain satiety for extended periods while supporting muscle-building and fat-loss efforts.” Cottage cheese also contains essential minerals, including calcium, B12 and magnesium, which all promote healthy bones and support brain function.

Baptie himself has designed a cottage cheese pancake recipe, which contains 33 grams of protein per serving and looks pretty delectable. He tells me that the cottage cheese can be manipulated into “a light and soufflé-like consistency”, which, when hot off the pan, can be dressed up with some blueberries and lemon zest for a protein-rich breakfast. Baptie thinks that incorporating cottage cheese into creative and often unexpected recipes makes protein “way more fun and accessible”. “What used to be bodybuilder-only territory is now dinner-party friendly,” he says.

There are other major benefits to eating cottage cheese, namely for your gut. Dr Ash Kapoor, a longevity doctor and nutritionist at the Levitas Clinic, tells me that cottage cheese products often contain probiotic elements and live bacteria cultures, which are good for gut health. “Probiotic elements are really good for your gut flora – the gut is your primary immune system, and 70 per cent of your immune system sits in your small intestine,” he says. “So if you protect that guy, you will protect almost everything out of having a healthy gut.”

The cottage cheese craze, though, is part of a broader movement towards protein-rich foods in the name of wellness. “High protein” has become the magic phrase added to food packaging of late: walk into your local supermarket and you’ll find aisles packed with shouty labels advertising the 20g of protein that’s somehow inside a Tiramisu yoghurt or a bar of chocolate. It’s easy to be sold on this claim alone, but each nutritionist I speak to tells me that while the “high protein” label has been heralded as a health halo, you shouldn’t make all your dietary choices based on these bold packaging slogans.

“Seeing ‘high-protein’ on a label can make people assume it’s automatically healthy, but that’s not always the case,” says Baptie. “Some high-protein snacks are only fractionally higher in protein than the standard version, and can also be high in saturated fat, sodium, or calories.” A protein cookie might have 20g of protein, for example, but also 400 calories, alongside high levels of sugar. “It’s always worth flipping the pack and having a look at the full nutrition panel, not just the front-of-pack shouty bits,” warns Baptie.

He also points out that some of the recipe concoctions he’s seen online are a bit “rogue”. “Just because it blends, doesn’t mean it should be blended,” he says. “And keep an eye on add-ins – some ‘healthified’ recipes still sneak in a lot of sugar, ultra-processed ingredients, or portion sizes that could feed a rugby team.”

That’s why, when you see a honey-covered cottage cheese cake breakfast recipe on TikTok, you should think twice before assuming it’s going to be good for you. Dr Kapoor explains that some amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, can convert to sugar inside the body, in a process called gluconeogenesis. “The majority of amino acids can convert to sugar, so people mustn’t be fooled into having high-protein bakes, bars or powders, thinking that the carbohydrate is not going to be sticking, because they can convert.”

He says we shouldn’t think that just because something is “high protein” it automatically has low carbs, fat or sugars – and he believes that manufacturers have a lot to answer for with their shouty labels. “The food industry needs to change: it should stop fooling people into thinking protein bars are good for us. The number of processed elements in those foods is total toxicity to your body, and your gut will be saying, ‘What is this?’”

While cottage cheese has been promoted in the name of wellness, via a successful PR campaign, I can’t help but detect a whiff of “toxic diet culture” to the phenomenon. While we’re not being told to eat less, the cult of thinness loves to send us on a never-ending quest for the perfect diet.

Dr Roz Fallaize, a programme leader on the BSc Dietetics course at the University of Hertfordshire, says the cottage cheese hype can be linked to unrealistic body standards and disordered eating patterns. “Labelling a single food as a ‘miracle’ for weight loss oversimplifies what is a complex, multifactorial issue,” she says. “While cottage cheese can be part of a healthy diet, no single food should be seen as a quick fix. The focus should always be on balance, sustainability and enjoyment – not on restriction or extremes.”

If you are on a mission to eat more protein, then it’s surely a good thing. After all, protein is the essential building block for maintaining muscle strength and for cell repair, growth and function. Baptie recommends getting your protein from a variety of sources, like eggs, dairy, beans, tofu or chicken, rather than fixating on a single food type or relying on protein powder.

“Make sure you’re not cutting out all your carbs or fats in the name of protein worship,” he says. “Balance is still the name of the game – even when you’re levelling up your protein intake. And if something tastes like punishment, you’re not going to stick with it.”