*excerpt from Delish.com
BY GABBY ROMERO
"Cottage cheese has made a major comeback. In just a few short years, it went from a maligned ingredient to the star of countless viral recipes. You can find it in savory bowls, pasta sauces, and even protein-packed desserts.
With all the cottage cheese recipes we’ve been seeing online, it was only a matter of time before brands started to throw their hats into the ring. One of which is Smearcase, a new cottage-cheese ice cream brand. That’s right, the main ingredient here is cottage cheese. Smearcase blends cottage cheese with milk, cane sugar, and a collagen-rich protein blend, packing a lot of protein into each pint, ranging from 39 to 44 grams, depending on the flavor.
Smearcase is offering three different flavors: vanilla bean, peanut butter, and Mocha Joe. We decided to try each one to see if they’re worth the hype.
But first, I need to disclose something: I’m a “healthy” ice cream skeptic. If I’m going to eat something as decadent as ice cream, I don’t want to sacrifice my experience for a more nutritious, but less indulgent facsimile. That being said, my standards going into this test were high.
I first focused on the flavor of each pint. Does it taste like cottage cheese? Can you taste the protein powder? Are there any weird chemical-forward notes that linger on your tongue? Thankfully, the answer to all three of those questions is no.
If you served this to an unsuspecting guest, I doubt that they’d be even able to identify the cottage cheese. The use of real cane sugar is key here; without artificial sugar substitutes, it’s more difficult to detect the fact that you’re eating “healthy” ice cream.
Smearcase’s lineup of pints is still fairly limited, but each one is solid. The vanilla bean is simple, straightforward, and balanced. Mocha Joe has a strong coffee flavor and adds a bit more heft with the addition of dark chocolate chunks. The peanut butter, however, is by far my favorite of the bunch—the combo of vanilla and peanut butter is perfectly in balance. And the extra boost of protein certainly doesn’t hurt.
Smearcase gets an A from a flavor perspective, but an equally important factor is texture. Traditional ice cream uses high-fat dairy products, and sometimes even supplements the richness with eggs. Smearcase’s recipe is primarily made with cottage cheese, which is known for its low fat content. Their vanilla bean FroCo contains a fraction of the fat content that you’d get from competitors like Van Leeuwen or Haagen Dazs—and you can tell.
Instead of being smooth and creamy, Smearcase veers more in the firm and icy direction. It also doesn’t coat your mouth as it melts in the same way that traditional ice cream does. And, we’re not sure if it’s the protein blend or the cottage cheese itself, but there’s a bit of graininess in each bite too.
Our Assistant Editor of Audience Development Izabela Campos suggested that the texture would benefit from a spin in the Ninja CREAMi. The appliance would theoretically break up and aerate the dense base into something that more closely resembled traditional ice cream. But that would also be more time-consuming (and expensive, if you don’t already own a CREAMi).
The consistency of Smearcase leaves some things to be desired, but it’s not enough to be a dealbreaker. It’s certainly the best “healthy” ice cream I’ve ever tried by a mile. The protein content is very impressive and it tastes good—and if you’re specifically seeking a more nutritious alternative to ice cream, what more could you want? Just don’t plan on fooling people into thinking it’s the same as a traditional pint.
Smearcase is available for purchase online and at limited retail locations on the East Coast."