Psst, cottage cheese is having a moment! In reluctant praise of the viral food trend

I was asked recently which food trends I think will take over in 2025. Personally, I don’t get caught up in trends. Or maybe it’s that I’m a bit sceptical of them: if something is good – really good – then it’s timeless. Sure, we all get excited about the next big thing, but I don’t believe something’s value should be determined by how much attention it gets on Instagram or TikTok.

But food trends can bring certain ingredients into the spotlight. I can’t help but find it intriguing when something suddenly has its moment, much as harissa did 10 or so years ago. Harissa has been a kitchen staple for a very long time for me, a familiar ingredient with depth and history, but I can see why it would be an exciting discovery for others.

That’s why I can’t completely dismiss trends. They’re little jolts to the system that make us try things we’ve never reached for or approach old ingredients in new ways. Even if the novelty of a food or flavour fades, it invariably leaves a mark, much like the miso now sitting in the kitchen cupboard, or the tahini being swirled with abandon into brownies.

That brings us to cottage cheese, which is definitely having a moment: whipped into spreads, folded into pancakes, churned into ice-cream. At first, I laughed – “Cottage cheese? Really?!” – but then I caught myself. To some, it’s a rediscovery. To others, it has always been there, common in eastern European households, where it’s the heart of everything from pierogi to syrniki, a form of cheese pancake (pictured top). My test kitchen colleague Angelos Angelides is developing a “crepe mess” in which cottage cheese is layered with spiced apples. It’s tangy, textured and quietly brilliant.

Celebrity food trends are a similar case in point. When Gigi Hadid made vodka pasta – hardly a revelatory dish – go viral in 2020, it sparked something in some people. Sometimes, trends aren’t about the ingredients at all, but rather about giving people permission to try things. “Look, this is doable,” Hadid’s TikTok video seemed to suggest. “You can make something delicious from scratch.” (If you do want to get on board, Felicity Cloake’s perfect pasta alla vodka is a good place to start.)

A friend recently showed me something popular on FoodTok: Anna Paul’s Turkish pasta. In the video, her mum is making a dish that’s been in their family for years – pasta layered with spiced lamb mince, fresh tomatoes and a paprika butter. It’s almost like a cheat’s manti, those traditional Turkish dumplings filled with spiced meat and topped with yoghurt. But, for many, it’s a fresh discovery, a new weeknight dinner idea to put into rotation.

Maybe that’s the lesson: trends might come and go, but they leave behind new ways of thinking, cooking and appreciating food. What remains are the timeless ingredients, which hold their ground long after the spotlight fades. And I think cottage cheese is sticking around.

A winter balm | It’s been a sniffly week here in the test kitchen, so Chaya Maya has been brewing pot after pot of jujube tea to keep us all going. These glossy red dates, found mainly in Persian and Chinese cooking, are simmered with turmeric and lemon to create a bright, tangy remedy for the winter gloom. I’m convinced it’s as soothing for the soul as it is for the sinuses.

Where to eat | I’m still swooning over the wild sea bass crudo with sudachi and finger lime I ate at Toklas in London. They’ve also got puntarelle alla Romana on the menu, but with that bitter leaf having so short a seasonal window, you’ll need to make a booking pronto.

What’s caught my eye | Toklas has an admirable display of citrus fruit, all of which comes from Todolí, a Spanish farm that grows more than 400 varieties of fruit on 4.5 lush hectares. They were a reminder of how vital citrus diversity is – for farmers, for cooks and for everyone who loves a perfect, punchy lemon. Now I’m dreaming of a pilgrimage to Todolí to see its orchard magic in person. ’Tis the season, after all.