This thread is making me feel all gross. Cottage cheese is the devil’s work. I tried buttermilk as a kid at a historical house in town and I think the workers were laughing as they told us all to give it a try.
But then, I can’t really drink straight-up milk either. You people are weirdos, with your Kefir and your Rennet and your Clabber.
My father often tells me how he misses real buttermilk and clabber from when he was milking cattle and water buffalo in The Old Country (where they didn’t know from sterility, btw). But his family ate cows’ udders too. But they wouldn’t eat them together.
Which is odd, as you mention rennet. That’s the enzyme used to make cheese. Well, most cheeses. Some types of cottage/fresh cheeses don’t require rennet, just an acid for coagulation.