Heh heh heh. No,they're not the same as cottage cheese.. But you do have the right idea. Firstly, the curds themselves are much, much larger, like finger sized bites (tasty little morsels, they are). Secondly, they are not served swimming around in the whey like cottage cheese is. People think they sound gross because the word "curd" sounds kind of umm..nasty. So if you are afraid to try them just think of them as "cheese yummies" instead. I've never know anyone who's tried them and not liked them!