Farmers Cheese Recipes

FARMERS CHEESE WITH GREEK YOGURT (TVOROG)

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel pot, whisk together 1 gallon milk, 35 oz Greek yogurt and 2 Tbsp sour cream. Cover and place in a warm 100˚F oven for 1 hour until luke-warm. (For many ovens, the lowest temp setting is 170˚F, so if that is the case for you, keep an eye on the mixture and take it out of the oven as soon as it's just warm).
• Place the covered pot in a warm room for 24 hours (I put it next to a heating vent on the floor). When it's done, it should become the consistency of sweetened condensed milk and pulls when you lift it up with a spoon. DO NOT STIR.
• Place on the stove and heat again over low heat for 40 minutes or until warm. DO NOT STIR. Heat it slowly, since high temperatures destroy the nutritious protein. Remove from stove and place in a warm room for another 24 hours. It should be consistency of regular yogurt.
• Place on the stove over medium/low heat 40 minutes or until hot. The cheese will separate from the whey. Turn off the heat and let it sit covered for an hour (this helps for the curds to separate as well). DO NOT STIR.
• Place 2 layers of very fine mesh cheesecloth over a large colander set inside a large bowl. Pour cheese mixture over cheesecloth. Keep the leftover liquid - this is called whey - refrigerate it and use instead of water for making the best bread you've ever had!
• Tie a knot with your cheesecloth. To squeeze out excess liquid, place a cutting board either in a baking dish or in the sink. Place tied bag of cheese on top. Set another cutting board on the cheese and place a heavy weight over the top (i.e. a heavy cast iron pot or a large jug of water) and let stand 8-10 hours.
• Unwrap your cheese and it's ready to enjoy! Refrigerate if not using right away. Here are some of our favorite farmers cheese recipes and I have 2 more really really good ones coming soon!

FARMERS CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Day 1
• Pour room temperature milk, butter milk and vinegar into a large pot. Place the pot onto a cooktop stove. Heat combined milk and vinegar on low (3.5 if your stovetop is digital) temperature for 30 minutes or just before boiling. Remove from the stove and let it stand on the counter top overnight.
• Day 2
• Repeat day one instructions. Set aside and let it stand until evening.
• In the evening pour the milk into the cheesecloth.
• Tie the end of the cheesecloth. Place the pot upside down into the sink. Place cheese onto the pot. Place the cheese under the press by placing cutting board onto the cheese and place heavy object onto the cutting board and let it sit overnight.
• I collect whey by pouring into an empty gallon and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. I make many things out of whey: pancaked, muffins, vareniki and pelmeni dough...etc.
• Remove the cheese from under the press.
• Remove the cheese from cheesecloth, place it onto a plate and cover it with plastic food wrap. You can eat the cheese plain or make many delicious recipes too. Next post will be out of this delicious cheese. Enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE FARMER'S CHEESE & 5 WAYS TO USE IT

Steps:

• Place the buttermilk cartons into a large, deep pot. Add hot water up to the part where the sides of cartons start to fold.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer (gently boil, bubble) for 45 minutes.
• Remove pot with buttermilk cartons from the heat and let cool down. Gently remove the cartons from the water and cool completely in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
• Place a fine-mesh sieve over a pot to catch the whey, if desired. Open the cartons by unfolding the top (or cut with scissors) and slowly empty over the sieve. Let drain for a few minutes. For dryer cheese, drain longer.
• Transfer the farmer's cheese into an air-tight container. Store in a refrigerator for up to two weeks.

HOMEMADE FRESH FARMER'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour 1 gallon of milk into a large heavy bottom pot and heat it to 100F. It should feel slightly hotter than warm. (Do not make it hot, or it will kill the buttermilk culture.) Remove from heat.
• Shake the bottle with buttermilk, then pour 1-2 cups into the warm milk. Stir for about 1-2 minutes.
• Cover with lid and allow to sit at room temperature, undisturbed for 12-24 hours depending on how warm it is. If the room temperature is below 70, place pot of warm milk in the oven with just the light on (NO heat).
• Buttermilk is ready when it's thick and you're able to 'cut' it with a spoon, that means when taking a spoonful of buttermilk, it doesn't run like milk but holds its shape. (When in doubt, leave it for full 24 hours.)
• Cut the buttermilk into 1-inch squares with a long knife.
• Insert a thermometer into one of the curds and start heating over very low heat. It will take about 15 minutes to reach to 120°F. This is what it will look like when it's heated to 130°F.
• Make sure the thermometer is inserted into the curd, not the whey. Whey around the curds might even start boiling because it's of less density than the curds. When temperature inside the curd reaches 100°F, give a gentle stir with a large spoon and bring the hot curd from the bottom to the top. It only needs to be heated another 30°F-40°F degrees before you will need to drain it. You will see both cheese-like chunks and big curd chunks, that's ok, that's how it's supposed to be.
• Once the temperature inside the curd reaches 130-140, give it another gentle stir, to break up large curd chunks and to distribute the heat evenly.
• Carefully pour the heated curds to a different pot lined with a cheese-cloth, then gather the ends of the cheesecloth, tie them and hang over the kitchen cabinet door handle or some other device. Allow the whey to drip off, until droplets fall about 30 seconds apart. At this point, transfer the cheese with the cheesecloth to the refrigerator. It will harden up and it will be easier to remove the cheesecloth without ruining the cheese 'ballthe

TWARóG: POLISH FARMER'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Gently warm up the milk on the stove. By "gently", I really mean it! Aim for a slightly warm (not hot!) temperature.
• If you're using raw milk, sometimes a layer of thick cream forms on top - keep it or remove it (I love full-fat everything, so personally I keep it; but if you're avoiding fats - get rid of it). When using raw milk, no sour cream is needed. Just proceed to Step 5.
• When using pasteurized milk from a store, add 8 heaped teaspoons of sour cream (or more!) per 2 quarts (roughly 2 litres) of milk.There is no need to measure the ingredients exactly, it will work either way.
• Blend milk and sour cream together with a fork.
• Pour the milk mixture into a large container, ideally a large cooking pot - that way we won't have to transfer that milk later on.
• Cover the container (that's optional). Some homecooks leave the container uncovered, others cover it with a cheesecloth to keep the insects away. I use a piece of a muslin square and secure it in place with a rubber band.
• Leave the milk in a warm place, for example: on the kitchen counter. Don't stir it, don't poke it - just let it be.
• The fermentation process can take anywhere from a few hours, up to 2 days. That depends on the temperature: if you live in a hot climate, it's likely to be ready within a day. For me, it took a day and a half to curdle.
• Observe the milk, have a taste from time to time. Once it has curdled, the consistency turns jelly-like and the flavour becomes pleasantly sour - it's ready. The longer you wait, the more sour the milk (and therefore eventually: the cheese as well) becomes.
• Carefully move the curdled soured milk into a cooking pot, try not to break the curd too much. If you soured the milk in a cooking pot from the get-go - just keep it there.
• Submerging the knife into the curd, cut it into large cubes, roughly 2 inch in size.
• Start heating the mixture on a 'low' heat. Slowly, gently. If you have a thermometer, aim for the 97-102°F (36-39°C) range in the centre of the pot.
• While heating, gently stir the ingredients from time to time. Start from the edge and then move to the center of the pot. Aim to keep the same temperature for 30 minutes, up to an hour.
• After that time, let the mixture cool completely (2-3 hours are usually enough)
• Place a strainer over a large bowl, to collect the strained whey. Layer it with a cheesecloth (I'm just using clean muslin squares). Pour the curled mixture in.
• Squeeze off the excess whey. Make a knot and hang to drain for 30-40 minutes.
• After draining, you can make it even dryer by pressing it. Just put something heavy (e.g. a jar filled with water) on top of the cheese wrapped in a cloth. The resulting Twaróg will be firmer and more compact.
• Refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

FARMER CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour the milk, cream, and salt into a 3-quart (2.8-liter) stainless steel saucepan, place it over medium-low heat, and warm the milk to 190°F (88°C), stirring occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. This could take up to 15 minutes or so. Watch the temperature carefully because you'll be waiting, waiting, waiting and then all of a sudden towards the very end it will increase dramatically.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, slowly stirring once or twice. Let the pot sit for 5 minutes. Do not stir the mixture during this time. It will separate into very small curds and some watery whey. That's okay. In fact, that's desired.
• Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the sieve and let it strain at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
• Discard the drained liquid or reserve it for another use. Remove the farmer cheese from the strainer and, if desired, gently press it into a decorative mold (as you see in the stunning photo at the top of this page) or simply mound it on a plate or in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to help the cheese firm slightly. Eat the farmer cheese right away or transfer it to an airtight container and stash it in the fridge for up to 1 week.

FARMER'S CHEESE COFFEE CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine cream of wheat with sour cream. Set aside and let the mixture soak for about 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine farmer's cheese, eggs, salt, sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.
• Fold sour cream into the batter until well combined.
• Grease the bottom and inner sides of a springform pan with butter.
• Pour the batter into the center of the springform pan. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center only has a slight jiggle when the cake is shaken.
• Let cake cool to room temperature and refrigerate until cold, or serve warm. Enjoy!

FARMER'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a pot and heat over medium heat to 175 degrees. Stir as necessary to prevent scorching, and turn the heat down it it begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Turn off the heat and add buttermilk and lemon juice, stirring to incorporate.
• The milk should begin to form curds immediately, but allow it to sit undisturbed for at least 5 minutes. At this point, you should see a clear separation of curds and whey.
• Pour the curds and whey into a cheesecloth lined colander. Allow the curds to drain for 2-3 minutes, until they look like a thick oatmeal. (Drain longer for a dryer finished cheese).
• Stir in salt and herbs (optional, if using) and serve.

HOME MADE FARMER'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a large pot, and stir in a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pot.
• When the milk begins to boil (small bubbles will first appear at the edges), turn off the heat. Stir lemon juice into the milk, and the milk will curdle. You may need to wait 5 or 10 minutes.
• Line a sieve or colander with a cheesecloth, and pour the milk through the cloth to catch the curds. What is left in the cheesecloth is the Farmer's Cheese. The liquid is the whey. Some people keep the whey and drink it, but I throw it away. Gather the cloth around the cheese, and squeeze out as much of the whey as you can. Wrap in plastic, or place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.

EASY FARMER'S CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Make sure to stir it occasionally so it doesn't stick or burn to the bottom.
• As soon as the milk begins to boil, turn off the heat. Using a spatula or slotted spoon, stir in the lemon juice and white vinegar. Within 5 minutes, the milk should begin to curdle.
• Line a colander with a cheesecloth and pour the milk through to strain out the curdles.
• Bundle the cloth around the cheese like a coin purse and bring out as much of the whey as you can.
• Place the wrapped cheese on a plate and weigh it down with a heavy pot or pan. Leave it to press overnight.
• Keep the farmer's cheese stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use it in your favorite recipes and baked goods. Enjoy!

VARENIKI WITH FARMERS CHEESE

Steps:

• Combine ½ a cup of sugar with 2 pounds of farmer's cheese and 1 egg in a bowl. When the ingredients are fully mixed, set to one side.
• Mix 2 eggs together with 2 tablespoons of sour cream, ½ a cup of lukewarm water and 1 cup of milk until you have a smooth mixture.
• Add 4 cups of flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture together and knead the dough by hand or using a stand-up mixer until it is no longer sticky.
• Roll the pierogi dough on a floured surface. Cut out dough circles using a floured cup or cookie cutters.
• Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each dough circle.
• Fold each dough piece in half and press the edges together firmly using your fingers. Make sure that the seal is tight enough for your filling not to fall out. Use your fingers to create a scalloped edge by pinching along the sealed dough.
• Repeat the process until all the dough and filling is used.
• Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Place 10-20 pierogi in the pan and cook until the dumplings float to the top. Drain and top with melted unsalted butter. Repeat until all the pierogi are cooked.
• Serve with sour cream, jam or sugar.