If you've always wanted to make homemade cheese, then Farmers Cheese is where you start! It's very easy to make, with only 2 ingredients! Popular in Eastern European and Middle Eastern recipes.
What are Fresh Cheeses?
There are many different ways to make fresh cheeses, and they’re called by many names from different cultures. Farmers Cheese is a curd cheese, similar to a cottage cheese. This Farmers Cheese is known as, and can be substituted for these cheeses.
- Tvorog (творог)
- Quark
- Ricotta
- Gvina Levana
- Twarog
- Labneh
- Cottage Cheese
- Paneer
This is the easiest way to make cheese for beginners, you're going to love it!
Homemade Tvorog
Russian and Slavic families have been making this soft and tasty cheese made for centuries. Traditional Tvorog is made by fermenting raw milk with cultures, making a naturally sour and tart cheese. It's full of probiotics and health benefits, and takes days to make. It's also a bit more tangy and sour than this Farmers cheese recipe.
Although not quite mainstream yet, Tvorog can be found in specialty grocery stores in Australia. It's more commonly found in North America and Europe. However, it's so easy to make, you don't need to buy it!
How Do You Make Farmers Cheese?
This is an easy tvorog shortcut recipe to bypass the naturally souring curdling process simply by adding a souring agent. Heat up whole milk (full cream milk) in a stock pot, careful not to burn the milk. Add the acid to start the curdling process.
In my recipe I use lemons, as my lemon tree seems to give me unending lemons. It's also really common to use white vinegar as the curdling agent. I find that the leftover whey from vinegar is harsher than if using lemons. It also tastes better when using lemons instead of vinegar.
After you add the lemons, the curds form in the pot, and you've made cheese! Allow the milk to cool before you strain, so you don't burn yourself. You'll need a cheesecloth lined in a colander to separate the curds and whey. Tie up the cheesecloth with the curds, and hang up to drip dry the liquids. Farmers Cheese tastes milder than traditional tvorog, but still as tasty.
Leftover Whey Uses
Don't throw away the leftover whey! In case you're wondering, whey is what's leftover when you remove the cheese. Think of it as cheese juice! 😂 It has vitamins and minerals in it, and would be a waste to throw away. You can even freeze leftover whey to use for later recipes.
My favorite way to use leftover whey is by making Blini Crepes. It adds a bit of sourness and depth to blini. You could make homemade bread, just substitute some of the liquids with whey. Add it to your morning smoothie, add some to your soup broth, or make pancakes for breakfast.
What Do I Use for Farmers Cheese?
Farmer's Cheese is most commonly made with whole cow's milk. You need the full fat content, so don't use Skim Milk when making this cheese. You can even add buttermilk with regular milk as well. Some people also use goat's milk or sheep's milk. Each milk will impact the flavor in it's own way. Plant based milk products, like Almond Milk and Soy, won't work when making Farmers Cheese.
What Can You Make with Farmer's Cheese?
Farmers Cheese Tvorog is very common in Russian and Ukrainian cooking. Here are some of my favorite Tvorog recipe ideas.
- Goose's Feet Cookies are make with Tvorog, and resemble geese feet
- Vareniki are pierogi dumplings that are stuffed with Farmers Cheese
- Blintzes are crepes that are stuffed with cheese and rolled
- Syrniki are Fried Cheese Pancakes popular for breakfast
- Vatrushka is a sweet cheese yeast pastry bun
- Paskha Cheesecake which is popular at Easter
- Shanezhki - similar to a Vatrushka
- Drizzle with honey and fruit as a snack
- Spread it over toast or bagels
- Use it in dips for appetizers
- Baked with cream cheese in a cheesecake
If you've ever wanted to make your own homemade cheese, this Farmers Cheese recipe is where you start! The perfect introduction the cheesemaking. Plus it will be made quicker than running to the grocery store to buy or finding a substitute. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Ingredients
- 1 gallon /4 litres of milk whole or full cream
- a pinch of salt
- juice of 2 large lemons about ⅔ cup
Instructions
- Put the milk into a large pot with a lid, and add a pinch of salt.
- Heat the milk on medium high heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. When the milk begins to start to boil (small bubbles appear at the edges of the pan), remove from heat.
- Remove from stove and add the lemon juice into the hot milk and stir.
- Allow the curdled mixture to cool, for about 15 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, place a colander lined with cheesecloth ready for the tvorog mixture.
- Carefully pour the mixture into the lined colander. The curds stay in the cheesecloth and the whey in the bowl.
- Tie the muslin into a knot to drain. Hang on a faucet over the sink for at least 4 hours, or on a kitchen cupboard handle with a bowl underneath, but best in the colander in the fridge overnight (or until you are happy with the consistency of the tvorog).
- Reserve some whey in a glass jar and refrigerate for future use in breads or crepes.
- Untie the cheesecloth and enjoy your Farmers Cheese!
Video
Notes
©PetersFoodAdventures.com
Mallory
Hi there! About how much cheese will this recipe make? My recipe calls for 4lbs of farmers cheese and so I want to be sure to make enough!
Peter Kolesnichenko
homemade cheese has many variables when measuring by weight. The cheese has to curdle properly, and it also depends on how much liquid is remaining in the finished product (more dry to wet). For one gallon of milk, you should have about a pound of cheese. Hope that's helpful and your recipe is a success! The good news is if you need more cheese, you can quickly make more in no time.
Jacqueline Leigh
Making your recipe again this year for our homemade cheese and potato pierogi! Thank you!
Susan
Yummy. Made it with vinegar and added a good pinch of salt. Easy. Will make blini crepes using the whey and will stuff and roll with the cheese. Yummmmmy!!! Thank you Peter. Winner winner.
Peter Kolesnichenko
So good! Glad you love it! Especially love that you're using the whey too! 👍🏻
Olga
Have you doubled the recipe before? I need about 3lbs (1.46kg) tvorog for my sirnaya pascha recipe. I usually buy tvorog, but I am tempted to make my own this year.
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Olga, it would work the same, no problem to double the recipe. You just need a large enough pot! 😊
Peter
Found this recipe and decided to try it this weekend. I never actually thought making cheese would be fun and exciting. I’m really happy with the result! Thank you for sharing this!
Peter's Food Adventures
Thanks Peter, So glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Ash
Excited to try! Two questions: 1.) if i wanted to flavor it when would i add flavoring? (Such as herbs or spices) 2.) can this recipe be cut in half? Its just me and im not sure how quickly i could eat it. Or how long it lasts. Thank you!
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Ash, thanks for asking. If adding herbs, I’d add them when cheese is all done and ready to eat, Mix through before putting in fridge. You can cut recipe in half. And I wouldn’t keep longer than a week in the fridge. If there is any funny odor or taste, don’t eat it! 😊
Kara
I realize this is way too late to be if any help to you but this cheese can be vacuumed sealed and frozen. It’ll defrost quite well.
Anna
I made it last night and I have to say Thank you ! for sharing your recipe here ! Everything turned out awesome and my tvorog is absolutely delicious. Making syrnyki for my son today.
Peter's Food Adventures
So glad it turned out. I love syrniki, enjoy!!!! ❤️
Sarahsmiles
Sounds easy and yummy.... Tomorrow morning I'm going to try it! Thanks!
PetersFoodAdventures
I’m sure you’re gonna love it!
Olga Volkov
Aprox how much ready tvorog comes out from 4 lt of milk ??
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Olga, When I weighed my last batch, it was aournd 650 grams of Tvorog from 4 litres, definitley didnt feel like a lot! 🙂
Tina Breen
Uhhm, i added the lemon juoce before heating the milk, 1 day later its still weeping and no solidity to it. Did I make spur cream?
PetersFoodAdventures
Hi Tina! Sounds like you accidentally made it in the wrong order. The lemon juice definitely needed to be added to the hot milk for it to cuddle correctly. I'm not sure that is is salvageable into tvorog. It may resemble sour cream, and if it tastes ok and isn't off, then I suggest go ahead and use it! I would suggest starting again to make the tvorog cheese!
Tina
Lol, I was hoping it would help. I was adding ingredients tp the pot and realized what i did immediately. But figured I'll let it process and see what I get!
It tastes good, has the consistancy of ricotta, would be could with some savory herbs stirred in and on water crackers.
I was making the Tvorog to make your Goose's Feet Cookies. I might still try this mistake in the cookie recipe. I will definetly try again correctly. LOL
PetersFoodAdventures
Haha, happens to the best of us! Always best to find a new use for a cooking mistake, waste not, want not!! Good luck with it! ????