Farmers Cheese

What is Farmers Cheese? If you ask any Slavic person they will tell you! It such a popular item and a staple in most Slavic kitchens. It is called “tvorog” in Russian. There are many dishes that can be made with farmers cheese and we serve many of them at Crepes Tea House. The sweet dishes are sirniki, nalesniki, and sweet vareniki. And some savory dishes with farmers cheese are khachapuri, chiburekki, and salty vareniki. Farmers cheese can come sweet or salty.

So what is it? Many people describe it as a “sweet ricotta” or a ricotta and cottage cheese crossover. Some people say it is “quark” which is a dairy product made by soured milk until the desired amount of curdling is seen which is then strained. That is why depending where you try farmers cheese it can be of different consistencies. Sometimes it is strained very well and the cheese is more solid, as where sometimes it isn’t strained as much and the cheese is more liquid.

Farmers cheese is pretty healthy and good for your digestive system since it is a fermented food. The natural fermentation process separates the cheese curds from the whey in room temperature for about 24hours and then heat is added. Most recipes require organic whole milk and full fat buttermilk as this brings the best results. But there are many different recipes and everyone makes their farmers cheese differently.

Come try some dishes with farmers cheese today!