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Farmers Cheese Tvorog Recipe

This is my mom's method of making farmers cheese. Grandma made this cheese in Ukraine. Steps are easy and the results are wonderful!

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This is my mom’s method of making farmer’s cheese. Grandma made this cheese in Ukraine. It takes a few days, but the steps are easy and the results are wonderful. Not to mention you will feel like a ninja after you’ve made your own cheese.

You end up with a good amount of farmers cheese and whey. Use organic milk for the best tasting cheese (I buy discounted organic milk that is about to expire just for this!). You can use the cheese to make syrniki  or cheese crepes (nalesniki). Keep the whey (yellowish juice) to make bread.

Substitute water for whey and your bread will always taste better and it will be healthier since whey contains protein that is easy to digest. Are you a cheese ninja? How do you make your farmer’s cheese?

Ingredients for Farmers Cheese:

1 gallon whole milk (get the best quality you can; organic is best), At room temperature.
1/2 gallon Cultured low fat buttermilk, at room temp

What you will need:

4 layers of cheese cloth

Time to make:

3 days

Day 1:

1. Allow the milk gallon and buttermilk to come to room temperature on the counter (about 7 hours).

A gallon of milk and a half-gallon of low-fat buttermilk

2. Pour milk and buttermilk into a large soup pot. Cover and place in a warm (100 ˚ F) oven for 1 hour or until mixture feels luke warm.

Milk being poured into a large pot

Buttermilk being poured into a large pot with milk in it

3. Remove from oven and place in a warm room (I put mine on the floor next to the heating vent in the laundry room)  and let it sit for 24 hours. When it’s done, it should become the consistency of sweetened condensed milk. It pulls when you lift it up with a spoon and should not really stick to your spoon if you insert it vertically and remove it straight out. Do not stir.

Farmers cheese, tvorog, mixture in a large pot

Someone mixing farmers cheese, tvorog, mixture in a pot with a spoon

Day 2:

4. Place on the stove again over LOW HEAT, UNCOVERED for 40 minutes or until it is WARM. Do Not Stir. You have to heat it up slowly, since high temperatures destroy the nutritious protein.

Farmers cheese, tvorog, in a large pot on the stove top

5. Remove from stove and place in a warm room for another 24 hours (again, next to the heating vent on the floor).

Day 3:

6. Place on the stove over medium/low heat UNCOVERED for 40 minutes or until hot (do not boil). 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).

Cooked farmers cheese, tvorog, in a pot

7. Place 4 layers of cheesecloth over a large colander set inside a large bowl.

A cheesecloth

8. Pour cheese mixture over the cheesecloth.

Farmers cheese, tvorog, being strained through a cheesecloth Natasha squeezing the liquid from the cheesecloth that is full of farmers cheese, tvorog

Here’s the Leftover whey. Refrigerate this stuff and use it for bread. There will be some settling on the bottom

The liquid that was squeezed out of the farmers cheese in a bowl

9. You can tie a knot with your cheesecloth and hang it over your kitchen faucet for 8-10 hours OR place a cutting board either in a baking dish or in the sink. Put bag of cheese on top. Cover with another cutting board and place a heavy weight over the top (i.e. dutch oven filled with water or a large jug of water).

Farmers cheese, tvorog, wrapped in the cheese cloth being weighed down with a cutting board and pot

10. Remove cheese after 10 hours and make something tasty or refrigerate. You can let it sit longer if you want a drier cheese.

Farmers cheese, tvorog, wrapped in cheese cloth

A ball of farmers cheese, tvorog, on a cutting board

This is my mom's method of making farmers cheese. Grandma made this cheese in Ukraine. Steps are easy and the results are wonderful!

So, how do you make your cheese?

Farmer's Cheese Tvorog Recipe

4.92 from 45 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
This is my mom's method of making farmers cheese. Grandma made this cheese in Ukraine. Steps are easy and the results are wonderful!
Buy organic milk that is nearly expired and deeply discounted. I've found that organic milk tastes best.
Prep Time: 2 days 8 hours
Cook Time: 2 hours 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 days 10 hours 2 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 2 1/2 to 3 lbs of cheese and about 3 Liters of whey
  • 1 gal whole milk at room temperature, organic is best
  • 1/2 gallon Cultured lowfat buttermilk

What you will need:

  • 4 layers of cheese cloth

Instructions

Time to make: 3 days

    Day 1:

    • Allow the milk gallon and buttermilk to come to room temperature on the counter (about 7 hours).
    • Pour milk and buttermilk into a large soup pot. Cover and place in a warm (100˚ F) oven for 1 hour or until mixture feels luke warm.
    • Remove from oven and place in a warm room and let it sit for 24 hours. When it's done, it should become the consistency of sweetened condensed milk. It pulls when you lift it up with a spoon and should not really stick to your spoon if you insert it vertically and remove it straight out. Do not stir.

    Day 2:

    • Place on the stove again over low heat, uncovered for 40 minutes or until it is warm. Do Not Stir. You have to heat it up slowly, since high temperatures destroy the nutritious protein.
    • Remove from stove and place in a warm room for another 24 hours (again, next to the heating vent on the floor).

    Day 3:

    • Place on the stove over medium/low heat for 40 minutes or until hot (do not boil). 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).
    • Place 4 layers of cheesecloth over a large colander inside a large bowl.
    • Pour cheese mixture over the cheesecloth. Tie the top of the cheesecloth and hang it over your kitchen faucet for 8-10 hours OR place a cutting board either in a baking dish or in the sink. Put bag of cheese on top. Cover with another cutting board and place a heavy weight over the top.
    • Remove cheese after 12 hours and make something tasty or refrigerate. You can let it sit longer if you want a drier cheese.
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Russian, Ukrainian
    Keyword: Farmer's Cheese, Tvorog
    Skill Level: Medium
    Cost to Make: $
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    Natasha Kravchuk

    Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

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    4.92 from 45 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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    Comments

    • Christine
      December 19, 2020

      How much tvorog does this recipe make? Looking forward to trying this recipe but not sure if I should perhaps cut it by half.

      Reply

      • Natasha's Kitchen
        December 20, 2020

        Hi Christine, you will be able to see the serving size by clicking on Jump to Recipe. Servings: 2 1/2 to 3 lbs of cheese and about 3 Liters of whey

        Reply

    • Margaret
      December 11, 2020

      Thank you for the inspiration to make home made cheese. I have a Polish husband and this recipe is great for Polish cheese cakes and fillings. Just a time saving tip. I use whole milk buttermilk (4 litres a or quarts, In Canada we use litres). and heat it gently until curds form. It takes about an hour. Then I cool it (another hour or so) and pour it into the cheese cloth lined strainer , weight it and put it in the fridge overnight. It’s ready in a few hours. That saves the days waiting and mixing buttermilk.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        December 11, 2020

        Thank you so much for sharing that tip with me, Margaret! That’s so great!

        Reply

    • Marge
      December 10, 2020

      Hi Natasha, Someone had mentioned in another recipe that they use flour sack towels that you can buy from Walmart or Amazon instead of cheese cloth. I found those great and reusable. Less than $6 for six towels at Walmart.

      Reply

      • Natasha
        December 10, 2020

        Hi Marge, I haven’t tried those for cheesemaking but I do have some. Thank you for the tip!

        Reply

    • Olga
      November 20, 2020

      Hi Natasha,
      I am so looking forward to try this recipe after an earlier attempt to use a different approach that didn’t quite work.
      Few quick questions:
      1) If I try just half of this recipe, using half of all the ingredients – would I want to cut down the cooking times, temperatures?
      2) What is the main difference between this recipe and the one that uses Greek yogurt? Preparation seems identical. So what is the difference in the final product?

      Thanks so much for your help!

      Olga

      Reply

      • Natasha
        November 20, 2020

        Hi Olga, I would keep the timings the same, but it might take a little less time to reach the right temperatures. The recipes are essentially the same but use 2 different products to make tvorog.

        Reply

        • Olga
          November 28, 2020

          Thanks Natasha!
          I’ve made this recipe twice so far for half and a full recipe. Even though I follow your directions, for some reason I find that some of the product gets thicker on the bottom of a pot at the end of day 3 and when I am emptying it into the cheese cloth. And some gets a little stuck, not burnt, but definitely several spots that even change color a little to a very light beige. Is this normal? I am not stirring it at all as you said.

          Thank you!
          The taste of my tvorog is simply amazing! I use your Greek yogurt recipe. I love it. 😀

          Reply

          • Natasha
            November 28, 2020

            Hi Olga, that can happen if using a pot with a thinner bottom – it can create some hot spots. If you have a pot with a heavy or thick base, that may work better.

            Reply

    • Olga M
      October 29, 2020

      Natasha, thank you so much for all these amazing recipes. I’ve tried many of them and added into our weekly meal plans.
      I have a question regarding this recipe. I’ve made the tvorog using it twice before. It was delicious both times. Best tvorog I’ve ever ate in my life, seriously. But…this time something went wrong. Please help me figure out what and what’s my next step because after 2 days I’ve ended up with very “liquidy“ mass. I’ve tried pouring it into cheese cloth and it was a big mistake. It was too much of white liquid pouring out the ages. I was feeling bad loosing all these beautiful product. Why do you think it didn’t reach the ideal consistency? I’ve used all the same ingredients (same brands, best quality).
      I’ve followed the recipe almost 100%. Only mistake I’ve made I both times warmed up the pot not for 40 mins but for 1h instead. It was not bubbling, very slow heat.
      My assumptions:1)even after sitting on a counter for 7 hours it was not enough for milk of buttermilk to reach needed state. 2) heated to long (1h instead of 40 mins).
      What’s next? Should I continue to wait for another 24 hours and heat it again? Is it dangerous? Would it go bad potentially? I am very worried about food poisoning. Also I poured the mass into the cheese cloth and it mixed everything together. You advice not to stir the mixture. I don’t want even think that I would have to throw away this giant pot. Help!!!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        October 30, 2020

        Hi Olga, overheating would usually cause the mixture to separate early. It sounds like it may have gone wrong in the initial stage. Depending on the temperature of the room, the milk and buttermilk may have needed a little longer to come to room temperature. Also, in step 3 was it the consistency of sweetened condensed milk? If not, then it needed more time. Instead of waiting, I would heat a little longer until the cheese separates from the whey.

        Reply

    • Josh
      August 15, 2020

      Natasha,

      I just tried making this for my wife who is Russian and after the first 24 hours, I checked on it and it is very watery. It looks like the whey liquid is already departed and there are curds of cheese below on the bottom.

      I know this post is old. But any idea what happened?

      Reply

      • Natasha
        August 17, 2020

        Hi Josh, most likely it is due to overheating the liquid if the curds have already separated from the whey. You might just need one more heating up. The flavor won’t be quite as rich but there are people who make a speedy version by heating it higher right off the bat.

        Reply

    • Nate
      July 21, 2020

      I am new to this. After 24 hours my attempt was layered. When I inserted the spoon I found the top was the consistency of a thick custard. It broke apart and below was a liquid that has a viscosity of water. The picture and description show a liquid with a much higher viscosity and it seems uniform. Any idea what I did wrong. I left it covered while it sat for 24 hours ( I was not sure if this was correct).

      Reply

      • Natasha
        July 22, 2020

        Hi Nate, a little more heat is what causes the curd to separate from the whey and form the cheese. It could be that it didn’t heat up enough.

        Reply

    • Peggy
      May 18, 2020

      Can you please post the Ricotta recipe. I can’t wait to make both.

      Reply

    • Sara
      April 23, 2020

      How long does the cheese last in the fridge once complete?

      Reply

      • Natasha's Kitchen
        April 24, 2020

        Hi Sara, I haven’t tested it’s limits just because we always consume it within 3-5 days. I would say at least a week and longer if you keep it in an airtight container with as little air as possible (since, as with all cheeses, air will cause it to spoil faster).

        Reply

    • Valerie
      March 7, 2020

      Hi! I just used your recipe and I was able to make the cheese but it smells VERY strong. I don’t remember it smelling so strongly in Russia.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        March 7, 2020

        Hi Valerie, a few of our readers have mentioned the same citing it may be the type of milk used. Here’s what one of our readers wrote: ” “American” milk do smells and tastes different from “Russian” milk (and not only when it spoils). I’m not sure if it is because it was homogenized or if it’s because the cows were fed differently…” I hope that helps.

        Reply

      • Lauren
        March 2, 2023

        If you use raw milk, you will not notice that smell. It’s because American milk is both pasteurized and homogenized so it smells pretty foul when heated up. If you can’t get raw milk (through a mill share), a low pasteurized milk is sold on the refrigerated shelves in most health food stores and makes a good substitute.

        Reply

    • Sasha
      January 17, 2020

      I made this recipe and really enjoyed the process. It was so interesting to see how simple the steps are, just takes a lot of time and patience for the result.

      My tvorog came out really, really dry. I’m not sure why. I didn’t squeeze the excess moisture out too much.. I’m wondering if I should just fish out the cottage cheese from the last step without putting it through cheese cloth?

      Reply

      • Natasha
        January 17, 2020

        Hi Sasha, typically if it turns out very dry, it is due to either overheating in the warming steps which would cause the curds to separate from the whey too soon or squeezing the liquid out for too long and under too much pressure.

        Reply

    • Beringaria
      December 21, 2019

      Can this be frozen, if so, how long?

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        December 23, 2019

        Hi Beringaria, I have not tested freezing this but one of our readers left a great tip saying her family freezes it. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.

        Reply

    • Ann H.
      November 5, 2019

      Hi Natasha, I was wondering if an Instant Pot would work for making the Farmers Cheese. (I have seen recipes for making yogurt with one) Any ideas? I would welcome any hints or tips on this. Thanks. P.S. Loving all the recipes and videos. Learn something new every time.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        November 5, 2019

        Hi Ann, I have not tested that in an IP. That sounds like a great idea though, if you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe

        Reply

    • Gulnara
      May 9, 2019

      NATASHA, thank you very much for the recipe. I made tvorog. It is perfect. I do feel like a ninja, as you promised;)
      I did make one mistake, the first round on the stove I forgot to open the lid. But it still came out fine.
      Also, speaking of oven and 100F, I used Bread Proof setting on my oven, in case it might help someone.
      And thanks to one of your readers I got a nut milk bag and it was great, less mess.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        May 9, 2019

        Thank you for that awesome tip, Gulnara!

        Reply

    • Nora Thomas
      April 23, 2019

      This is great detailed recipe. I had never had this before. I am from Finland and wanted to make Pasha (Pashka in Russian) for Easter. We use “rahka” in Finland to make it. After some research I found that most recipes called for this cheese. As I live in the boonies I know there would be no change of finding Tvorog in the local grocery store (yes, one store). Was lucky enough to find this recipe. I got it a little too warm the first time around. Thank goodness for all the other comments and Natasha’s answers, I figured out all wasn’t lost. It turned out great and Pasha was perfect! Making a second batch now 😉. I would love to add some pictures on here, however I can’t figure out how to do it.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        April 23, 2019

        I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Nora!! I’d love to see your creation! Simply post it on social media and #natashaskitchen

        Reply

    • Ivana Romanova
      April 16, 2019

      Natasha, how can I use the remained water with whey in the fridge? Do you have that bread recipe?thank you!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        April 16, 2019

        Hi Ivana, I have used whey in all of my bread recipes posted instead of water and it works well.

        Reply

    • Kathy
      April 1, 2019

      I’ve been making quark (German Farmer’s Cheese) in a crock pot but cannot use the whey to make Ricotta apparently due to using vinegar to curdle the whey. As this recipe does not call for acid, to you know if I can use this whey for making Ricotta? I cannot seem to find any info as to why my Ricotta fails other than the whey being too acidic. Any assistance is appreciated.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        April 1, 2019

        Hi Kathy, The recipe for ricotta is a little different. It uses lemon juice instead of buttermilk. Also, it all depends on how long you let it drain. The longer the better and it will be more chunky and dry 🙂

        Reply

        • Kathy
          April 1, 2019

          Thank you for the info. Apparently I need to adjust my quark recipe and stop using the acid! Cheers,

          Reply

        • Denise Albertson
          October 23, 2019

          Natasha
          Your recipes are some of my absolute favorites.
          Can this cheese and whey be frozen? I don’t think I can use all of this at one time. I am going to try and make vatrushk.

          Thank you and keep delicious recipes coming.
          Denise

          Reply

          • Natashas Kitchen
            October 23, 2019

            Hi Denise, I have not tested freezing this but one of our readers left a great tip saying her family freezes it. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.

            Reply

    • Darlene
      March 26, 2019

      Regarding making your own Farmers Cheese; in one of your steps you say “substitute water for whey”, yet you talk about the benefits of whey. Did you mean to say “Substitute whey for water”? I really want to try this but want to be sure I do everything correct. Thank you.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        March 27, 2019

        Hi Darlene, yes you would use whey instead of water for its benefits 🙂

        Reply

    • Melissa
      February 13, 2019

      I know this is an old post, but I’m hoping you can still help me out. I enjoyed tvorog in Russia, but I’m a squeamish American haha. How is this safe, leaving dairy products out for so long? Is there a way to tell if it’s gone bad? Is love to try it, I’m just nervous about food borne illness. Also, can this be done with 1% milk? Will it just yield fewer curds? Thanks for at help you can give!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        February 14, 2019

        Hi Melissa, If you keep conditions sanitary, washing hands, keeping all surfaces, utensils and vessels really clean, we haven’t had a problem but if you are concerned, farmers cheese is also sold in grocery stores and European markets here in the US. Whole milk will give you the best taste and texture.

        Reply

        • Melissa
          February 21, 2019

          Thanks so much for the quick reply! Maybe I’ll get brave and try it one these days :). It sounds delicious!

          Reply

          • Natashas Kitchen
            February 21, 2019

            You’re so welcome!

            Reply

          • Colin
            December 24, 2019

            Hey Natasha,

            After day 1, my mixture had the consistency of Greek yogurt more than sweet and condensed milk.

            Any reason it would be doing that? I’ve followed the directions as you’ve stated above.

            Reply

            • Natasha
              December 24, 2019

              Hi Colin, it is probably due to overheating, but no worries, it will still work fine as you continue on with the process.

            • Ella
              April 14, 2020

              Same! At the beginning I put my oven at the lowest setting and when I came back to it my oven felt SO hot, I knew it was too much. Fingers crossed that I still wind up with something useable. 🙁

      • Vika
        August 11, 2019

        I am a Russian and i grew up with Kefir and home made Tvorog etc…but after i turned 13 i live in EU and now in Australia and i a just like you forever doubting myself and the diary left at room temperature That’s why i am worried to make Kefir or Tvorg i just get uncertain if it’s safe to eat…Austraian hubby doesnt add confidence as says :”We will all end up on the toilet for a week ahhah” Sorry Natasha! I am SURE it’s a great recipe and i am now studying how to make it!

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          August 12, 2019

          Thank you for sharing that with us! I hope you enjoy this recipe.

          Reply

    • Victoria Hickey
      February 11, 2019

      I make kefir at home. Can i substitute kefir for the buttermilk? Love your recipes! I’m having groats right now!
      Thank you,
      Vicki

      Reply

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