This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
7. Place 4 layers of cheesecloth over a large colander set inside a large bowl.
8. Pour cheese mixture over the cheesecloth.
Here’s the Leftover whey. Refrigerate this stuff and use it for bread. There will be some settling on the bottom
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).
10. Remove cheese after 10 hours and make something tasty or refrigerate. You can let it sit longer if you want a drier cheese.
So, how do you make your cheese?
Farmer's Cheese Tvorog Recipe
Ingredients
- 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.
Hi Natasha,
Does it matter if the organic whole milk is homogenized or not?
Thanks!
Hi Sean, I asked my Mom and she said non-homogenized will work even better and will turn sour even faster for the cheese. She also said if you use fresh non-homogenized milk, you don’t need the buttermilk and it will turn sour in 1 day. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hi, Natasha, could you help me out here? I used to make tvorog by simply souring the milk and heating it then. Got really curious about your method and decided to try. Got to the point of heating it up after first 24 hours( after the oven step). It smells pretty sour and is very thick and bubbly. Thinking about cooking it right now, because I would not want it to be very sour the next day. What would you recommend?
Yulia, I haven’t tried that so can’t really recommend it before testing it myself. Cooking it over several days produces a less sour cheese than the quick cooking methods I’ve seen online. I think the flavor is better when you cook it over several days.
Hi! I am hoping you can help me with a question/problem I encountered mid-way through making this cheese…
Some background: I started making the cheese using another recipe that said to put the milk in a warm place until it becomes thick, which could take up to 2 days. After 2 days, my milk was not thick, so I found your recipe and tried warming it up on the stove. I waited another 24 hours, then dipped in a spoon, but there was just a thick, cream-like layer on top with a runny liquid under. I should note that I had stirred the milk a couple of times for those 2 days before I read in your recipe that I shouldn’t have done this! It may have caused the issue… Maybe also that I just do not have any really warm places in my kitchen (I live in MA and it’s already winter up here).
My question: Do you think I should wait longer and hope that it will thicken? OR just go for it and heat it up to make the cheese and hope for the best? I’m nervous that if I keep waiting, the milk will turn too sour.
Thanks in advance for your help! I love your blog – my husband is Ukrainian and I lived in Ukraine for a couple years, so it’s wonderful to see others sharing the amazing food from this country/region of the world.
Hmmm that is a very good question! My best guess would be to just heat it up and make the cheese. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
When you’re only starting to make tvorog it’s always a good idea to sour a little bit of milk and to see how it will turn, then to do a whole gallon or even two. Plus, even if you were doing tvorog for years, just switch to another brand of buttermilk and everything can go wrong. Though, for my opinion to use multi-strain probiotic is far more superior way to sour milk for tvorog.
Natasha!
Thank you very much for answering all of my questions!!! This is an awesome recipe. It totally worked. I only used a 1/2 gallon of milk because I have ruined so much expensive organic milk in the past I did not want to risk it. Now I am sorry that I did not use a gallon of milk. I would have had more cheese. This farmer’s cheese is delicious! I don’t like farmer’s cheese at all. I was trying to make it for my kid and I cannot stop eating it. It tastes amazing. Thank you and please thank your mom for me:-)
You are very welcome Anna, awesome job! I will pass it on to my mom 😀 .
Hi Natasha,
I have one more. You can just email me. You do not have to post all these. All the Russian grandmothers I know just leave the milk buttermilk combo on the counter for about 48 hours and then heat it up on low on the stove. Then they strain it. Is there a reason why you do heat the milk and buttermilk 3 times? Do you know?
Anna, using the slower process creates a sweeter cheese. Thank you for sharing that 🙂 .
Natasha,
Thank you very much for all of your replies to my post. I have another questions. How come the first step is to place in 100 F oven and the next two is to heat up on the stove. Is there a difference? I am just curious.
I had to call my mom to confirm this, but it is because you don’t want to overheat the mixture to begin with. You don’t want it hot at this point, just warm. You can do it on the stove but over very low heat and be sure not to boil.
Natasha,
Do I leave the milk and buttermilk on the counter for 7 hours opened or unopened. This may seem like a silly question but I am thinking if I leave it unopened it may blow up? Also does the composition of the container affect the outcome of the product in any way? I was told by someone not to use metal.
7 hours is not long enough for any explosions :). I use a stainless steel pot. They may have been referring to aluminum. I haven’t tested it in aluminum but after reading your comment, I probably wouldn’t. 🙂
My ingred.
1 gal pasteurized whole milk (do not use ultrapasteurized milk)
1/2 gal buttermilk
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
In a heavy-bottomed pot, over low heat, slowly heat up the milk, stirring often, until it is just about to simmer (180 degrees).
Stir buttermilk into heated milk. Then stir in the vinegar.
Turn off the heat and, very slowly, stir until the milk begins to separate into curds (solids) and whey (liquid). Leave undisturbed for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, wet the butter muslin or two layers of cheesecloth that is large enough to line a colander and hang over the sides. Place the muslin-lined colander over a bowl to catch any whey.
After the milk-buttermilk-vinegar mixture has sat undisturbed for 10 minutes, use a skimmer or slotted spoon to ladle the curds into the cheesecloth. Allow the curds to drain for 10 minutes.
Gather up the edges of the cheesecloth to form a bundle in order to drain as much whey as possible from the farmer’s cheese.
Use a length of butcher’s twine to tie the cheesecloth containing the curds into a neat bundle, pressing on the cheesecloth a bit to help the whey drain off.
Tie the string to a wooden spoon or dowel, and hang the cheese curds over a pot or container to collect any remaining whey and continue draining for 30 minutes.
After draining, remove the cheese from the cheesecloth, and transfer it to a nonmetallic bowl or container.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and method! 🙂
At which point do we add the salt?
Hi Natasha,
I was born in Ukraine, last 20 years am in NZ.
My recipe is very similar to yours, but more simple in use.
4l of any milk( high % of fat is better)
1/2 pack of butter milk.
All mix, does not matter temperature of these products. Leave in kitchen somewhere (table/cabinet) for 1 or 2 days till spoon will stay in (depends which temperature in kitchen). After put in stone, set up 180 degree, when temperature gets 180 degree keep more in stone for 30-35 min after switch off stone and leave pot in stone till it will be not hot (about 12 hours) Usually I do that at the evening, switch off and go to sleep. At the morning you can do your steps 3&4 from day3.
Thanks,
Hi! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your method with me :). I will have to try it!
Where do you find reduced price almost expired organic milk?
I always take a look every time I’m at my local Fred Meyer. That’s the only place I have found it.
Hello Natasha,
Thank you for this recipe. I have been planning to do this for a while but was not sure 100% how this is done until I found your site. I have two questions. One is how come the milk and buttermilk have to sit on the counter for 7 hours separately before being combined? The second one is I saw a recipe where someone just left the milk buttermilk combination on the counter for 5-7 days and made tvorog. Is this a valid recipe? Everyone I ask have said that in 5-7 days everything will spoil.
I’m not sure about 5-7 days, but this recipe takes 3 days and it is the way we have always done it in my family. It does not spoil. There are quicker methods of making it but the cheese doesn’t turn out the same – the flavor isn’t as good as this 3 day method.
On day 3 when you hear on stovetop for 40 mins, should you stir? This is when the whey is supposed to separate out. I know not to stir on other warnings but wasn’t sure about this final one. Thanks.
There is no need to stir; it will separate on its own 🙂
Exited to try this! Papa from Ukraine, mama from Russia, husband, Polish. Grew up with this wonderful comfort food.
Haven’t been able to duplicate this dish from my childhood. Thanks for sharing…
Valentina you have quite a family tree :). You are welcome and I hope you’ll like it.
Natasha,
Love your website! My tvorog is hanging out, literally, in the cheese cloth as we speak. So excited to try! You mentioned I can use the whey for bread. Do you have a particular recipe or just use it in place of water?
Thank you and congratulations on your little blessing! Vika
I used it in place of water with the no knead bread that I have posted and it turned out absolutely delicious! 🙂 https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/02/26/no-knead-artisan-bread-recipe/
Hello, just a couple of questions. I want to add salt to this recipe, when do you suggest that I add it in? In the beginning when its all still liquid? Also, if I were to half this recipe, would it effect the results? If I don’t half the recipe, am I able to freeze the remaining cheese? Thanks! I’m excited to try making homemade varenyky for the first time, I hope to impress my un-impressible grandfather!
We’ve never added salt because it isn’t really necessary. You can add the salt when it is all still liquid. We haven’t tried freezing the cheese so I’m not sure. I think it would be ok. Yes, you can halve the recipe :).
Hi, I’m trying to make tvorog, but don’t have cheese cloth, do you know what store sells them?
I’ve purchased it at Winco before. You can also buy it online. You know what I use now? A clean laundry bag – like what you would use for lingerie. it lets liquid pass through but keeps all the cheese in even better than cheesecloth, plus it’s re-useable! Ofcourse I can’t use it for laundry though 😉
OMG this looks so amazing Natasha! I will be trying this…leaving it hanging (in the summer especially) all those hours outside refrigeration is ok? It won’t spoil?
I hope you respond. Thank you for posting!:-)
Yes it is perfectly ok as long as you are leaving it at room temp (about 75˚F or cooler). If your house is too warm, you could get creative and put it in the fridge over a wire rack set in a rimmed baking dish with a press over the top (that’s the best I could come up with) ;).
You can use fresh (better organic) yogurt to sour the milk. It has cultures other then in buttermilk. Do not overheat the mix- it should not go over 60C. Cool and drain.
That’s great to know. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Hi there! Part of my family if from Russia and don’t use buttermilk. They use this little live bacteria. It looks sort of like kefir grains, but smaller. It stores the same, but is a different organism. Does anyone know the name of it? I have searched like crazy for it but am having no luck. Also, the elderly just drink the liquid that is drained and their health is amazing!
I don’t know where you would find it, but search kefir culture starter and you should get some good results on google. I’m not sure if health food stores carry it?
CulturesForHealth.com
has a cultured buttermilk starter for making your own buttermilk. They have 2 types; one of their cultures produces a reusable culture so that you use your previous batch for creating a new on.
Thanks so much for sharing! My Mom makes her own from a culture. It’s wonderful stuff! 🙂
This is a great recipe for farmer’s cheese. Excellent! I use pretty much the same recipe,however I add the cup of plain yogurt( fage)with live bacteria (acidophilus), this makes the process faster, I have delicious farmer cheese as a result!
I will have to give it a try with Greek yogurt. Thank you for sharing!
How long can farmers cheese sit in the fridge?
I’ve had it in there at least a week and it was great. I imagine up to 2 weeks. But we’ve always eaten it sooner! 🙂