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Homemade farmers cheese (tvorog) is easy to make. Farmer cheese is truly lovely and once you try it, you’ll want to keep a constant supply in your refrigerator. We had always made this cheese with buttermilk but my Mom-in-law came discovered it works really well with Greek yogurt.
The cheese takes a few days to form but it happens in the background while you go on with your life. The timeline is also pretty forgiving and you can bend it to what works with your schedule. For example, the recipe says 24 hours but if you let it sit for 18 hours or 30 hours, everything will still work out. I’ve seen speed setting cheese methods online but I have found this (my Mom’s method) to have the best flavor and texture.
It is difficult to come by tvorog cheese in American supermarkets and when you do find it, it can be fairly spendy. Fresh, homemade is always better and I know the quality of ingredients that went into this. With organic milk and the Greek yogurt, I spent about $11 to make around 8 to 9 cups of farmer’s cheese.
What do we use this for? Check out the yummy recipes at the bottom of this post and I have 2 new ones coming soon so stay tuned!
Ingredients for Farmers Cheese:
1 gallon whole milk (preferably organic), room temp*
35 oz (large tub) full fat Greek yogurt, room temp*
2 Tbsp sour cream
*Bring milk and Greek yogurt to room temp by leaving them on the counter 4 – 6 hours.
*Click here to learn how to make cheese using buttermilk and whole milk.
How to Make Farmers Cheese Day 1:
1. 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).
2. 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.
Farmers Cheese Day 2:
1. 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 and good bacteria. Remove from stove and place in a warm room for another 24 hours. It should be consistency of regular yogurt.
Farmers Cheese Day 3:
1. 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).
2. 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!
3. Tie a knot with your cheesecloth and now it’s important 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.
Farmers Cheese Day 4:
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 with Greek Yogurt (Tvorog)
Ingredients
- 1 gallon whole milk, preferably organic, room temp*
- 35 oz large tub full fat Greek yogurt, room temp*
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
Instructions
How to Make Farmers Cheese Day 1:
- 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.
Farmers Cheese Day 2:
- 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.
Farmers Cheese Day 3:
- 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.
Farmers Cheese Day 4:
- 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!
Notes
*Click here to learn how to make cheese using buttermilk and whole milk.
Note on Nutrition Label: The nutrition label is a rough estimate per cup of cheese. It's difficult to calculate the true nutrition label since the label accounts for all of the ingredients whereas when the cheese is made, the whey is separated from the cheese.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Our favorite Farmer’s Cheese Recipes:
1. Farmers Cheese and Chocolate Cake
2. Ukrainian Cheese Pancakes (Syrniki)
3. Donut Holes (Ponchiki with Cheese) – scrumptious!
4. And finally, here’s the recipe for making farmers cheese with buttermilk (it’s a little less expensive to make and also tastes great!)
Q: Are you a farmer’s cheese super-fan? I’d love to know what you make with Farmers cheese. I’m always on the look out for creative ways to use it!
I use to make farmer cheese in 2 days:
1 day -did kyfir in a glass bowl;
2 day- put it in a microwave for 3-5 minutes (depending on the bowl’s volume)
The result would be the same.
Now I gave up the microwave because it is not healthy
Thanks for sharing your tip with other readers Lucy!
I mix farmers cheese with mashed potatoes and lots of sauted onions for my filling when making homemade perogies.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing Donna!
Oh Crud. I somehow missed the instruction to allow the milk & yogurt to come to room temp before whisking. Can I salvage this?
Is this going to be an expensive mistake? I can’t be the only one, right?
Hi Cheryl, you can still let them come to room temperature once they are whisked together. It will work 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I have a question regarding these instructions: On day 2, you tell us to “place on the stove again over low heat until warm.” When you say “again,” are you meaning to say place in the oven? Or are we really putting this on the cooktop/burner?
Thanks for the clarification.
I’ve found that leaving the oven door ajar keeps the oven temp at about 100.
Hi Cheryl, sorry for the confusion – that word “again” is a little out of place ;). It is meant to read, heat again. Yes, that is correct, you put it on the stove to heat again on day 2.
Hi, Natasha! I was wondering if you have ever tried making TVOROG using an instant pot? I figured since it has a yogurt setting it may work for tvorog as well. Would love to hear your input – I think it would greatly speed up the process!
Hi Olga, unfortunately I have zero experience with an instant pot and I didn’t even know they had a yogurt setting – how neat!! If you experiment, let me know. I’m sure someone else may have the same question in the future. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
I love this recipe. Reminds me of home in Moscow. I’ve made it at least 4 times. You have to use stainless steel pot for best results. I pour Greek yogurt in sour cream with some milk so it’s easier to stir, then I pour the rest and stir again. I usually drain cottage cheese on day 4.
I love it when recipes bring back great memories! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Katia!
Hi Natasha,
I am wondering if you can use regular plain yogurt instead of greek yogurt for this recipe. I was just doing research and it looks like the bacteria that in both yogurts is what’s needed to jump-start the lacto-fermentation process. If I can use plain yogurt, do you think it’s the same quantity/volume? Any insight would be greatly appreciated; thank you!
Hi Mariya, I think regular plain yogurt should still work fine. I have done this with buttermilk and it’s the same concept – the cultures in the yogurt or buttermilk are what help the cheese to form.
While adding yogurt would curdle the milk, the end result would be a yogurt cheese, not tvorog. To make real tvorog you need to add anything that contains lactis, cremosis and diacetylactis cultures, e.g. buttermilk. Remember that tvorog is a cheese and yogurt cultures work differently.
Hi Oleg, Greek yogurt worked well though and the cheese was almost indistinguishable to that of the original buttermilk tvorog.
Buttermilk does work, I use 2 qts whole milk, 2 C butter milk, 1 T vinegar. Takes about 1/2 hour yields about a pound
I lived in Ukraine for 3 years and we ate farmer’s cheese often. My favorite thing to do is make a salad. About a kilo of cheese, cucumbers (small tender and unpeeled are best) tomatoes, onions (red & green…whatever you like), a few cloves fresh garlice, minced, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a bit of ground cumin. It should have enough lemon juice to be tangy but not sour.
I now live in another country where ingredients are hard to find – but moving again very soon where ingredients are easy to find. Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Holly! Thank you so much for writing in and sharing that with us. It’s now on my to-do list. Thank you!! 🙂
Great post. You can use apple cider vinegar . It is much quicker
I have never tried that, but it sounds very interesting! How much do you add?
Hi Oleg, I’ve never heard of that method but it’s interesting. Thank you for sharing your approach!
Question: can this cheese be smoked or will that ruin it?
Hi Robert, I’ve never tried that and have never seen it done. I think it would ruin the cheese…
awesome recipe,, i like to try it but unfortunately sour cream or butter milk are not known in our city.. haow i can replace sour cream if possible..many thanks
Maybe you have something called kefir? It will work well as a replacement for buttermilk.
Hi Natasha,
I have made this recipe and the one using buttermilk. Both are lovely and I succeeded making farmer’s cheese similar to what I remember eating in Russia. I am looking for a recipe for the more creamy tvorog (I think it was called Dieticheskiy) because I like the texture of it better. Do you have any ideas on how to make that?
Hi Ksenia, I don’t have a recipe for that kind of tvorog. I’m used to this kind and haven’t tried the thinner one.
I do this:
2 quarts pasteurized whole milk (do not use ultrapasteurized milk)
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
Butter muslin or fine cheesecloth
Butcher’s twine
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 fine 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.
Add salt to the farmer’s cheese by stirring. This will break up the cheese into dry curds. You can form it into a solid piece by molding by hand, or leave it crumbly. Transfer to a nonmetallic container, cover and refrigerate. Use within 5 days.
pretty creamy and is quick to make
I double the ingred. and get about 3 lbs cheese.
For more creamy consistency watch for time when your tvorog is on colander, do not let it drain very long.
Hi Natasha! I’ve made this cheese successfully before, you’re farmer’s cheesecake is incredible by the way! I’m currently making a batch right now, and I made a bit of an error. I’m on day two, and I must have accidentally knocked something into the control on my stove. My cheese ended up on medium high for I don’t know how long, and my cheese has separated from the whey. Did I ruin the cheese, or am I freaking out over nothing?
Hi Emily, It should still be ok as long as it didn’t discolor. You can proceed as usual. It’s hard to say how far along your cheese is at this point (it might be ready for straining if it’s separated), or you can do another day per the recipe.
I made this wonderful cheese and all went well. But the very last part of the process while straining the cheese through the cheesecloth I noticed that there was a good amount of white product that did not process.
I got about 6 cups, about 1.4 lbs of cheese instead of the 9 cups mentioned in the recipe.
The taste is great, crumbles perfectly, but I’m not sure what could have happened during the process to cause that to happen.
Will definitely do this again though!
Hi Penny, you may have needed to heat it a little longer to get the cheese to separate from the whey. You should see the cheese distinctly separated from the clear yellow-ish liquid (whey). Don’t boil the cheese, just let it sit a little longer on low heat at the end for it to separate.
Hi Natasha,
On day 3, after hearing it for 40 minutes, do you have to wait for it to cool before straining it, or doing it while hot is fine?
Thank you,
Larisa
Hi Larisa, you will need to drain/strain it under a press before enjoying it and by the time it is adequately strained, it will definitely have cooled down.
Spasibo bol’shoe!! I will try it. I used to live in Chicagoland and took farmer’s cheese for granted; haven’t had it in years and look forward to making this recipe! Thank you again!
Do you think it’s going to work out with whole milk plain cultured yoghurt (not greek)?i can’t find greek yoghurt that’s not fat free 🙁
Hi Julie, yes I think that would work just fine. You can also use buttermilk (see this tutorial for buttermilk use).
What a fabulous tutorial – thank you!
You’re so welcome 🙂
Our farmer’s cheese is delicious!!! Thank you for the recipe and great instructions. We have many ideas for ways to use it in various dishes we love and frequently make. My husband’s family are long time Idaho residents. My family are “Okie’s”. Their story is the same as told by Steinbeck’s book ” The Grapes Of Wrath”. Imagine, Ukrainian cheese mixed with the Okie cooking my mother taught to me! My husband and I froze a small chunk of cheese to see how it will hold up. I will let you know. By the way, I too love the Lord.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! Thank you so much for writing in and sharing your story :). It’s awesome to meet you! 🙂
Karen Mann-I too am an OKIE. i am planning on making this very soon. I remember my grandmother making something she called clabber in the 40’s. We had a cow and she used this milk and i don’t know what else and leave this mixture setting on the kitchen counter covered for a time until (time).
do you have any ideas what she might have added? She was from TX and lived with us.
I live in Idaho Falls. Are you close by? We are wondering if the cheese can be frozen? We’re on day two of our first try. Very excited.
Hi Karen, we are in the Boise area. I’ve never tried freezing it. I even asked my Mother and she hasn’t experiment in the freezer. If you try it, let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hi Natasha! I’m on day 3 and put through cheese cloth but it’s like a heavy whipping cream consistency. Before when I brought it up to be hot. The whey did separate. But when I put through the cheese cloth nothing really went through. Very liquidity. Is there anyway to fix it :/??
Hi Jessica, it sounds like it did not get hot enough for the whey to separate. Did you change anything else in the method?
I did not. Any tips on how to save it :/?
Hi Jessica, the only thing you could do at this point is to put it back on the stove over low heat and heat until hot and separating.