Ingredients
Cheese
- 2 litreswhole milk
- 1 kgbiezpiens (fresh dry curd cheese), crumbled
- 80 gunsalted butter
- 2eggs, beaten
- 2 tspfine salt
- 2 tbspcaraway seeds
- ½ tspbicarbonate of soda
Equipment
- 1large square of muslin or cheesecloth
- 1colander and a 2 kg weight
Directions
- Bring the milk to a bare simmer in a wide heavy pan over medium heat, about 85°C (185°F), watching that it does not catch.
- Crumble in the biezpiens and stir gently for 8–10 minutes. The mixture will separate: soft curds rising through a thin, greenish-yellow whey. Do not stir hard or the curd toughens.
- Tip everything into a colander lined with muslin and let it drain 10–15 minutes, lifting and turning the bundle once, until the curd is dry enough to hold a fingerprint.
- Melt the butter in the rinsed pan over low heat, return the drained curd and stir for 5 minutes until it becomes glossy and starts to pull away from the sides in a single mass.
- Sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda and stir; the curd will froth briefly and go noticeably smoother and more elastic. This is what gives Jāņu siers its sliceable, slightly rubbery texture.
- Off the heat, beat in the eggs quickly so they thicken without scrambling, then the salt and caraway. Return to low heat and stir 3–4 minutes until the mass is thick, shiny and lifts cleanly from the pan.
- Scrape into the muslin, twist into a tight ball, then flatten into a disc about 4 cm thick. Set in a colander, put a plate and a 2 kg weight on top and press for 2 hours at room temperature.
- Chill the wrapped wheel at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, before unwrapping and slicing thinly. Serve at room temperature with rye bread, cold beer and, on Jāņi night, a crown of oak leaves.
Technique
- Toast the caraway briefly in a dry pan first if the seeds are old; the flavour is the signature of the cheese and stale seeds taste of dust.
- Adding the eggs off the heat and beating fast is the one point where the cheese can be ruined. Scrambled egg gives a grainy, speckled wheel.
- The bicarbonate reacts with the lactic acid in the curd, which both smooths the texture and helps the cheese melt together. Half a teaspoon is enough; more tastes soapy.
- This is a fresh cheese with no ripening. Keep it refrigerated and eat within five days.
Substitutions
- No biezpiens: use 1 kg dry-curd cottage cheese or well-drained quark, squeezed in a cloth until it barely holds together.
- Some households use only curd and no fresh milk, melting 1.2 kg biezpiens straight into the butter; the wheel comes out denser and tangier.
Variations
- A sweet version with a spoon of honey and no caraway, made for children.
- Ķimeņu siers with double caraway and a pinch of ground cumin, favoured in Zemgale.
History
Caraway curd cheese pressed for the Jāņi midsummer festival, when it is eaten with beer through the shortest night of the year.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jāņu siers?
Jāņu siers is a cheese & dairy from Latvia: caraway-flecked curd cheese wheel for Midsummer Jāņi. Caraway curd cheese pressed for the Jāņi midsummer festival, when it is eaten with beer through the shortest night of the year.
How long does Jāņu siers take to make?
Jāņu siers takes 30 min of preparation and 6 hr pressing and chilling of cooking. The recipe makes 1 wheel, about 700 g. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Jāņu siers?
Yes, within limits. No biezpiens: use 1 kg dry-curd cottage cheese or well-drained quark, squeezed in a cloth until it barely holds together. Some households use only curd and no fresh milk, melting 1.2 kg biezpiens straight into the butter; the wheel comes out denser and tangier.
What is the most important thing to get right in Jāņu siers?
Crumble in the biezpiens and stir gently for 8–10 minutes. The mixture will separate: soft curds rising through a thin, greenish-yellow whey. Do not stir hard or the curd toughens.
