Ingredients
Curd
- 2 litreswhole milk
- 3 tbspbuttermilk or live yoghurt, as starter
To serve
- sour cream and honey
- or new potatoes, butter and dill
- a pinch of salt
Directions
- Warm the milk to 22°C (72°F), stir in the starter, cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for about 24 hours until it has set firm and tastes cleanly sour.
- Warm the set milk very gently to about 40°C (104°F) without stirring. The curd will contract and clear whey will separate out around it.
- Do not let it get hotter than about 50°C (122°F). Above that the curd tightens into hard squeaky grains, and biezpiens is meant to be soft and crumbly.
- Take it off the heat and leave it 15 minutes to settle.
- Ladle the curd gently into a muslin-lined sieve and hang it to drain for three to four hours in a cool place. Do not press or squeeze — the softness is the cheese.
- Break the drained curd up with a fork rather than beating it smooth. The loose crumbly texture is what distinguishes it from a spreadable cheese.
- Serve fresh: sweet with sour cream and honey, or savoury with hot new potatoes, butter, dill and salt.
- It keeps four days in the fridge. Keep the whey for bread or for drinking cold.
Technique
- Gentle warmth, no stirring. Both mistakes give the same rubbery result.
- No rennet. Biezpiens is acid-set, which is why it crumbles rather than slices.
- Do not press it. A pressed curd is a different cheese.
Substitutions
- Buttermilk as the starter, which is closest to farm practice.
- Bought quark or dry curd cheese as a shortcut.
Variations
- Baked into a sweet curd cake, or into pīrāgi.
- Dried hard and salted for keeping, which is the older preserve.
History
Farm households drained soured milk into curd that could be salted, dried or baked; it is the base of Latvian sweet and savoury cooking.
Frequently asked questions
What is Biezpiens?
Biezpiens is a cheese & dairy from Latvia: fresh curd cheese eaten with sour cream, honey or new potatoes. Farm households drained soured milk into curd that could be salted, dried or baked; it is the base of Latvian sweet and savoury cooking.
How long does Biezpiens take to make?
Biezpiens takes 15 min plus 1 day souring and 4 hours draining of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 500 g. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Biezpiens?
Yes, within limits. Buttermilk as the starter, which is closest to farm practice. Bought quark or dry curd cheese as a shortcut.
What is the most important thing to get right in Biezpiens?
Do not let it get hotter than about 50°C (122°F). Above that the curd tightens into hard squeaky grains, and biezpiens is meant to be soft and crumbly.
