Ingredients
Curd
- 2 litreswhole milk
- 3 tbspbuttermilk or live yoghurt, as starter
To serve
- smetana and sugar
- or fried into syrniki
- honey and berries
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.
- Now warm the set milk very gently to about 40°C (104°F) without stirring. The curd will draw together and clear whey will separate around it.
- Do not let it go above 50°C (122°F). Above that the curd tightens into hard squeaky grains — Russian cooks call it rubbery tvorog and it is the commonest fault.
- Take it off the heat and leave 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.
- How long you drain decides what you have: three hours gives a soft moist tvorog for eating with smetana, and six to eight gives the drier crumbly one that syrniki and vareniki need.
- Break it up with a fork rather than beating it smooth. Tvorog is meant to be granular.
- Serve with smetana and sugar, or press the drier version through a sieve, mix with egg and flour, and fry into syrniki. Keep the whey for bread and okroshka.
Technique
- Gentle warmth and no stirring. Both mistakes give the same rubbery result.
- The draining time is the recipe. Decide what you are making before you start.
- For syrniki the curd must be dry, or the batter will not hold and the cakes collapse in the pan.
Substitutions
- Buttermilk as the starter, closest to farm practice.
- Bought dry curd cheese or quark as a shortcut.
Variations
- Pressed and moulded with cream, sugar and dried fruit into paskha for Easter.
- The Polish twaróg and Ukrainian syr are the same cheese.
History
Made by souring and draining milk; it is the base of syrniki, vatrushka and the moulded Easter paskha.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tvorog?
Tvorog is a cheese & dairy from Russia: fresh curd cheese eaten with sour cream or baked into syrniki. Made by souring and draining milk; it is the base of syrniki, vatrushka and the moulded Easter paskha.
How long does Tvorog take to make?
Tvorog 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 Tvorog?
Yes, within limits. Buttermilk as the starter, closest to farm practice. Bought dry curd cheese or quark as a shortcut.
What is the most important thing to get right in Tvorog?
Do not let it go above 50°C (122°F). Above that the curd tightens into hard squeaky grains — Russian cooks call it rubbery tvorog and it is the commonest fault.
