Homemade Czech Tvaroh Cheese

Tvaroh cheese is a traditional sweet baking ingredient in the Czech Republic and all over Central Europe. In today's recipe, I will explain what tvaroh is and how to make it quickly and easily at home!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Dairy recipes

Prep Time 15

Resting time 2

Total Time 2 15

Servings pound

Calories 571kcal

Author Petra Kupská

Ingredients

¼ gallon fresh cow whole milk (1 liter)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice fresh

Instructions

Pour the milk into a saucepan and stir in the lemon juice. Cover with a lid, leaving about ½ inch of space on the rim. Let stand for two days on the kitchen counter at room temperature.
After about two days, the solid components of the cheese separate from the whey. The solid cheese will float on the surface while the whey sinks to the bottom of the pot.
Now you need to separate the cheese from the liquid whey. Prepare a clean pot and put a sieve over it. Line the sieve with a fine clean cloth. Pour the curdled milk into the lined sieve and allow the whey to drain.
To make sure the tvaroh contains less liquid, twist the cheesecloth gently to get as much whey out of the cheese curds as possible. This will give you a soft tvaroh with a creamy consistency, ready to use in your recipes.

Notes

Makes about 1 pound (450 g) of tvaroh cheese.
If you want a dryer cheese, weigh the curds down with a small pot of water, for example, and let the whey drip overnight. By the next day, the cheese will acquire a crumbly consistency with no excess whey liquid.
STORAGE: Store fresh tvaroh in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep for up to five days.
If you want the tvaroh cheese to have a milder taste, add half a cup of heavy cream to the milk before souring.
Instead of lemon juice, add distilled white vinegar to encourage the milk to sour. Another way to boost the fermentation of fresh cow's milk is to add a cup of buttermilk to it.

Nutrition