Homemade Czech Tvaroh Cheese

Tvaroh cheese is a traditional sweet baking ingredient in the Czech Republic and throughout Central Europe. In today's recipe, I will explain what tvaroh is and how you can quickly and easily make it 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 whole milk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice fresh

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Pour ¼ gallon fresh whole milk into a saucepan and stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Cover the saucepan with a lid, leaving about ½ inch of space on the rim. Let it stand for two days on the kitchen counter at room temperature.
After about two days, the solid components of the cheese will separate from the whey. The solid cheese will float on the surface, while the whey will sink to the bottom of the pot.
Now you need to separate the cheese from the liquid whey. Prepare a clean pot and place 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 ensure the tvaroh contains less liquid, gently twist the cheesecloth to extract as much whey as possible from the cheese curds. This will result in a soft tvaroh with a creamy consistency, ready to use in your recipes.

Notes

The basic recipe makes about 1 pound (450 g) of Tvaroh cheese.
If you prefer a drier cheese, weigh the curds down with a small pot of water, and let the whey drip overnight. By the next day, the cheese will have 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, you can 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.

Nutrition