My fast version of Lithuanian farmer cheese

[eleny]

I mix a bag of dry curd cottage cheese with some regular "wet" cottage cheese. Mix it really well or even give it some pulses in a processor.

I add a shot glass of lime juice before processing the mix. That's a secret a friend of the family told me and it's good. But you can leave it out if you prefer.

Put the mixture in a jelly bag and hang it over the sink until any liquid drips out.

Tie the top of the bag tight and place it between two boards. Weigh it down with something heavy for 24 hours. Remove the cheese and sprinkle with salt on both sides if you like the salt.
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The old fashioned version is this from the Lith Cookbook:
Make some soured milk:
Put about 3 or 4 tablespoons of buttermilk or plain yogurt in a crock (I use a bean crock).
Pour in milk and cover.
Place in a warm spot for 24 hours
When it starts forming a solid, put it in the fridge to serve with hot potatoes or go on to use it for making farmer cheese.

Heat soured milk on a slow fire about 100 degrees until warm and thick - don't overheat.
Pour into triangular cloth bag (jelly bag), hang over a sink or pan until liquid drains out. Turn into a bowl and salt lightly.

Then follow my quick recipe about putting the bag between the two boards. A friend of my folks drilled holes in the two boards for ventilation. He then drilled holes for screws so he didn't have to weigh it down. He'd tighten the screws and set the cheese outdoors. He'd put one of those gauze picnic bowl umbrellas over it to protect it.
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I visited a friend who lives outside of Chicago. We went to the Lithuanian store. They sell all sorts of Lith foods. They have a farmer cheese with chives in it and it's fabulous on some buttered Lithuanian rye and a cup of coffee.

Their site http://www.andrulischeese.com/index.html

[The empressof all]

1. thanks

I'm going to try your first method. I'm not sure I can find the dry curd but I'll make a special request at the market if I have to. Do you think lemon juice would work instead of the lime?

[eleny]

4. Ive never used lemon juice

Since the citrus isn't necessary, I'd leave it out completely. My inclination is that lemon juice is more tart and may not work as well. I often make it plain.

My cheeses tend to crumble a little more. I can get a decent slice if I use a very good knife. But I often get some crumbling compared to the commerical version. The flavor is still good, though.

[yellowdawgdem]

2. Kiev Cheese

Here's a recipe for a similar type of cheese that a Russian Ukranian friend taught me to make, and that is delicious :

You find a large glass jar, maybe 1 gallon or so. Whatever size will fit into your oven without too much trouble.
Fill with a combination of 1/3 buttermilk to 2/3 regular milk, can be whole or 2%, but use good quality, such as organic, or clover works well.
Let it sit around for a few days on the counter, until it becomes jelly like in texture, thickened.
then place it in the oven at 200 deg. for no longer than an hour. When the bottom of the jar is mostly watery liquid, and the cheese is in the top part of the jar, you take it out, and let it cool completely.
Then you dump the contents into a strainer to get rid of the liquid part, and you place the lump of cheese into some cheesecloth, or doubled cheesecloth works good. You can hang it on a hook above the sink and let it drain all day long. Or at least for 6-8 hours.
After that, you place the cheese, still in the cheesecloth, into a container, and refrigerate for several hours. After it has solidified, you can take it out of the cheesecloth and just keep it in the container.
The cheese is really really good, and not very hard to make, though the steps sound unusual. It tastes like cottage cheese only without the curd, more of a smooth texture. If you leave it too long in the oven, it can get too dry, but when it is just right, I can't think of anything I'd rather eat!

[cally]

3. Sounds intrigueing

Do you cover the jar or punch holes in the lid? Do you leave the jar open?

[yellowdawgdem]

6. you just keep the lid on

while it is thickening, and also while it is in the oven. Sometimes I've loosened the lid a little, so that it will not require the jolly green giant to get it off. ( It's not necessary to punch holes in the lid)!

[eleny]

5. This must be the same kind of cheese!

I'm going to try this method. Sounds like you can make the cheese more quickly since the soured milk is made in the oven instead of overnight. Nice!

[yellowdawgdem]

7. It might very well be the same kind

of cheese, or very similar, since Lithuania is not so far from the Ukraine. I have heard of people squishing it with a book, or something heavy, if they were in a hurry, towards the end of the process. Which is what you'd mentioned as well. But actually it does have to thicken first for a few days, I mean, b4 it goes into the oven.