Answers to some of your questions: 1) Can you use lactose-free milk? Probably, but I haven't tried it. 2) If fermenting using the sous-vide method, do I use a zip lock bag? I'd use a pot set into a water bath, not a bag. 3) What if I don't have an instant pot or sous-vide set up? Find a warm place in your house (maybe near a radiator?). Be creative! 4) How does this recipe compare to Chef John's? Mine will taste fermented and tangy. Chef John's will taste milky and sweet. Mine is unsalted, so salt it to taste when using. 5) Can you use the whey for something? Yes, there are lots of ideas in the comments. 6) Do I need milk that's not ultra pasteurized? I've tried it with all different supermarket milk brands and they all worked. I think the presence of kefir will make any milk curdle. 7) Is this ricotta or farmer's cheese? The point is not what is it officially called, or whether it follows some traditional method, but how does it taste. Traditionally, ricotta was made completely differently from how it's made today. It was a bi-product of making mozzarella. So if we go down that route, all homemade ricotta isn't really ricotta (unless of course, you were making mozzarella ;) Many farmer's cheeses tend to be grainy and mine isn't. I love sweet and milky ricotta on its own, but I much prefer the cheese from this video in desserts traditionally made with ricotta (like cannoli filling). You are welcome to call it whatever you want as long as it's not "cottage cheese". I never understood that horrible product. It's like styrofoam swimming in semen. I was worried that if the only term I give for this cheese is farmer's cheese, people will confuse it with cottage cheese. So I wanted to throw out a concept of ricotta out there because this cheese has more similarities with ricotta than with cottage cheese.
Ha! I adore this channel, and frankly I adore Helen, so hearing her feelings about cottage cheese made my heart sink a little. I've loved it ever since I was a kid, but I can't argue with that description - I seem to have a thing for texturally adventurous foods
When my Mom makes tvorog, she always let the curdled milk come to a room temperature after heating, which takes a few hours, she never drains it immediately or while it's warm, because you will get significantly more tvorog this way. Thanks for your videos, Helen!
Finally got to do this cheese, so I did the all process with an immersion circulator, placing the kefir/ milk mix in a pot basically floating in another bigger pot with circulator.First 9 hours at 90F and cranked up to 175F for another 3 hours is what it took to get there..I am a French chef, and to me it tasted totally like “Fromage blanc" , delicious, not so much like American farmer’s cheese I thought.Thank you.
I'm trying my hand at this today. Note my comment above. Not going too well. I should have read your comment before trying the sous vide method. I'm guessing I really messed up the curds by dumping the liquid into a pot for the oven.
As an American, I didn't know I liked ricotta cheese until I went to Italy. I reluctantly tried some there and realized the stuff I had been eating at home was ... not quite right. Italian ricotta is soooooo delicious! So thank you for this recipe - I can't wait to try it!
Hi Helen. We’ve tried this method and the results are absolutely amazing! Way better than store bought: we live in Europe and can get decent Italian ricotta even in a regular supermarket, but this one is by far superior. The tang from fermenting it with kefir is mind blowing. We also made some ricotta pancakes and they were awesome! In fact we started the second batch already and can’t wait for other videos how to use it! Thanks for sharing and take care!
@@helenrennie Hi Helen! I hope you get this message from me and have a moment to respond. :) I am with you on being anti-low fat anything. I buy either whole milk or oat milk (which is surprisingly super tasty!)... But here’s the thing: Because I am disabled, I am low income. Thus I have to go to my local food pantry for help with food security to save me money. Well, recently the food pantry gave me _THREE_ 1/2 gallon jugs of 2% reduced fat milk. Do you think that it will work okay to make this ricotta cheese, and/or to make yogurt with in my instant pot? Will it taste decent enough? Otherwise, I don’t know what to do with so much milk. It will go bad by the time I use it for other purposes, because everything else I eat with milk doesn’t use that much of it. If you don’t think it will work well for either ricotta cheese or yogurt, I am open to any suggestions that you have - perhaps it will work better for a different type of cheese? Please keep in mind that I am a vegetarian though with any of your suggestions you may give me. Cheers! P.S. If I make ricotta cheese, I would like to make Italian stuffed shells with it. 😋 Would you suggest your ricotta cheese recipe for that, or Chef John’s recipe that you wrote about in your pinned post? You had said that your recipe is good for making desserts like cannolis, so I’m wondering if I should be using Chef John’s recipe for a savory dish like stuffed shells.
s.m s.m: You said here that you made Helen’s ricotta recipe. Would you mind telling me if you think it will work well in Italian stuffed shells? I am a little confused by Helen’s pinned post, where she says that there is a flavor difference between her and Chef John’s ricotta recipe - she said that she uses her recipe in desserts like cannolis. Do you think that Chef John’s recipe be a better option for a savory dish like stuffed shells? Also, do you I think that is possible to make this ricotta cheese with 2% reduced fat milk and have it it not only work well, but taste decently too? I was given a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I am trying to find a use for it before it goes bad.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 I can answer your question about the 2 % milk. Yes, you can use it to produce fresh cheese. Most probably you wont get out too much or as much as with 3,6 % or 4 % milk. In reality all cows produce different amount of fat percentage in their milk depending on their breed (milk breeds are obviously stronger milk producers) and very important their diet. Some farmers produce 4,6 % milk on average, due to their excellent pastures. The creameries/dairies always tinker with the percentage of fat in their product. Only normally filtered milk fresh from the farmer would be the "real" thing anyway. Hope that helps. 🙏🏼
I don't know why I haven't learned to watch your shows earlier in the day - I tend to watch them as I slow down in the evening before bed, and end going to bed hungry most nights. Everything looks sooo good. And when I get the chance to make them, they ARE good! Thank you.
You rocked my world when you explained why you can't draw moisture out of American store-bought ricotta 🤯 now I finally understand why my cannolis failed
Once again Helen you have separated yourself from the rest. This is the “missing information” I’ve been looking for in my homemade ricotta...and I’ve made some pretty good fresh ricotta. Thanks for the effort.
It is very rare that I contribute a comment, but I followed the recipe very closely and found that the excitement for this recipe was very well deserved. I haven't been very familiar with ricotta or farmers cheese by itself, but this was very special. I can imagine that it would be great as an ingredient in a recipe. I even saved the whey and added some honey to make a delicious drink which I consider similar to vanilla almond milk. I found the cheese could use a little seasoning, but it was easy to overdo. Being delicate with seasoning was important in my opinion. I enjoyed the cheese with some salt, pepper, and a touch of homemade chili powder. Thank you, Helen. Your clarity and thoroughness gave me confidence to try the recipe out and I am glad I did. Best wishes in all of our endeavors.
I'll chime in with another "save the whey" for anyone reading. You can substitute it for water in just about any baking recipe to give you a really tender crumb.
@@benvella1728 Yep! My mom had bought me a big bag of whey protein powder to put in my smoothies. I don’t consider myself lactose intolerant at all, but apparently when it is so concentrated like that, it can definitely affect those who normally don’t have issues with dairy products. I used the full measuring scoop of the powder the first time I made a smoothie with it, and my body was not happy! Once I tried only filling up half the measuring cup, then I no longer had any problems.
These are great instructions- thank you so much, Helen! I just finished a batch and it worked perfectly. It's slightly tart, creamy, with very small curds. I used a brand of kefir from the Russian grocery store and made a full gallon of milk with about 2 cups of kefir. It fermented in the Intsant Pot just as promised (I gave mine about 11 hrs). One tip: I use huge commercial size paper coffee filters to drain my yogurt and now tvorog, and they are really helpful. You place one in your colander and the drained yogurt or tvorog easily comes away from the paper when done. You just toss the paper filter-no washing cheesecloth or tea towels. Each massive filter can hold a ton-I can easily drain 1 1/2 gallons of yogurt at a time. You can find these commercial coffee filters on Amazon and EBay.
I use my oven to ferment my yogurt, just turn on the oven light and my yogurt ferments really quickly, in 6-8 hours. I like mine extra tangy so I ferment up to 12 hours.
Thank you for the recipe!!!! I am from Estonia and I grew up with farmers cheese and I love anything cooked with it .Now I will have forever supply available. I have become big fan of your youtube channel!
Followed the recipe. After 9 hours nothing had happened. I closed the Instant Pot and set it for another 9 hours and it came out just right. (Follow up) I’m making it again and decided to take temp of instant pot after two hours. My instant pot - set to 90 - was only achieving 78 degrees. I have had to turn setting up to a little over 100 degrees to actually achiever 90 degrees.
It's difficult to find 4% fat milk in the United States. I used whole milk (3.25%) and gave it some extra time in the instantpot. When it came to draining the cheese, even with a fine mesh strainer I needed to line the bottom with coffee filters to prevent the curds from going through. I removed the filters after a couple hours and let it finish draining then. Cheese came out great, and I've made several batches already. All my friends and family have loved your syrniki recipe! Thank you Helen!
Thank you Helen. Interesting variation of making it in an instant pot. Have to give it a try. I make my own kefir(from kefir grains) and then my own farmers cheese(tvorog). But I usually heat the milk on the stove and pour kefir in while slowly stirring. This is the most popular way it's done in Lithuania, where I am from originally. Looks like Instant pot method produces smaller curd. Also, for everyone: keep the whey. Use it to make smoothies, pancakes, bread etc. Or just drink it cold. Especially, if you are using organic milk.
OMG!!! This is so tangy and delicious! I followed exactly and it turned out great!!! The only thing extra is I had a pint of unopened light cream a few days past date that I added. My Kifer was 3.25 milkfat. In the oven I was afraid it might cook too hot (my oven) so I did it at 300 and used a probe to keep tabs on the heat level. Took almost two hours. I wish I could post a pic of the process. THANK YOU!
I just made it and I love it! It's very tangy like yogurt but I love the texture. By the way, I used my favorite brand of milk, Fairlife (it's ultra-filtered with higher protein, lower sugar, and no lactose). I was concerned that it wouldn't work, but it was just fine.
I used two soup pots and monitored the temperatures all day which was far easier than anticipated. I kept the water between 100-110 which keep the milk/kefir btw 85-98 degrees without much adjustment.
Interesting take on this product. Not having an instant pot I make mine on the stovetop in about an hour using whole milk, heavy cream, and apple cider vinegar.
Thank you so much for this, really looking forward to the сырники video! I'm making farmer's cheese using the recipe you gave earlier (with buttermilk and heating it in the pot), and it turns out great!
I love watching your channel. Not only do you make awesome dishes, but you break them down in a way that is easy to understand! It also helps that your voice is like ASMR to me :) --keep up the great videos!
I usually make my cheese with a combo of whole milk, a bit of heavy cream and a 50/50 vinegar and lemon juice combo to curdle it. I've been happy with those results, but looking forward to trying this method next time to see which I prefer flavor-wise. Thanks!
My first batch is draining right now, and I'm thrilled! I've tried following instructions online before, but I could always tell I'd failed when I drained the curd (too sour). This barely smells at all, a bit buttery, but that's it. A co-worker of mine used to bring syrniki for lunch, ended up starting to being enough to share, cause I got hooked.
Great content and explanations! I want to try these syrniki... I hear you about making dairy products, BUT...try making yogurt sometime with this difference: Start with raw milk if you can, and don’t just scald it; actually boil it gently for 10-15 minutes before you let it cool and inoculate it. You’ll get an amazingly firm and delicious natural yogurt with a wonderful texture.
I used to make Greek yogurt in the IP all the time..even bought of those yogurt strainers/containers, and it would come out great but my 86yr old mother never cared for it since it wasn't sweet (she's got a huge sweet tooth) but I liked it and even used it as a sour cream replacement. I also make cottage cheese once and it came out great as well. SAVE THE WHEY! Freeze it in ice cube trays as it can be used as a starter the next time or used in bread recipes or a variety of other wonderful dishes.
Same, here - one incredible find, is that, if left to 'proof' in the IP for 24 hr yogurt setting, you will have a super probiotic that beats anything you can purchase in the drug store. I use skim or 2% milk regularly with great results.
I love your posts. I love Judy Rogers ... I worked with her when she came to NYC to redo a restaurant in NYC. Most of what I know is from her, in addition, she always valued the experience of the untrained officially.
I haven't made it yet, but I'm working on convincing my mom to make cheese with me. I'm really excited to try making a entirely new recipe with a whole new territory to me! Your video was amazing when it came to explaining what to do, and from what I'm seeing in the comments, it's consistent :)))
Hi! I'd love do know how you make your yoghurt at home! I have a yoghurt maker my dad got be but there are no instructions as how to use it so I've avoided trying. Thank you!
@@newportdragon19mufc I don't even use a yogurt maker lol; I bring a pot of milk to a boil then turn off the heat and let it cool on the stove until it's few degrees above 37C (around 40C, when it feels warm but not too hot), add in a few spoons of store bought yogurt (the thick ones), pour the milk into a large thermos cup and leave it overnight. It's all very simple xD
@@astudent8885 Haha I thought not! Just wanted to put that out there incase anyone had any idea. I'd like to put it to good use. Do you leave it out or in the fridge? Thanks!
@@astudent8885 Have you ever made it with reduced fat milk? I got a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and call I would love to make either this ricotta cheese with it or yogurt, but I’m worried that it either won’t work well because it isn’t whole milk, or that it won’t taste very good. Do you have an opinion on that?
@@newportdragon19mufc Is your yogurt maker electric? I use one that’s just a Styrofoam container with a jar inside. It keeps my milk and yogurt starter perfectly warm and works just fine. But you need to heat your milk first and then to cool it. This is the process: I heat the milk to 83°C that is 181°F. 180 is OK. Then let the milk cool naturally until it gets to be about 45 to 47°C. That is about 115°F. Use your common sense and you can go a little bit under or a little bit above these measurements but just a little bit. You will need a thermometer. Once your milk has cooled down to about 46°C or about 115°F you can put it into the yogurt maker. To give you an idea, once my milk reaches 83°C or about 180°F, I take the pan off the stove top, then it only takes about 25 minutes for it to cool naturally down to about 46°C which is about 115°F. Why is it necessary to heat the milk and then to cool it? Heating the milk until it gets to just below the boiling stage to about 180°F or about 83°C changes the texture of the protein in the milk and makes it easier for the yogurt bacillus to do it’s work. But 180°F is too hot for the yogurt bacillus, it needs to be cooled to about 115°F or 46°C. Put your milk that is now at about 115°F into the jar of the yogurt maker and then add some yogurt bacillus. Some people buy the bacillus in powdered form, I just use some yogurt that I made the day before. If you don’t have any yogurt that you have made just buy some plain unsweetened yogurt with no fruit or gums or stabilizers in it and put a tablespoon or two of that in your warm milk. That will act as a starter. The yogurt bacillus does not like to be stirred up. When you add one or 2 tablespoons of yogurt just drain them or dribble them on top of the warm milk. Flour You do not need to stir them up or shake them up throughout the whole container. I always keep a tablespoon or two out of the jar at the end when I’m making more yogurt. I clean my jar having saved that little extra bit of yogurt in a bowl. I haven’t bought yogurt for years because I always use a little bit of the yogurt that I made the week before in the next batch. It takes about 8 to 12 hours for the yogurt to form and thicken the entire batch. Some of those yogurt makers may go faster - I don’t know. Don’t stir up the newly made still warm yogurt. Don’t shake it, don’t do anything to it. Put it right in the refrigerator and leave it there for at least a half day until it gets completely cold. You never want to start eating the yogurt right out of the yogurt maker as it will be warm and still too fragile. It needs that time in the refrigerator to firm up. But do check your yogurt. If it is still like a liquid on top it will have to stay in the yogurt maker longer. You’ll get the idea after making it a couple of times. It is not the least bit difficult nor is it a special technique. Anyone can do it!
Hi Helen. I can't wait to use this for making your pancakes. However, using kefir to culture the milk then straining the result is making quark or kefir cheese. You are making somewhat of a blended cheese since by heating the mixture to nearly boiling would generate some ricotta curds from the whey. Still the majority of your cheese is quark.
Love this episode! Might just be the reason I finally get over my aversion to fermenting dairy. I'm surprised to hear how much of an effect the pectin in the kefir has on the final product, considering how little is added.
I regularly make yogurt in my IP with great results, and, if left to 'ferment' for 24 hrs, the lactose breaks down & is removed, resulting in a lactose free 'super' probiotic. In one cup of 24-hour yogurt there are 708 billion beneficial bacteria, 50 times as much Probiotics as one gets from pill form. I was spending $25 a month on a probiotic supplement before making my own EASILY this way. Can't recommend it enough.
"Most ricotta you buy in American supermarkets has the texture of toothpaste". I just DIED! Hahahah. :) That's the same reason I started making my own yogurt after a trip to Turkey about 8 years ago.
The only dairy product I make at home is a dish we call mamia, haven't really seen it outside my region. Basically consists on sheep milk that we bring to a boil and then pour in some ramekins with a couple of drops of rennet, let it cool down completely in the fridge and eat on its own or with a touch of honey and some walnuts!
Can confirm this is delicious. I didn't do the last heating step, but it set (not as hard as this) and retained more whey. It was great for spreading on stuff with a little sugar. Also the whey makes a really delicious drink with a bit of salt and sugar.
The old school method for kifer or yogurt involves a shovel. I've seen this done. The old Yugoslavian woman dug up an ant nest. Robbed the eggs and poured her fresh goat's milk over the eggs in a cloth. the eggs are covered in the bacteria needed to get a safe fermentation.
You said here that you made Helen’s ricotta recipe. Would you mind telling me if you think it will work well in Italian stuffed shells? I am a little confused by Helen’s pinned post, where she says that there is a flavor difference between her and Chef John’s ricotta recipe - she said that she uses her recipe in desserts like cannolis. Do you think that Chef John’s recipe be a better option for a savory dish like stuffed shells? Also, do you I think that is possible to make this ricotta cheese with 2% reduced fat milk and have it it not only work well, but taste decently too? I was given a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I am trying to find a use for it before it goes bad.
I have the exaaaact same issue in the UK! Back home we have farmer's cheese everywhere and here you've never even heard of it. And while you can buy "Quark" it's still so much different from the original thing
My instant pot just arrived today and I'm getting ready to try this ricotta recipe! I'll let you know how it goes! I did get the Kefir milk so I should be able to do exactly what you did, fingers crossed!
Excellent. My 1940's oven runs at 90-92 F with the pilot. Question: do I cover the pot or no? Question: think we could use a dollop of real yoghurt instead? No disrespect to kefir which isn't hard to say at all. What about lassi? Same thing? Request: how about a lesson on the differences, if any, between farmers, ricotta, kajmak, paneer, and queso fresco. Story: a man from India, now aged probably 75, told me that his grandmother brought whole, raw milk to temperature, used lemon to make the curds, wrapped it in a lot of muslin, and put it in the ground to draw off the moisture. We forget how new refrigeration and city water are! If we were that easy to kill we wouldn't still be here. (Half Slav, Half Scot. Of course I think that way.)
I really want to try this. Unfortunatly I have neither an Instant pot nor a sous vide set up. I do work with precise equipment designed for the exact purpose, but I can't use it because of biosecurity regulations. That is pretty sad but I will try to treat it like a yeasted dough and keep it covered in my oven at a hand warm temperature.
Ricotta is a cheese made from the whey water leftover from making "farmer's cheese". So the water you washed down the drain is actually the input for ricotta en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta
exactly. Had to scroll too far down to find a correct information. Americans are going to believe everything they hear, as lon is presented in a polite way. She just made some weird cottage cheese and discarded the ricotta raw material
Что делаю я. На 1 галлон молока я беру 1 стакан кефира. Использую cast iron pot, с толстыми стенками, точно как у вас на видео. Молоко заранее немного подогреваю. Оставляю все это на ночь и утром смесь выглядит как йогурт. Ставлю в духовку ровно на 55 минут при температуре 315. Потом сливаю. Причём, если выбрать микс шумовкой не пропуская всю сыворотку через смесь, то творог получается суше и плотнее. Было очень интересно посмотреть ваш способ. Чисто экономически мой немного лучше, но для американцев наверное ваш проще. Забавно, что делаю я его дома как и вы только ради сырников😂. ♥️👍
Thank you so much for your recipe. I've been getting questions about how to reduce sourness. I was thinking that using less kefir might work. It looks like you are using 4 times less that I do and it still ferments and curdles just fine. I'll need to try that.
While growing up my mother used farmers cheese to make her homemade lasagna. Sometimes she and my Aunt Paula would make homemade cheese Blintzes from scratch too. They normally used Farmers or Ricotta Cheese adding a tablespoon of Vanilla Extract. I will download this Video and try to make my own cheese. Both me and my Roommate have worked in Restaurants and have some experience in the kitchen. Neither of us have attempted to make our own cheese because of time constraints. However I'm Semi Retired and so is my Roommate due to Age and Health issues. Together hopefully we will follow your excellent advice. Thank you Helen I am Russian on my Mother's side. All of her Grandparents were born in Moscow, my Great Grandparents. You also introduced me to something new. Kefir is new to me. I live in Cincinnati. I will have to check out the availability of this product. I was wondering about Cheese Blintzes Recipe? I will check to see if you made a video about a specific Cheese recipe that you or Me can make from scratch for my favorite Blintzes.
My instant pot doesn’t have a yogurt setting but I’ll use my soup vide or a plant seed starting heat pad for yogurt which I assume will work exactly the same for this.
I tried this today. After 9 hours and the instapot on the yogurt setting it looked exactly as Helen's example in the video. I then covered with foil and placed into a preheated 350° oven. It took almost 2 hours for it to come to approximately 178°. The curds were extremely small. Virtually non-existent. I was seeing browning in spots on the sides of the instant pot liner because it had been in so long. Not sure what happened. It looked promising up until 50 minutes into the oven when it was only 120° F. I have an oven thermometer so I don't rely just on the setting. Anyway it was worth a shot and I will try again.
browning on the sides of instant pot is totally normal. you don't need to try again, strain it and use it. if your instant pot is a different size than mine, it might take longer in the oven. That being said, it's unusual that something that sits in the oven at 350F for almost an hour is only luke warm (you can tough 120 with your bare hands). yes, the curds should be tiny -- almost not noticeable.
Can't wait for the Syrniki video. Good quality store bought Tvorog is so so hard to come by where I live so we've just had to settle for a really long time...
Helen, I followed your recipe exactly, however I did put the milk mixture in the oven after 8 hours at 350 for one hour. After, I realized that milk boils at 212 degrees and thought for sure it would be ruined as the milk was boiling when I took it out of the oven. I stained it overnight and the result was a creamy delicious cheese. Did you mean turn your oven to 350, then turn it off, then let the milk sit in the warm oven for 50 to 60 minutes? My cheese turned ouy, but I am sure it should not have boiled.
Why you have to use kefir if buttermilk works perfect for this recipe 🤷♀️ To make it more buttery, just add to mixture 2-3 table spoons sour cream In USA you can buy buttermilk everywhere, but kefir is not selling everywhere plus kefir much expensive
I’m a bit late to the party, but hopefully can get an answer. I just made this in instapot with whole milk and kefir. After 10 hours on yoghurt setting, I opened the lid, and everything had separated. I had a huge ball of curd floating in a sea of whey. Mixture at 90°F. Not sure why it separated in the pot, but no need for the second step. Drained well and waiting to use it. Curious if anyone knows why it would have separated instead of being creamy like the video.
So that was the farmer's cheese; is the ricotta in a separate video? Are we using ricotta and farmer's cheese interchangeably? Because ricotta is made from the whey wich was drained to make the farmer's cheese featured in this video..
If ever there was a recipe to try with raw milk this is it. It’s heated hot enough to kill any listeria, like Helen pointed out, it’s something you can’t buy.
Have you ever made it with reduced fat milk? I got a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I would love to make either this ricotta cheese with it or yogurt, but I’m worried that it either won’t work well because it isn’t whole milk, or that it won’t taste very good. Do you have an opinion on that?
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 Hi! Yes, the results are the same, the flavor is delicious, the yogurt is not as creamy as with whole milk, it is lighter in consistency. I add two tablespoons of powdered milk (any brand) per quart of milk, and it improves the texture, but you can omit it. It still comes out tasty. As long as you use milk with lactose, it will work because the microorganisms eat that sugar and turn out in yogurt.
@@65lalur P.S. if I use the 2% reduced fat milk to make this ricotta cheese recipe, do you think I should add the powdered milk and in that as well? If so, stay with 2 tablespoons per half gallon of milk (and keep in the kefir, right?)?
I will say that American milk is super different from Russian milk ( even the organic stuff ). Best results for tvoruk (farmers cheese) use milk directly from a farm (pasteurised or unpasteurised) this will be better than Russian store-bought tvoruk. If you have to resort to store bought milk, you’ll find a much higher quality product at most Russian/Armenian markets. - From a culinary trained first-gen American with an all Russian family
@@roankai I love my Dutch oven too! And I used to use my rice cooker all the time but now I only use it when my instant pot is not available. The instant pot makes perfect rice! It is just so amazing how quickly it can braise meat, even from frozen. If you are short on storage space, I would suggest replacing the rice cooker with the instant pot. Then again, there’s nothing (or not much)your Dutch oven can’t do if you have enough time....New gadgets every once in a while help me keep from getting bored so hi have to say I think the instant pot is just beyond amazing! Tell you what-4 hours to make outstanding chicken stock in the instant pot too....
@@roankai If you make the effort to actually use it-I really cannot imagine you would regret it! My only regret was not knowing what I was missing sooner!
Hi, love your Chanel! It’s super helpful :) Could you please tell me how many g of farmers cheese you get from the 2l milk, 1/2 l kefir combo? Also can you make it in larger quantities in the pot, or will it not work as well?
You don't mention whether it matters if the milk is ultra high pasteurized; I do know that for homemade cheeses (harder cheeses, anyway) the UHP milks will ***not*** form a curd. Of course, I'm blessed that I have my own raw milk, so I'm asking to the benefit of others ;-)
is there any other method for keeping the cheese at 90f without using an instant pot? I'm mildly considering heating the oven to as low as it can go, stopping it, and then throwing the milk mixture in there uncovered with the light on.
After some additional testing, I found that this cheese is a tad too tart in savory dishes because they are usually hot. In dessert dishes, I really like how acidity balances the sugar, but in a savory dish like lasagna, this cheese might be too intense. If you want to make your own ricotta that's not tart, try Chef John's method: www.allrecipes.com/recipe/284000/chef-johns-homemade-ricotta-cheese/
>90 degrees That explains why my family in India never heats it when making paneer. There was no way the recipe my aunt sent me would have ever worked out.
Okay so the first time I made this exactly like the directions! It came out beautiful and delicious! I tried making it 5 other times and it didn't turn out. I'm not sure what I did different I followed the video like last time? Any help would be great.
This episode is giving me many thoughts apparently! Have you tried seasoning/flavouring your ricotta? Spices? Fresh/dry herbs? Oil or honey or vinegar? Or am I trying to make something that's already perfect into more than it needs to be? I realize the answer to all these questions is "go try it yourself", but I'd love to know if you've stumbled on any winners
You can try mixing farmers cheese with some salt and caraway seeds. It will resemble the taste of Lithuanian white curd cheese. Really good on rye bread.
Farmer's cheese for me is primarily an ingredient in other dishes. I'll post my recipe for syrniki next week. I also use it as a filling for crepes and in pastry cream for cream puffs. usually, there is sugar and vanilla added in all these dishes. It's also good in savory dishes. I added some sauteed swiss chard and salt to it and used it as a filling in ravioli last weekend.
Love you Helen but half my cheese went through my strainer using the same kefir as you, even after i double checked that it was at 170F :( I did leave it in the instant pot for 5 hours after the 9hr cycle, i wonder if that was my downfall. Or my mesh is just not fine enough (altho our strainers look quite similar)
What should I do now? I did it on yogurt in instant pot for the 9 hours and left it in there until next morning, put it in oven until 162 degrees and strained it it all came out no curds, what should I do now?
Hi Helen, have you tried doubling this recipe (would a gallon fit into the instant pot and the whole process done as recommended work just fine)? Also, how much of tvorog does this recipe yield (with the measurements you’re showing here)?
Hello Helen, is your farmers cheese the same as what Germans call QUARK?? I, like you, find it astonishing that those great product's are not readily available. QUARK is cheap and used in abundance in many German recipes, it makes the best low fat cheesecake ever!! 👍😋 it comes in a variety of fat contents. some gourmet shops here in US sell it from speciality dairy producers at very high cost! so glad if I can finally make this at home. 😊 thankfully for your reply! 🇺🇸🍰🇩🇪
This is the first ricotta recipe I've seen that doesn't call for lemon or vinegar. I didn't like the lemon version, I'd like to try with the kefir, it sounds wonderful! I don't have an InstaPot or Sous-vide, what other options are there?
I made this successfully inside an oven! Successfully, but not as hands-free as I would have liked: my oven didn't have temp marks for under 100ºC, so I had to improvise and manage a system for temp control with a meat termometer. I also had to check on it regularly bc I wasnt very comfortable running the oven for so many hours, even though it's practically the same temp you can safely proof dough in. It worked for me, but I feel like I got lucky, and this may in fact be more of a trrial and error kind of thing.
How did it turn out? :) Also, would you mind telling me if you think it will work well in Italian stuffed shells? I am a little confused by Helen’s pinned post, where she says that there is a flavor difference between her and Chef John’s ricotta recipe - she said that she uses her recipe in desserts like cannolis. Do you think that Chef John’s recipe be a better option for a savory dish like stuffed shells? Also, do you I think that is possible to make this ricotta cheese with 2% reduced fat milk and have it it not only work well, but taste decently too? I was given a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I am trying to find a use for it before it goes bad.
Making farmers cheese as I send this message, will let you know how it turns out. Used some of my leftover kiefer as buttermilk in biscuits. Worked great. Have to buy a quart, so need ideas to use leftover. Going to try it in ranch dressing and pancakes. Could I freeze leftover kiefer? How long will the farmers cheese stay fresh enough for perogi? Very informative videos. Visit Newton , MA occasionally. I see a class in my future.
kefir and farmer's cheese are very hard to spoil. before people invented refrigeration, they used these fermented milk products to put milk to some good use and give it a long life. If you look at expiration date on kefir, it's usually months away. I've kept it in the fridge for a month and it was as good as new. I am guessing the same applies to farmer's cheese. I've never tried keeping it more than 2 weeks in the fridge, but as long as it looks fine (no mold), it should be fine. I haven't tried freezing kefir, but it's worth a shot.
Answers to some of your questions:
1) Can you use lactose-free milk?
Probably, but I haven't tried it.
2) If fermenting using the sous-vide method, do I use a zip lock bag?
I'd use a pot set into a water bath, not a bag.
3) What if I don't have an instant pot or sous-vide set up?
Find a warm place in your house (maybe near a radiator?). Be creative!
4) How does this recipe compare to Chef John's?
Mine will taste fermented and tangy. Chef John's will taste milky and sweet. Mine is unsalted, so salt it to taste when using.
5) Can you use the whey for something?
Yes, there are lots of ideas in the comments.
6) Do I need milk that's not ultra pasteurized?
I've tried it with all different supermarket milk brands and they all worked. I think the presence of kefir will make any milk curdle.
7) Is this ricotta or farmer's cheese?
The point is not what is it officially called, or whether it follows some traditional method, but how does it taste. Traditionally, ricotta was made completely differently from how it's made today. It was a bi-product of making mozzarella. So if we go down that route, all homemade ricotta isn't really ricotta (unless of course, you were making mozzarella ;) Many farmer's cheeses tend to be grainy and mine isn't. I love sweet and milky ricotta on its own, but I much prefer the cheese from this video in desserts traditionally made with ricotta (like cannoli filling).
You are welcome to call it whatever you want as long as it's not "cottage cheese". I never understood that horrible product. It's like styrofoam swimming in semen. I was worried that if the only term I give for this cheese is farmer's cheese, people will confuse it with cottage cheese. So I wanted to throw out a concept of ricotta out there because this cheese has more similarities with ricotta than with cottage cheese.
Styrofoam. ROFLMAO! My sainted father would have adored you. He called wonder bread and it's ilk "whipped air and nylon".
Ha! I adore this channel, and frankly I adore Helen, so hearing her feelings about cottage cheese made my heart sink a little. I've loved it ever since I was a kid, but I can't argue with that description - I seem to have a thing for texturally adventurous foods
Just a note for future readers, if you don't make it to the last paragraph of this pinned comment you're missing out.
Styrofoam swimming in semen?
Best description of cottage cheese ever! 🤣🤣
When my Mom makes tvorog, she always let the curdled milk come to a room temperature after heating, which takes a few hours, she never drains it immediately or while it's warm, because you will get significantly more tvorog this way. Thanks for your videos, Helen!
Finally got to do this cheese, so I did the all process with an immersion circulator, placing the kefir/ milk mix in a pot basically floating in another bigger pot with circulator.First 9 hours at 90F and cranked up to 175F for another 3 hours is what it took to get there..I am a French chef, and to me it tasted totally like “Fromage blanc" , delicious, not so much like American farmer’s cheese I thought.Thank you.
great idea to do the whole thing using sous-vide.
That's exactly how I do mine. Haven't bought any in a store for a year now.
I'm trying my hand at this today. Note my comment above. Not going too well. I should have read your comment before trying the sous vide method. I'm guessing I really messed up the curds by dumping the liquid into a pot for the oven.
I’m trying this approach today. A double batch too! Wish me luck, folks
Reporting back: it turned out great! Flavor and texture are both phenomenal
As an American, I didn't know I liked ricotta cheese until I went to Italy. I reluctantly tried some there and realized the stuff I had been eating at home was ... not quite right. Italian ricotta is soooooo delicious! So thank you for this recipe - I can't wait to try it!
Hi Helen. We’ve tried this method and the results are absolutely amazing! Way better than store bought: we live in Europe and can get decent Italian ricotta even in a regular supermarket, but this one is by far superior. The tang from fermenting it with kefir is mind blowing. We also made some ricotta pancakes and they were awesome! In fact we started the second batch already and can’t wait for other videos how to use it! Thanks for sharing and take care!
so glad it came out well!
@@helenrennie
Hi Helen! I hope you get this message from me and have a moment to respond. :)
I am with you on being anti-low fat anything. I buy either whole milk or oat milk (which is surprisingly super tasty!)...
But here’s the thing: Because I am disabled, I am low income. Thus I have to go to my local food pantry for help with food security to save me money. Well, recently the food pantry gave me _THREE_ 1/2 gallon jugs of 2% reduced fat milk. Do you think that it will work okay to make this ricotta cheese, and/or to make yogurt with in my instant pot? Will it taste decent enough?
Otherwise, I don’t know what to do with so much milk. It will go bad by the time I use it for other purposes, because everything else I eat with milk doesn’t use that much of it. If you don’t think it will work well for either ricotta cheese or yogurt, I am open to any suggestions that you have - perhaps it will work better for a different type of cheese? Please keep in mind that I am a vegetarian though with any of your suggestions you may give me.
Cheers!
P.S. If I make ricotta cheese, I would like to make Italian stuffed shells with it. 😋 Would you suggest your ricotta cheese recipe for that, or Chef John’s recipe that you wrote about in your pinned post? You had said that your recipe is good for making desserts like cannolis, so I’m wondering if I should be using Chef John’s recipe for a savory dish like stuffed shells.
s.m s.m:
You said here that you made Helen’s ricotta recipe. Would you mind telling me if you think it will work well in Italian stuffed shells? I am a little confused by Helen’s pinned post, where she says that there is a flavor difference between her and Chef John’s ricotta recipe - she said that she uses her recipe in desserts like cannolis. Do you think that Chef John’s recipe be a better option for a savory dish like stuffed shells?
Also, do you I think that is possible to make this ricotta cheese with 2% reduced fat milk and have it it not only work well, but taste decently too? I was given a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I am trying to find a use for it before it goes bad.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 I can answer your question about the 2 % milk. Yes, you can use it to produce fresh cheese. Most probably you wont get out too much or as much as with 3,6 % or 4 % milk.
In reality all cows produce different amount of fat percentage in their milk depending on their breed (milk breeds are obviously stronger milk producers) and very important their diet. Some farmers produce 4,6 % milk on average, due to their excellent pastures.
The creameries/dairies always tinker with the percentage of fat in their product. Only normally filtered milk fresh from the farmer would be the "real" thing anyway.
Hope that helps. 🙏🏼
I don't know why I haven't learned to watch your shows earlier in the day - I tend to watch them as I slow down in the evening before bed, and end going to bed hungry most nights. Everything looks sooo good. And when I get the chance to make them, they ARE good! Thank you.
You rocked my world when you explained why you can't draw moisture out of American store-bought ricotta 🤯 now I finally understand why my cannolis failed
Once again Helen you have separated yourself from the rest. This is the “missing information” I’ve been looking for in my homemade ricotta...and I’ve made some pretty good fresh ricotta. Thanks for the effort.
It is very rare that I contribute a comment, but I followed the recipe very closely and found that the excitement for this recipe was very well deserved. I haven't been very familiar with ricotta or farmers cheese by itself, but this was very special. I can imagine that it would be great as an ingredient in a recipe. I even saved the whey and added some honey to make a delicious drink which I consider similar to vanilla almond milk. I found the cheese could use a little seasoning, but it was easy to overdo. Being delicate with seasoning was important in my opinion. I enjoyed the cheese with some salt, pepper, and a touch of homemade chili powder. Thank you, Helen. Your clarity and thoroughness gave me confidence to try the recipe out and I am glad I did. Best wishes in all of our endeavors.
I'll chime in with another "save the whey" for anyone reading. You can substitute it for water in just about any baking recipe to give you a really tender crumb.
Hot tip! thanks!
Also good to know that whey contains a lot of lactose, so for those who are lactase deficient - heads up!
@@benvella1728
Yep! My mom had bought me a big bag of whey protein powder to put in my smoothies. I don’t consider myself lactose intolerant at all, but apparently when it is so concentrated like that, it can definitely affect those who normally don’t have issues with dairy products. I used the full measuring scoop of the powder the first time I made a smoothie with it, and my body was not happy! Once I tried only filling up half the measuring cup, then I no longer had any problems.
These are great instructions- thank you so much, Helen! I just finished a batch and it worked perfectly. It's slightly tart, creamy, with very small curds. I used a brand of kefir from the Russian grocery store and made a full gallon of milk with about 2 cups of kefir. It fermented in the Intsant Pot just as promised (I gave mine about 11 hrs). One tip: I use huge commercial size paper coffee filters to drain my yogurt and now tvorog, and they are really helpful. You place one in your colander and the drained yogurt or tvorog easily comes away from the paper when done. You just toss the paper filter-no washing cheesecloth or tea towels. Each massive filter can hold a ton-I can easily drain 1 1/2 gallons of yogurt at a time. You can find these commercial coffee filters on Amazon and EBay.
what size are your commercial coffee filters? They come in different sizes
@@wnyray I use Bunn brand 10 gallon filters. I think I found them on Amazon. One box is basically a lifetime supply!
Nice to know you can do full gallon with 2 cups of kefir, here kefir is $6.99 cad lol
I use my oven to ferment my yogurt, just turn on the oven light and my yogurt ferments really quickly, in 6-8 hours. I like mine extra tangy so I ferment up to 12 hours.
Thank you for the recipe!!!! I am from Estonia and I grew up with farmers cheese and I love anything cooked with it .Now I will have forever supply available. I have become big fan of your youtube channel!
This is called túró in Hungarian and we love it. We use it in a lot of dishes.
Followed the recipe. After 9 hours nothing had happened. I closed the Instant Pot and set it for another 9 hours and it came out just right.
(Follow up) I’m making it again and decided to take temp of instant pot after two hours. My instant pot - set to 90 - was only achieving 78 degrees. I have had to turn setting up to a little over 100 degrees to actually achiever 90 degrees.
It's difficult to find 4% fat milk in the United States. I used whole milk (3.25%) and gave it some extra time in the instantpot. When it came to draining the cheese, even with a fine mesh strainer I needed to line the bottom with coffee filters to prevent the curds from going through. I removed the filters after a couple hours and let it finish draining then. Cheese came out great, and I've made several batches already. All my friends and family have loved your syrniki recipe! Thank you Helen!
Thank you Helen. Interesting variation of making it in an instant pot. Have to give it a try. I make my own kefir(from kefir grains) and then my own farmers cheese(tvorog). But I usually heat the milk on the stove and pour kefir in while slowly stirring. This is the most popular way it's done in Lithuania, where I am from originally. Looks like Instant pot method produces smaller curd.
Also, for everyone: keep the whey. Use it to make smoothies, pancakes, bread etc. Or just drink it cold. Especially, if you are using organic milk.
How would I use whey for making pancakes? Just replace the milk in the recipe with the whey? Thank you so much in advance for this information! 💖
@@acatinthecradle correct. Replace whatever liquid you use.
OMG!!! This is so tangy and delicious! I followed exactly and it turned out great!!! The only thing extra is I had a pint of unopened light cream a few days past date that I added. My Kifer was 3.25 milkfat. In the oven I was afraid it might cook too hot (my oven) so I did it at 300 and used a probe to keep tabs on the heat level. Took almost two hours. I wish I could post a pic of the process. THANK YOU!
I just made it and I love it! It's very tangy like yogurt but I love the texture.
By the way, I used my favorite brand of milk, Fairlife (it's ultra-filtered with higher protein, lower sugar, and no lactose). I was concerned that it wouldn't work, but it was just fine.
I used two soup pots and monitored the temperatures all day which was far easier than anticipated. I kept the water between 100-110 which keep the milk/kefir btw 85-98 degrees without much adjustment.
very resourceful -- so glad you found a good solution
A very timely video right before Pascha! Thank you Helen for sharing.
I love the alchemy of cheesemaking at home. I have never made ricotta using kefir. I am excited to give it a try!
Interesting take on this product. Not having an instant pot I make mine on the stovetop in about an hour using whole milk, heavy cream, and apple cider vinegar.
So a non-fermented version?
@@subplantant yes
Боже мой! Спасибо вам за рецепт! С ума сойти, как вы выручаете!
Thank you so much for this, really looking forward to the сырники video! I'm making farmer's cheese using the recipe you gave earlier (with buttermilk and heating it in the pot), and it turns out great!
This is so pleasant to listen to
I love watching your channel. Not only do you make awesome dishes, but you break them down in a way that is easy to understand! It also helps that your voice is like ASMR to me :) --keep up the great videos!
I usually make my cheese with a combo of whole milk, a bit of heavy cream and a 50/50 vinegar and lemon juice combo to curdle it. I've been happy with those results, but looking forward to trying this method next time to see which I prefer flavor-wise. Thanks!
Made this today, definitely way more tangy/yoghurty. Thanks again.
My first batch is draining right now, and I'm thrilled! I've tried following instructions online before, but I could always tell I'd failed when I drained the curd (too sour). This barely smells at all, a bit buttery, but that's it. A co-worker of mine used to bring syrniki for lunch, ended up starting to being enough to share, cause I got hooked.
Oh my goodness!! Amazing chef! And such clear and informative instructions. Thank you!!
Great content and explanations! I want to try these syrniki...
I hear you about making dairy products, BUT...try making yogurt sometime with this difference: Start with raw milk if you can, and don’t just scald it; actually boil it gently for 10-15 minutes before you let it cool and inoculate it. You’ll get an amazingly firm and delicious natural yogurt with a wonderful texture.
I used to make Greek yogurt in the IP all the time..even bought of those yogurt strainers/containers, and it would come out great but my 86yr old mother never cared for it since it wasn't sweet (she's got a huge sweet tooth) but I liked it and even used it as a sour cream replacement. I also make cottage cheese once and it came out great as well. SAVE THE WHEY! Freeze it in ice cube trays as it can be used as a starter the next time or used in bread recipes or a variety of other wonderful dishes.
Same, here - one incredible find, is that, if left to 'proof' in the IP for 24 hr yogurt setting, you will have a super probiotic that beats anything you can purchase in the drug store. I use skim or 2% milk regularly with great results.
I love your posts. I love Judy Rogers ... I worked with her when she came to NYC to redo a restaurant in NYC. Most of what I know is from her, in addition, she always valued the experience of the untrained officially.
I haven't made it yet, but I'm working on convincing my mom to make cheese with me. I'm really excited to try making a entirely new recipe with a whole new territory to me! Your video was amazing when it came to explaining what to do, and from what I'm seeing in the comments, it's consistent :)))
I’m so pleased you did this video, Love that your use metrics too,. So much easier to understand!
I love making my own yogurt to avoid the added sugar, I have to give this cheese a try. It looks so amazing!
Hi! I'd love do know how you make your yoghurt at home! I have a yoghurt maker my dad got be but there are no instructions as how to use it so I've avoided trying.
Thank you!
@@newportdragon19mufc I don't even use a yogurt maker lol; I bring a pot of milk to a boil then turn off the heat and let it cool on the stove until it's few degrees above 37C (around 40C, when it feels warm but not too hot), add in a few spoons of store bought yogurt (the thick ones), pour the milk into a large thermos cup and leave it overnight. It's all very simple xD
@@astudent8885 Haha I thought not! Just wanted to put that out there incase anyone had any idea. I'd like to put it to good use. Do you leave it out or in the fridge? Thanks!
@@astudent8885
Have you ever made it with reduced fat milk? I got a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and call I would love to make either this ricotta cheese with it or yogurt, but I’m worried that it either won’t work well because it isn’t whole milk, or that it won’t taste very good. Do you have an opinion on that?
@@newportdragon19mufc Is your yogurt maker electric? I use one that’s just a Styrofoam container with a jar inside. It keeps my milk and yogurt starter perfectly warm and works just fine.
But you need to heat your milk first and then to cool it. This is the process:
I heat the milk to 83°C that is 181°F. 180 is OK. Then let the milk cool naturally until it gets to be about 45 to 47°C. That is about 115°F. Use your common sense and you can go a little bit under or a little bit above these measurements but just a little bit. You will need a thermometer. Once your milk has cooled down to about 46°C or about 115°F you can put it into the yogurt maker. To give you an idea, once my milk reaches 83°C or about 180°F, I take the pan off the stove top, then it only takes about 25 minutes for it to cool naturally down to about 46°C which is about 115°F.
Why is it necessary to heat the milk and then to cool it? Heating the milk until it gets to just below the boiling stage to about 180°F or about 83°C changes the texture of the protein in the milk and makes it easier for the yogurt bacillus to do it’s work. But 180°F is too hot for the yogurt bacillus, it needs to be cooled to about 115°F or 46°C.
Put your milk that is now at about 115°F into the jar of the yogurt maker and then add some yogurt bacillus. Some people buy the bacillus in powdered form, I just use some yogurt that I made the day before. If you don’t have any yogurt that you have made just buy some plain unsweetened yogurt with no fruit or gums or stabilizers in it and put a tablespoon or two of that in your warm milk. That will act as a starter. The yogurt bacillus does not like to be stirred up. When you add one or 2 tablespoons of yogurt just drain them or dribble them on top of the warm milk. Flour You do not need to stir them up or shake them up throughout the whole container.
I always keep a tablespoon or two out of the jar at the end when I’m making more yogurt. I clean my jar having saved that little extra bit of yogurt in a bowl. I haven’t bought yogurt for years because I always use a little bit of the yogurt that I made the week before in the next batch.
It takes about 8 to 12 hours for the yogurt to form and thicken the entire batch. Some of those yogurt makers may go faster - I don’t know. Don’t stir up the newly made still warm yogurt. Don’t shake it, don’t do anything to it. Put it right in the refrigerator and leave it there for at least a half day until it gets completely cold. You never want to start eating the yogurt right out of the yogurt maker as it will be warm and still too fragile. It needs that time in the refrigerator to firm up. But do check your yogurt. If it is still like a liquid on top it will have to stay in the yogurt maker longer.
You’ll get the idea after making it a couple of times. It is not the least bit difficult nor is it a special technique. Anyone can do it!
Hi Helen. I can't wait to use this for making your pancakes. However, using kefir to culture the milk then straining the result is making quark or kefir cheese. You are making somewhat of a blended cheese since by heating the mixture to nearly boiling would generate some ricotta curds from the whey. Still the majority of your cheese is quark.
Dairy products are so overly expensive right now.... thankyou for this complete process 😊
You deserve 1 million + followers !
Love this episode! Might just be the reason I finally get over my aversion to fermenting dairy. I'm surprised to hear how much of an effect the pectin in the kefir has on the final product, considering how little is added.
I regularly make yogurt in my IP with great results, and, if left to 'ferment' for 24 hrs, the lactose breaks down & is removed, resulting in a lactose free 'super' probiotic. In one cup of 24-hour yogurt there are 708 billion beneficial bacteria, 50 times as much Probiotics as one gets from pill form. I was spending $25 a month on a probiotic supplement before making my own EASILY this way. Can't recommend it enough.
"Most ricotta you buy in American supermarkets has the texture of toothpaste". I just DIED! Hahahah. :) That's the same reason I started making my own yogurt after a trip to Turkey about 8 years ago.
The only dairy product I make at home is a dish we call mamia, haven't really seen it outside my region. Basically consists on sheep milk that we bring to a boil and then pour in some ramekins with a couple of drops of rennet, let it cool down completely in the fridge and eat on its own or with a touch of honey and some walnuts!
Can confirm this is delicious. I didn't do the last heating step, but it set (not as hard as this) and retained more whey. It was great for spreading on stuff with a little sugar.
Also the whey makes a really delicious drink with a bit of salt and sugar.
I tried this, loved it. I make a batch every week. Thank you.
Growing up, the only time I saw farmer's cheese was during Passover. It has been decades since I have seen it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
The old school method for kifer or yogurt involves a shovel. I've seen this done. The old Yugoslavian woman dug up an ant nest. Robbed the eggs and poured her fresh goat's milk over the eggs in a cloth. the eggs are covered in the bacteria needed to get a safe fermentation.
Eggs from an ants nest!?
👍 Danke fürs Hochladen!
👍 Thanks for uploading!
👍 Very good and beautiful, thank you!
Followed the recipe exactly....turned out great...syrniki...here I come...🍽
great job :)
You said here that you made Helen’s ricotta recipe. Would you mind telling me if you think it will work well in Italian stuffed shells? I am a little confused by Helen’s pinned post, where she says that there is a flavor difference between her and Chef John’s ricotta recipe - she said that she uses her recipe in desserts like cannolis. Do you think that Chef John’s recipe be a better option for a savory dish like stuffed shells?
Also, do you I think that is possible to make this ricotta cheese with 2% reduced fat milk and have it it not only work well, but taste decently too? I was given a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I am trying to find a use for it before it goes bad.
Bold move posting this right after Chef John dropped his ricotta video. I'll make both and determine once and for all who is the real big cheese.
I think there's no doubt that Chef John is far, far cheesier.
@@JohnBodoni haha
Okay, do you have results to share with us? 😊
Have you done this experiment yet TRusheeRush?? I would love to know what the outcome was.
This cheesy joke o-CURD to me while watching..
But it wasn't very *cultured.*
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ba-dum tsss!
I have the exaaaact same issue in the UK! Back home we have farmer's cheese everywhere and here you've never even heard of it. And while you can buy "Quark" it's still so much different from the original thing
I was sent to your channel by Adam Ragusea. So glad I came here.
My instant pot just arrived today and I'm getting ready to try this ricotta recipe! I'll let you know how it goes! I did get the Kefir milk so I should be able to do exactly what you did, fingers crossed!
Excellent.
My 1940's oven runs at 90-92 F with the pilot. Question: do I cover the pot or no?
Question: think we could use a dollop of real yoghurt instead? No disrespect to kefir which isn't hard to say at all. What about lassi? Same thing?
Request: how about a lesson on the differences, if any, between farmers, ricotta, kajmak, paneer, and queso fresco.
Story: a man from India, now aged probably 75, told me that his grandmother brought whole, raw milk to temperature, used lemon to make the curds, wrapped it in a lot of muslin, and put it in the ground to draw off the moisture.
We forget how new refrigeration and city water are! If we were that easy to kill we wouldn't still be here. (Half Slav, Half Scot. Of course I think that way.)
Yes, cover the pot. You can use all sorts of things to ferment the milk. what's unique about kefir is that I didn't need the cheese cloth.
I really want to try this. Unfortunatly I have neither an Instant pot nor a sous vide set up. I do work with precise equipment designed for the exact purpose, but I can't use it because of biosecurity regulations. That is pretty sad but I will try to treat it like a yeasted dough and keep it covered in my oven at a hand warm temperature.
Ricotta is a cheese made from the whey water leftover from making "farmer's cheese". So the water you washed down the drain is actually the input for ricotta en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta
it's in the name: ri=re cota=cooked --> 'double cooked'
exactly. Had to scroll too far down to find a correct information. Americans are going to believe everything they hear, as lon is presented in a polite way. She just made some weird cottage cheese and discarded the ricotta raw material
Have you tried re cooking this whey with what result and yield ??
Что делаю я. На 1 галлон молока я беру 1 стакан кефира. Использую cast iron pot, с толстыми стенками, точно как у вас на видео. Молоко заранее немного подогреваю. Оставляю все это на ночь и утром смесь выглядит как йогурт. Ставлю в духовку ровно на 55 минут при температуре 315. Потом сливаю. Причём, если выбрать микс шумовкой не пропуская всю сыворотку через смесь, то творог получается суше и плотнее.
Было очень интересно посмотреть ваш способ. Чисто экономически мой немного лучше, но для американцев наверное ваш проще. Забавно, что делаю я его дома как и вы только ради сырников😂. ♥️👍
Thank you so much for your recipe. I've been getting questions about how to reduce sourness. I was thinking that using less kefir might work. It looks like you are using 4 times less that I do and it still ferments and curdles just fine. I'll need to try that.
@@helenrennie Just make sure to use Buttermilk 2%. Some times with other kefir type it doesn't work well .
I really need to try this so I can make some home made vareniki, it has been years since I've had home made ones.
this is how I have been making my yogurt since the 1960s and love how it tastes
Thanks Helen. Now I can make fried ricotta cheese balls without it being a gooey nightmare to handle.
While growing up my mother used farmers cheese to make her homemade lasagna. Sometimes she and my Aunt Paula would make homemade cheese Blintzes from scratch too. They normally used Farmers or Ricotta Cheese adding a tablespoon of Vanilla Extract. I will download this Video and try to make my own cheese. Both me and my Roommate have worked in Restaurants and have some experience in the kitchen. Neither of us have attempted to make our own cheese because of time constraints. However I'm Semi Retired and so is my Roommate due to Age and Health issues. Together hopefully we will follow your excellent advice. Thank you Helen I am Russian on my Mother's side. All of her Grandparents were born in Moscow, my Great Grandparents. You also introduced me to something new. Kefir is new to me. I live in Cincinnati. I will have to check out the availability of this product. I was wondering about Cheese Blintzes Recipe? I will check to see if you made a video about a specific Cheese recipe that you or Me can make from scratch for my favorite Blintzes.
My instant pot doesn’t have a yogurt setting but I’ll use my soup vide or a plant seed starting heat pad for yogurt which I assume will work exactly the same for this.
yes sous vide at 90f for 11 hours or ur liking. I have air fryer version so no yogurt settings.
I tried this today. After 9 hours and the instapot on the yogurt setting it looked exactly as Helen's example in the video. I then covered with foil and placed into a preheated 350° oven. It took almost 2 hours for it to come to approximately 178°. The curds were extremely small. Virtually non-existent. I was seeing browning in spots on the sides of the instant pot liner because it had been in so long. Not sure what happened. It looked promising up until 50 minutes into the oven when it was only 120° F. I have an oven thermometer so I don't rely just on the setting. Anyway it was worth a shot and I will try again.
browning on the sides of instant pot is totally normal. you don't need to try again, strain it and use it. if your instant pot is a different size than mine, it might take longer in the oven. That being said, it's unusual that something that sits in the oven at 350F for almost an hour is only luke warm (you can tough 120 with your bare hands). yes, the curds should be tiny -- almost not noticeable.
Can't wait for the Syrniki video. Good quality store bought Tvorog is so so hard to come by where I live so we've just had to settle for a really long time...
Спасибо большое, очень полезная информация
I just found your channel and you are amazing! Thank you for the detailed recipes
Helen, I followed your recipe exactly, however I did put the milk mixture in the oven after 8 hours at 350 for one hour. After, I realized that milk boils at 212 degrees and thought for sure it would be ruined as the milk was boiling when I took it out of the oven. I stained it overnight and the result was a creamy delicious cheese. Did you mean turn your oven to 350, then turn it off, then let the milk sit in the warm oven for 50 to 60 minutes? My cheese turned ouy, but I am sure it should not have boiled.
Why you have to use kefir if buttermilk works perfect for this recipe 🤷♀️
To make it more buttery, just add to mixture 2-3 table spoons sour cream
In USA you can buy buttermilk everywhere, but kefir is not selling everywhere plus kefir much expensive
Thank you so much for the helpful, beautiful information!
Супер, спасибо! Жаль, что многое мои друзья не знают английский, а то бы поделилась видео.
I’m a bit late to the party, but hopefully can get an answer. I just made this in instapot with whole milk and kefir. After 10 hours on yoghurt setting, I opened the lid, and everything had separated. I had a huge ball of curd floating in a sea of whey. Mixture at 90°F. Not sure why it separated in the pot, but no need for the second step. Drained well and waiting to use it. Curious if anyone knows why it would have separated instead of being creamy like the video.
The things I never knew I wanted to know! This cheese will be great with my homemade lasagna!
Wonderful explanation. Thank you.
So that was the farmer's cheese; is the ricotta in a separate video?
Are we using ricotta and farmer's cheese interchangeably?
Because ricotta is made from the whey wich was drained to make the farmer's cheese featured in this video..
If ever there was a recipe to try with raw milk this is it. It’s heated hot enough to kill any listeria, like Helen pointed out, it’s something you can’t buy.
Hi, Helen! Greetings from México.
I just make one exception in dairy and for the same reason you make it for ricotta: yogurt.
Have you ever made it with reduced fat milk? I got a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I would love to make either this ricotta cheese with it or yogurt, but I’m worried that it either won’t work well because it isn’t whole milk, or that it won’t taste very good. Do you have an opinion on that?
@@anti-ethniccleansing465
Hi! Yes, the results are the same, the flavor is delicious, the yogurt is not as creamy as with whole milk, it is lighter in consistency. I add two tablespoons of powdered milk (any brand) per quart of milk, and it improves the texture, but you can omit it. It still comes out tasty. As long as you use milk with lactose, it will work because the microorganisms eat that sugar and turn out in yogurt.
@@65lalur
Thank you so much for your response! :)
@@anti-ethniccleansing465
I'm glad to share!! Have an excellent day.
@@65lalur
P.S. if I use the 2% reduced fat milk to make this ricotta cheese recipe, do you think I should add the powdered milk and in that as well? If so, stay with 2 tablespoons per half gallon of milk (and keep in the kefir, right?)?
I will say that American milk is super different from Russian milk ( even the organic stuff ). Best results for tvoruk (farmers cheese) use milk directly from a farm (pasteurised or unpasteurised) this will be better than Russian store-bought tvoruk. If you have to resort to store bought milk, you’ll find a much higher quality product at most Russian/Armenian markets. - From a culinary trained first-gen American with an all Russian family
I definitely want to try this! Imported Russian tvorog is so expensive!
I would love to make this but we don’t have kefir where I live; can it be replaced with something?
Helen said you she prefers kefir but you can use buttermilk, but you might need to strain through cheesecloth.
Damn, you are gonna make me finally buy an instant pot Helen! :D
By the time I bought my instant pot, I was just kicking myself for not doing it earlier! I honestly don’t know how I lived without it.
@@andreagreiff2558 I'm super happy with my dutch oven and I have a rice cooker. One more gadget to find space for, AAAAAA! What do I do! :D
@@roankai I love my Dutch oven too! And I used to use my rice cooker all the time but now I only use it when my instant pot is not available. The instant pot makes perfect rice! It is just so amazing how quickly it can braise meat, even from frozen. If you are short on storage space, I would suggest replacing the rice cooker with the instant pot. Then again, there’s nothing (or not much)your Dutch oven can’t do if you have enough time....New gadgets every once in a while help me keep from getting bored so hi have to say I think the instant pot is just beyond amazing! Tell you what-4 hours to make outstanding chicken stock in the instant pot too....
@@andreagreiff2558 oh noes, you are gonna make me buy it :D
@@roankai If you make the effort to actually use it-I really cannot imagine you would regret it! My only regret was not knowing what I was missing sooner!
Could you use yogurt or raw vinegar to culture the milk instead of kefir?
I use organic Greek yogurt and it works great
If you want to press the cheese you can use a tofu press lined with paper towel and it works great!
Hi, love your Chanel! It’s super helpful :) Could you please tell me how many g of farmers cheese you get from the 2l milk, 1/2 l kefir combo? Also can you make it in larger quantities in the pot, or will it not work as well?
You don't mention whether it matters if the milk is ultra high pasteurized; I do know that for homemade cheeses (harder cheeses, anyway) the UHP milks will ***not*** form a curd. Of course, I'm blessed that I have my own raw milk, so I'm asking to the benefit of others ;-)
I made this with many brands of normal supermarket milk and it worked just fine. the addition of kefir will make it curdle.
is there any other method for keeping the cheese at 90f without using an instant pot? I'm mildly considering heating the oven to as low as it can go, stopping it, and then throwing the milk mixture in there uncovered with the light on.
People should know that the whey has value and doesn't have to be wasted down the sink.
I am going to make this soon! I have a lasagna recipe that’s to die for, but I really don’t like the texture or taste of store bought ricotta.
After some additional testing, I found that this cheese is a tad too tart in savory dishes because they are usually hot. In dessert dishes, I really like how acidity balances the sugar, but in a savory dish like lasagna, this cheese might be too intense. If you want to make your own ricotta that's not tart, try Chef John's method: www.allrecipes.com/recipe/284000/chef-johns-homemade-ricotta-cheese/
Came out way too tangy. Any advice on how to turn that down a notch?
>90 degrees
That explains why my family in India never heats it when making paneer. There was no way the recipe my aunt sent me would have ever worked out.
Okay so the first time I made this exactly like the directions! It came out beautiful and delicious! I tried making it 5 other times and it didn't turn out. I'm not sure what I did different I followed the video like last time? Any help would be great.
This episode is giving me many thoughts apparently! Have you tried seasoning/flavouring your ricotta? Spices? Fresh/dry herbs? Oil or honey or vinegar? Or am I trying to make something that's already perfect into more than it needs to be?
I realize the answer to all these questions is "go try it yourself", but I'd love to know if you've stumbled on any winners
You can try mixing farmers cheese with some salt and caraway seeds. It will resemble the taste of Lithuanian white curd cheese. Really good on rye bread.
@@ilanaryz ohhhhhh
Farmer's cheese for me is primarily an ingredient in other dishes. I'll post my recipe for syrniki next week. I also use it as a filling for crepes and in pastry cream for cream puffs. usually, there is sugar and vanilla added in all these dishes. It's also good in savory dishes. I added some sauteed swiss chard and salt to it and used it as a filling in ravioli last weekend.
Love you Helen but half my cheese went through my strainer using the same kefir as you, even after i double checked that it was at 170F :(
I did leave it in the instant pot for 5 hours after the 9hr cycle, i wonder if that was my downfall. Or my mesh is just not fine enough (altho our strainers look quite similar)
What should I do now? I did it on yogurt in instant pot for the 9 hours and left it in there until next morning, put it in oven until 162 degrees and strained it it all came out no curds, what should I do now?
So, a normal day India is around 32. Guess I won't need the instant pot?
Hi Helen, have you tried doubling this recipe (would a gallon fit into the instant pot and the whole process done as recommended work just fine)? Also, how much of tvorog does this recipe yield (with the measurements you’re showing here)?
Hello Helen, is your farmers cheese the same as what Germans call QUARK?? I, like you, find it astonishing that those great product's are not readily available. QUARK is cheap and used in abundance in many German recipes, it makes the best low fat cheesecake ever!! 👍😋 it comes in a variety of fat contents.
some gourmet shops here in US sell it from speciality dairy producers at very high cost! so glad if I can finally make this at home. 😊
thankfully for your reply! 🇺🇸🍰🇩🇪
unfortunately, I've never had quark.
I live on Kefir. Watching her crime of straining the whey into a sink when such amazingly nutritional liquid should be consumed leaves me aghast.
I keep thinking 'pancakes, I can use them for my pancakes....' when I saw that.
This is the first ricotta recipe I've seen that doesn't call for lemon or vinegar. I didn't like the lemon version, I'd like to try with the kefir, it sounds wonderful! I don't have an InstaPot or Sous-vide, what other options are there?
I made this successfully inside an oven! Successfully, but not as hands-free as I would have liked: my oven didn't have temp marks for under 100ºC, so I had to improvise and manage a system for temp control with a meat termometer. I also had to check on it regularly bc I wasnt very comfortable running the oven for so many hours, even though it's practically the same temp you can safely proof dough in. It worked for me, but I feel like I got lucky, and this may in fact be more of a trrial and error kind of thing.
Some crockpots have a dial control. Would have to test for stable temperature.
Can’t wait to try. Have you tried using yogurt “boil” function instead of the oven? I think it brings the temp up to ~80°C.
180F (fyi)
Making it now 😍 thank you for the recipe
How did it turn out? :) Also, would you mind telling me if you think it will work well in Italian stuffed shells? I am a little confused by Helen’s pinned post, where she says that there is a flavor difference between her and Chef John’s ricotta recipe - she said that she uses her recipe in desserts like cannolis. Do you think that Chef John’s recipe be a better option for a savory dish like stuffed shells?
Also, do you I think that is possible to make this ricotta cheese with 2% reduced fat milk and have it it not only work well, but taste decently too? I was given a bunch of 2% reduced fat milk from my local food pantry, and I am trying to find a use for it before it goes bad.
Making farmers cheese as I send this message, will let you know how it turns out. Used some of my leftover kiefer as buttermilk in biscuits. Worked great. Have to buy a quart, so need ideas to use leftover. Going to try it in ranch dressing and pancakes. Could I freeze leftover kiefer? How long will the farmers cheese stay fresh enough for perogi? Very informative videos. Visit Newton , MA occasionally. I see a class in my future.
kefir and farmer's cheese are very hard to spoil. before people invented refrigeration, they used these fermented milk products to put milk to some good use and give it a long life. If you look at expiration date on kefir, it's usually months away. I've kept it in the fridge for a month and it was as good as new. I am guessing the same applies to farmer's cheese. I've never tried keeping it more than 2 weeks in the fridge, but as long as it looks fine (no mold), it should be fine. I haven't tried freezing kefir, but it's worth a shot.