How to Make Homemade Farmer’s Cheese (with Recipe!)

Raw milk is an incredible ingredient. And when you find a raw milk farmer, you can begin making your own cheeses! Homemade farmer’s cheese is a great place to start.

When I first heard of farmer’s cheese, my mind raced with the flavor possibilities. Savory, sweet, traditional – what dishes could I incorporate this simple, easy, homemade cheese?

From stuffed French toast to a spread for crackers, this has been a welcomed addition to our backyard homestead kitchen! 

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What is Farmer’s Cheese?

Farmer’s cheese is a soft cheese made from curdling milk, straining the whey, and pressing the curds. 

You may have heard it called cottage cheese. However, farmer’s cheese is a variation of cottage cheese. Cottage cheese usually has milk mixed back into it to give it a lighter texture. Farmer’s cheese has been pressed, therefore the finished product is firmer. 

Farmer’s cheese can also be created from a variety of milks, like cow’s, goat’s, and sheep’s milk. 

Some say farmer’s cheese was created as a way to use up skimmed milk. Farmer’s cheese does not require cream, which is why you can use skim milk and still get farmer’s cheese. However, the majority of home chefs say the cream (fat) in milk is what gives farmer’s cheese its flavor and texture. 

Farmer’s cheese is fairly bland, but it can be salty or acidic. Both are influenced by how much salt you use and what kind of acid you use to curdle your milk. 

Farmer’s cheese is also known as “tvorog.” Tvorog is Russian for “curd cheese.” 

Even if you are a newbie cheese maker, you may be familiar with the type of cheese you’re working with. Farmer’s cheese is a soft cheese, which is why it makes an easy homemade cheese for beginning cheese makers. 

Hard cheeses must be pressed for up to a day, left to age, and inspected for signs of contamination. 

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How to Make Homemade Farmer’s Cheese

Farmer’s cheese doesn’t necessarily need to be made with raw milk. Just use what’s available to you! 

It’s recommended that the milk be whole milk just to give your finished product more body. However, skim milk may work just fine in a recipe like this.

For a gallon of whole milk, it’s recommended to use at least 3/4 cup acid. 

In a large pot over medium-low heat, bring your milk to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir your milk occasionally, so your milk doesn’t scald. It’s important to note you don’t want your milk to boil. If your milk boils, it may impact the curds’ ability to settle in your finished product. 

When your milk reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the milk from heat and stir in your acid. My favorite to use is white vinegar, but you can also use lemon juice. 

Stir your milk and acid, cover, and let sit for at least 30 minutes. 

When your curds and whey have separated, strain your whey through a cheesecloth into a large bowl. Reserve your whey – we will talk about how you can use it later on in this blog post!

If your cheesecloth has a tighter weave, consider hanging your curds over the bowl and let the whey drain for another 10 or 20 minutes. 

When the whey has drained, press your cheese curds to remove any lingering whey and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Transfer to a storage container. Do not seal your storage container until the farmer’s cheese has come to room temperature. 

You can rinse your curds with cold water or let them come to room temperature with time. When your farmer’s cheese is at room temperature, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

 

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Is Farmer’s Cheese the Same as Cream Cheese?

Farmer’s cheese is not the same thing as cream cheese. 

There may be recipe variations of farmer’s cheese that recommend blending your farmer’s cheese with salt and a little milk to create a smooth, spreadable product. This isn’t cream cheese. 

Cream cheese is made from unskimmed cow’s milk. 

How to Use Farmer’s Cheese

Farmer’s cheese is great for spreads or fillings. It may not be a great substitute for cream cheese in baking or dessert recipes. 

This is an incredibly flexible ingredient! Consider mixing in fresh herbs and garlic for a savory spread. Or stewed berries for a sweet spread. 

How to Choose the Best Acid to Make Farmer’s Cheese

There are so many acids available to make farmer’s cheese today! Here is a bulleted list – 

• Lemon Juice
• White Vinegar
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Citric Acid
• Lime Juice

When choosing an acid to make your farmer’s cheese, consider flavor and how effective the acid is at curdling milk. 

White vinegar is probably the most popular acid available because it has a milk flavor and is almost always effective at curdling milk. 

White vinegar is also used in a simple cheese recipe. For one gallon of milk, you can use 3/4 cup to 1 cup of white vinegar. For a half gallon, use 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. The proportions are easy to remember. 

Lemon juice is another popular pick because it’s also effective at curdling milk. However, lemon juice may flavor your farmer’s cheese with citrus notes. 

Citric acid is another option for curdling milk. However, your measurements must be precise. The great thing about citric acid is that it doesn’t require a lot. But again – whatever amount you do use must be very precise. 

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Helpful Links

You can use a candy thermometer or a thousand bowls to make farmer’s cheese. Or you can use these basic kitchen tools! 

From my home to yours, I hope this helps!

Stockpot
Digital Thermometer
Bleach-Free Cheese Cloth

How to Use Leftover Whey

Unfortunately, this recipe does yield several cups of whey to a small amount of farmer’s cheese. But we are homesteaders! This isn’t going to go to waste! 

You can use leftover whey… 

• as a water replacement in bread
• as a buttermilk substitute in baking
• as a base for fermented drinks
• as the liquid you soak grains and beans in 
• as the liquid you ferment feed in

I have talked about how farmer’s cheese is a versatile ingredient. But so is whey! Do more research and don’t let it go to waste! 

Why Make Cheese When There’s Store-Bought Cheese?

If you have been around this blog for any amount of time, you know how passionate I am about bringing things back home.

How can we foster independence from the grocery store, but grow our community? How can we barter? What skills can we learn to make things from scratch?

When I found my raw milk farmer and realized everything I could make with fresh milk, I was thrilled to begin my hand at cheesemaking. But it was a love that grew organically from this lifestyle. 

I don’t have to make my own cheese. In fact, I still rely on store-bought cheese! 

But for my family, we make some of our cheese at home because we simply love this lifestyle. 

You may want to try your hand at cheese making to avoid the ultra-pasteurized milk used in current cheese making. Or maybe you want to create a cheese that has simple ingredients – not the mile-long script that we sometimes find on modern grocery store ingredients. 

Finding your why in homesteading (and anything, frankly) is a great place to begin in any journey. 

Basic Ingredients, But Delicious Cheese

I love farmer’s cheese for a simple introduction to at-home cheese making. The end product is forgiving, there is no starter culture you have to learn, and you can make it using basic kitchen tools. 

Even though it’s a bland cheese, there are so many different methods to flavoring your cheese! Comment on this blog post and let me know which one is your favorite! 

For more backyard homesteading inspiration, follow me on Pinterest! 

Farmer’s Cheese Recipe