Food of the Gods

Tvorog is a brilliant foodstuff. In fact, very little can touch it in terms of nutritional value, tastiness, and simplicity of preparation. What tvorog is, is the dense mass of protein that is left behind when the watery whey is removed from sour, curdled milk. In essence, tvorog is the best part of milk.

As with bread and beer, tvorog has no native land, nor precise date of birth. Yet it is most popular and best-known in Eastern and Central Europe. And in each country where people love and consume tvorog, there are certain ways it can be made, and there are several dozen beloved dishes in which it plays a part. But in Russian cuisine tvorog occupies a very special place.

Curiously, in English speaking and several West European nations, tvorog is often considered to be a variety of cream cheese. There is sometimes not even a word for tvorog in these countries (German, however, does have its own word: quark, and you can often find it in American stores as “farmer’s cheese”). This is how things were in old Russian, which was spoken by Eastern Slavs from the sixth to fourteenth centuries. “Sour cheese,” is what they called (an apparently crumbly) tvorog, while “spongy cheese” is what they called regular cheese (apparently formed or pressed). In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they were still using just the one word – сыр – for both types of cheese, and this was reflected in the Domostroy, the Russian guide to household management written at that time. Two centuries later, both words we are now familiar with – cheese and tvorog (сыр, творог) were in use.

Classic Russian tvorog is prepared using the simplest and most common “technology.” And this produces the purest product, meaning one that is additive-free. Whole raw milk, with its natural fat, is left to sit at room temperature for two or three days. Once it sours and begins to clot, it is poured through a colander that has been lined with cheesecloth, or through a canvas cone suspended from a hook. The water gradually drains off, leaving behind a dense mass.

Over the past millennium, different peoples have devised recipes that best correspond with their own culinary traditions, preferred tastes, material potential, and climate. For example, to speed up the process, the milk can be fermented with sour cream or crusts of bread, or mixed with cream. Or, alternatively, to slow things down, one can begin by skimming off the cream. One can heat or thoroughly boil the fermented milk, add salt or dried spices to it, and one can press the curd or put it under pressure, so that it dries out faster.

Actually, many of these versions are common in Russian cuisine as well. But unfortunately, when it comes to mass production of tvorog, traditional Russian methods are not employed. In that case, speed is the utmost concern, and so dairies will add artificial leaveners that often worsen the flavor, appearance, and smell of the final product.

Tvorog is also distinguished by the rich and multifaceted life it enjoys after it is produced. It can be eaten raw, either by itself, or mixed with sour cream, cream, milk, sugar, jam, raisins, berries and fruit. It is also used to prepare the most traditional of dishes, many of which are national dishes even outside Russia. This includes fillings for pies and pastries, bliny and dumplings. It is also used to make gratins and cheesecakes.

Tvorog, it should be noted, also has long had significance as a ritual food. Back in pagan times, it was used to regale guests at the most important holidays and events, for example weddings. And in the Christian era tvorog became the basis for the most basic dish of the main annual holiday: the Resurrection of Christ, or Paskha (Easter). And this tvorog dish was even named in honor of the holiday: paskha.

Aside from many long-famous recipes, today tvorog is also used here to prepare a variety of non-traditional dishes. It is added to salads and appetizers (roulettes, toasts, cremas), and it is baked into tortes, pies, cookies and cakes.

And there are two famous and beloved Russian dishes made with tvorog that should be singled out. They are based on more complex recipes, but have been transformed into “lazy” versions.

First, there is lazy cheesecake. In this instance, one does not need to spend hours fussing with shortened pastry. Instead, a loaf of white bread is cut into slices, and each slice is buttered on the bottom side, then topped with tvorog that has been mixed with an egg, a spoonful of sour cream, and sugar to taste. The lazy cheesecakes are then baked for about 20 minutes in a 350-400º oven.

The second famous recipe is for lazy vareniki, beloved by young children and by their very busy mothers. Consider it our Easter gift to you.

* Recipes for making “quick” tvorog can be found in A Taste of Russia or widely online. You can also seek out quark or farmer’s cheese at your local store.

Recipe and photo by Yulia Ataeva.

Lazy Vareniki

Ленивые вареники

12 ounces skimmed tvorog*

1 ounce oat flour

1 ounce vanilla sugar

1 egg

A pinch of sea salt

Wring out the tvorog to remove any excess moisture.

Add the oat flour, sugar, egg and salt, and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Form the tvorog into a cylinder that is just over an inch thick, gently flattening it with your hands. Slice the cylinder into pieces of equal thickness.

Place the vareniki into salted, boiling water. Return the water to a boil and cook the vareniki for two minutes after they have surfaced.

Carefully remove the lazy vareniki with a slotted spoon, and serve hot, with jam, yogurt, or sour cream.