This is an extraordinary post because I’m sharing two homemade túró recipes from two Hungarian blogs (Zita éléskamrájából & Sarokkonyha). The reason why I have just simply translated the following two recipes and not providing my own photos in this case to illustrate the process is that in Hungary every store offers túró that I like; therefore, I don’t waste my time making my own cottage cheese.
However, many of you live in a place where it’s hard to find túró, if it exists at all. The aim of this post to help you make túró at home if store-bought is not available.
Making túró calls for only one ingredient: whole (full-fat) milk (not UHT). Traditionally túró is made from soured milk, but it’s also possible to make it from fresh milk. In the latter case you have to add vinegar to the milk to curdle it.
Quantity of túró depends on the milk’s quality, but in general you can get 200-220 grams (7-9 oz) of túró from 1 liter (4 1/4 cups) of whole milk.
Below you find a traditional and a quick-made túró recipe.
Traditional túró recipe
Place full-fat milk in a glass bowl or big jar and cover it. (In a glass container you can see how the milk’s consistency changes.) Leave it to ferment and sour by keeping it in a warm place for a day or two.
Once the milk is fermented, it’s time to make túró. On top of the soured milk there’s a fatty layer: that’s sour cream. You can either remove it with a spoon and use it in different dishes (it keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge), or you can leave it, in this case your túró will be much creamier.
Place soured milk in a saucepan and warm very slowly over the lowest heat possible. If you have a flame-tamer for underneath the saucepan, now’s a good excuse to use it. Gently stir the milk regularly to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pan.
Insert a thermometer into the milk and heat until the milk reaches 45-50°C (113-122°F). The warmer the milk is, the drier the túró will be. Don’t exceed 60°C (140°F).
Above 40°C (104°F) milk starts to curdle. It’s done when túró becomes separated from whey. Turn off the heat.
Line a colander with cheesecloth and set it inside a large bowl. Pour the mixture into the cloth. Bind the cloth and hang it ( keeping the bowl underneath ) to let the whey drip in the bowl below for a couple of hours or overnight. The longer you let the túró drain, the drier it will be.
Here you can see pictures that show the steps of making túró.
(Source: zitaeleskamrajabol.blog.hu)
Quick-made túró recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 liters (8 1/2 cups) full-fat milk
- 4 tbsp 10% vinegar
- 1 tbsp salt
Heat slowly the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan to 85-88°C (185-190°F) stirring regularly so the milk doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.
Remove from the heat, add salt, pour in vinegar and stir a few times. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a colander with cheesecloth. Place the colander over another bowl to catch the whey that drips out. Spoon the solids from the pot into the lined colander, rinse with cold water and let it drain for 30 minutes.
(Source: sarokkonyha.blogspot.com)
