Exploring the Cheeses of Our Ancestors – Part 3: Twaróg

We have already learned about the oldest existing cheese in the world – 3,600-year-old pieces of kefir cheese found in the Tarim Basin of China… But did you know that people were making cheeses thousands of years earlier than that?

Ancient cheese strainers?

Pieces of thirty-four pottery strainers found in Poland are the oldest direct evidence of deliberate milk processing, dating all the way back to the Neolithic Era. These 7,500-year-old strainers suggest that humans were making cheese on purpose (as opposed to some accident of storage) and straining curds from whey.

This map shows Poland and the Kuyavia region, where the pottery pieces were found, located within it.

The Kujavia region’s location within Poland

A paper published in Nature describes the chemical analysis performed on the broken pieces of pottery that so closely resembled modern food strainers that the researchers decided to test for food residue around the small holes. “The presence of milk residues in sieves, which look like modern cheese-strainers, constitutes the earliest direct evidence for cheesemaking,” said lead study author Mélanie Salque of the University of Bristol.

Two out of every five of the pottery shards were found to contain lipid levels consistent with those found in pottery shards from other sites suspected to be near dairy farms, given the number of cow bones found in the same area. The lipids also contained fatty acids with biomarkers for bacteria produced in the gut of ruminants.

image via Salque et al

 

Several other non-perforated pieces of pottery were also found to contain dairy residue, suggesting that milk was cooked or stored in some vessels and strained in others – exactly like cheesemaking in modern times. Learning that ancient peoples really did make cheese helps explain why milk-producing animals were domesticated rather than simply hunted and eaten. The largely lactose-intolerant peoples of the time would have benefited greatly from cheese, which breaks down lactose and allows for easier digestion. Cheese also extends the shelf life of milk, helping the people to store food for leaner times.

I have a small collection of pottery pieces that includes this strainer. I like to think mine is similar to the ones those Neolithic housewives would have used. Mine has little feet to elevate it out of draining liquids, and two holes near the rim for a leather string to hang it by, although I removed the leather string and don’t hang mine up. If you are using pottery for any type of food preparation, always be sure that only food-safe materials and glazes were used to make it!

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A pottery strainer from my collection

A simple, traditional Polish cheese

While we don’t know for sure what type of cheese was made in these vessels, the scientists’ best guess is that this early cheese was probably similar to cottage cheese in texture and was likely very bland. In honor of Poland where the pottery was found, I asked people who were from Poland, or had Polish grandparents, about the simplest (and probably oldest) type of cheese they knew. This is how I learned about twaróg.

(Not sure how to pronounce twaróg? Say “tvah-ROOG”.)

Twaróg is a very easy and delicious cheese to make. By fermenting the milk before heating and straining the curds, a tangy flavor is developed that you won’t get from other quick cheeses like lemon cheese or ricotta. Twaróg has enough flavor on its own that you don’t need a lot of heavy herbs or spices added to it to make it interesting to eat.

How can I make twaróg?

To make twaróg, you need fresh raw milk. Why? Because raw milk will ferment, while pasteurized milk will spoil. We need the fermented milk to make our cheese. I’ve heard that some people have success using pasteurized milk with buttermilk cultures added to it, but I haven’t tried that. Another alternative to plain raw milk is to use homemade kefir.

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One of my pottery pitchers, covered in a muslin “lid”, tied with a leather strip

You can start with any amount of milk you’d like, expecting to get about a pound of cheese per gallon of milk. Set your jar of milk on the countertop, covered with a loose-fitting lid or a piece of cloth tied around the top. Make sure it’s not sitting in direct sunlight or too near a heat source like a stove or dishwasher. Leave the milk alone for two to three days until the milk clabbers and there is separation of curds and whey. You can see here that the milk on the left, which has been on the counter for two days, has begun to ferment and is a little bubbly. The milk on the right has been on the counter for three days, and has separated into curds and whey. Your milk may take a few hours longer or a few hours less, depending on the environment in your kitchen.

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Place the curds and whey into a saucepan and heat it to about 105°F. This is just slightly warmer than body temperature, so if you don’t have a thermometer handy, you can use your clean fingers to test the temperature of the curd. Stir the curds gently if at all. Pour the cooked curd through a cloth-lined strainer and allow to drain. If you want a drier cheese, tie the corners of the cloth together and hang the curds to drain for an hour or two. Be sure to catch the whey and allow it to cool. If you have cream remaining in the whey, you can skim it off and use it to make butter.

On the left, you can see the spoonful of warm curds, and on the right, the finished cheese.

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Some things to make with twaróg

Now that you have your easy twaróg, what can you do with it besides eat it with a spoon? Lots of things! Use it to make a traditional Polish-style cheesecake or fill some perogi or crepes, or use it to make an open-faced breakfast sandwich filling called twarozek (tvah-roh-zehk) that is popular in Poland.

Twarozek is made by mixing your twaróg with enough cream to make it spreadable but not so runny that it slides off your bread, and adding salt, pepper and herbs to taste. Spread it onto a slice of nice bread and top with dill, tomatoes, cucumber, radish, or chopped chives. Mine is mixed with grated cucumber which was allowed to drain of excess liquid, dill, and topped with Roma tomato slices and a sprinkle of coarse black pepper.

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I also used some of my twaróg to make these lovely galettes. You can find the recipe for those by clicking here. Coming soon!

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I thought I would show you one more thing about Polish pottery before I go… The Polish Lady cheese keeper. These cute little ladies are designed to keep cheese at room temperature (and at its tasty best!) without drying out. They resemble ladies in scarves with full dresses and are painted in many fanciful styles and colors. There are large sizes that are even big enough to keep pancakes warm at breakfast time, and small sizes meant to sit beside each person’s plate at dinner, holding individual servings of cheese, pats of butter, slices of lemon, or even a chocolate truffle for dessert. Aren’t they adorable?


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Sources: Chemistryworld.com, Smithsonianmag.com, Nature magazine

Beautiful buckwheat sourdough bread courtesy Maria Nalos of Kishka & Co Bakery in Nikiski, Alaska