How To Do Estonian Quark Cheese with Caraway Seeds. Sõir.

s6ir (1)Sõir, Estonian Quark Cheese with caraway seeds is very known in South Estonia. And this is my father recipe.
Traditionally was it a dish for Midsummer and Pentecost.
Do you know, that in Latvian is cheese – Siers and in Russian сыр. And even in English, cheese sound very similar. So, all these cheeses are related 🙂

Important:
quark must be as dry, as possible. And better is fat-free quark
Ricotta is no alternative to use. Make your quark yourself
Be sure your quark is natural and Do NOT consist gelatine or whatever.

You need:
sieve with fine holes
clean fabric, cloth, towels. For better result soak it in the salty water
Pot with a thick bottom. Be careful: milk boiling over and stick to the bottom with seconds.

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Sõir. Estonian Quark Cheese with caraway seeds

Time?
It takes ca 15-20 minutes to make Sõir + time for drain and for drying. Total time ca 1 hour.
But for longer preservation, leave cheese under the press to set. And then dry cheese into the oven 50 C convection 20-30 minutes.

From these amounts, you receive two palm-size loaves.

Sõir. Estonian Quark Cheese with caraway seeds

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A light quark cheese for a summer dinner.


[/recipe-ingredients]s6ir (7)

Ingredients


– 400 g quark
– 0,8-litre natural milk (NOT with sign ESL or UHT)
– 2 tablespoon butter
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp caraway seeds

bitta (12)
yoghurtcheese (3)
yoghurtcheese (5)
yoghurtcheese (6)

Directions

  1. Squeeze quark through a sieve
  2. heat the milk to near boiling point, but do not let it boil! Add quark
  3. Mix together. Cook, until the greenish-yellow liquid (whey), appears on top of the pulp. It takes ca 10- 20 minutes
  4. Pour the mixture into the towel covered sieve and drain properly. Very properly
  5. Roast the caraway seeds in a dry pan, add butter.
  6. Put the butter and seeds into the pot and add quark mixture. Season with salt
  7. Stir until the mixture becomes smooth. Add beaten eggs. If needed, add more butter and more eggs.
  8. Heat the mixture stirring continuously for 3-5 minutes.
  9. Put the cheese into cold water dipped form.
  10. Spread with butter, sprinkle a little salt
  11. For longer preservation, leave cheese under the press to set. And then dry into the oven 50 C convection 20-30 minutes.
    12. yoghurtcheese (10) Serve with fresh rye bread or barley scone and with fermented milk.

Soundtrack Winny Puhh ” Meiecundimees üks Korsakov läks Lätti” And this soundtrack talking about a man named Korsakov, who went to Latvia 🙂

30 thoughts on “How To Do Estonian Quark Cheese with Caraway Seeds. Sõir.”

  8. What an interesting idea, I have never made something like this. I will have to buy some quark next time I go shopping.

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  16. I think I have to spend one day in every Estonian city to have a taste of all the traditional Estonian foods local to that city..!! 😊😊
    I love cheeses and I am salivating by looking at the Quark Cheese.. 😊
    Thank you for sharing..!!

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