Special Cheese for Easter

We prepared for Easter. Back in the 1940s, when we had a cow, my mother would make a wonderful treat for the holiday. She would gather cottage cheese and sour cream in a large clay pot that she kept in the cellar. Each time she added a new batch of cottage cheese and sour cream, she would carefully mix the entire mass with a wooden spatula. This continued until the pot was full. On Easter, we would take out this delicacy. For some reason, we called it “sour milk,” even though it bore no resemblance to that, not even in taste. It was something completely unique. A true delight!

For a quick version, I put cottage cheese in a pot, pour milk over it, and place it on the stove. I stir it while it heats up, and once it boils, I remove it from the heat after about 5 minutes, strain it through cheesecloth, and let it drain well. I then pass the resulting thick mass through a meat grinder, add eggs, butter or margarine, salt, and baking soda, and mix it well in the pot. I place this pot into another pot filled with water and put it on the stove. I stir it occasionally, and after about an hour, I have cheese. I transfer it to a bowl or plate, and once it cools, it comes out easily and slices beautifully. My family prefers this cheese over store-bought varieties.

For the amount of cottage cheese obtained from 10 liters of milk, you will need 5 eggs, 100 grams of butter or margarine, 1.5 liters of fresh milk, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. This recipe yields about 1.5 kilograms of cheese.