Here you go…a healthy, very simple, and infinitely tastier strained kefir cheese than those sold in supermarkets.

Yesterday, I attended a kefir workshop with my dear friend Nazlı Pişkin at Istanbul Gastronomy. I’ve been making kefir for years, but I was sure that listening to Ms. Pişkin’s wonderful explanations and vast knowledge would be a pleasure. Not only did I enjoy it, but as a bonus, I learned how to make strained kefir cheese. Of course, I rushed home and made it.

At home, I already had kefir ready, made the day before with 1 liter of milk. I doubt this recipe will work with ready-made/packaged kefir. If you don’t have kefir starter culture, I recommend getting one and making your own as soon as possible. My starter culture has been with me for 1.5 years. It’s practically a living thing in our house now. I should even give it a name! 🙂

I poured the ready-made kefir, waiting in a glass bottle in the refrigerator, into a container lined with cheesecloth.

Then I tied the cheesecloth with a string and hung it on the cupboard handle. I placed a glass container underneath to collect the liquid. The liquid that collects here is kefir whey, and it’s very valuable. It’s a protein powerhouse. It contains wonderful probiotics. You can drink it after exercise or add it to your smoothies.

You wouldn’t believe the poses I struck while taking this photo 🙂

It was left to drain like this for 3 hours. At this stage, our cheese is actually ready, with a thick yogurt-like consistency. But if you put a weight on top and let it sit for another 3-4 hours, it takes on a wonderful consistency that you can cut and eat.

I went to the next stage and let it sit with a weight. Now we untie the string from the refrigerator door and place the cheese in the cheesecloth on a strainer. There should be a container underneath to drain the excess water so that I can store this treasure-like liquid. I immediately found a mortar and pestle as a weight, so I put it on.

After 3-4 hours, when it was completely dry and no more water was dripping, I squeezed the cheesecloth one last time with my hand and opened it. My amazing cheese was ready… I put it in an airtight glass container and sent it to the refrigerator.

When I woke up in the morning, I spread it on my seed crackers (recipe here) and ate it with pleasure.

#kefircheese