Syrniki Recipe (Russian Sweet Cheese Pancakes) - w/ Cottage Cheese (2024)

FAQs

Are syrniki Ukrainian or Russian? ›

While widely perceived as a hallmark of Soviet cuisine and a childhood comfort dish, syrniki, the historic origins of which are inconclusive, are deeply Ukrainian, some say.

Syrnyky or tvorozhniki are made from creamy tvorog, mixed with flour, eggs and sugar, sometimes adding vanilla extract. Pot cheese or farmer's cheese or quark is suggested as a substitute for the tvorog. The soft mixture is shaped into cakes, which are pan- or shallow-fried in vegetable oil or in hot butter.

The birthplace of syrniki is a mystery, but it is obvious that they've got their peak of popularity during the existence of the USSR and spread throughout it – Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania – all known to have this meal served very often.

The two most common translations of tvorog are cottage cheese (common in the US) and quark (common in Germany). The process of making these different cheeses is quite similar: you take fermented, acidized or sour milk, and separate the curds from the whey.

An unripened curd cheese, farmer's cheese is very similar to cottage cheese and ricotta. It's got a spreadable texture like the latter and a tangy flavor like the former. However, it does tend to be drier and more mild than either of these cheeses.

In the West, blini traditionally refers to small savory pancakes made with leavened batter. In modern Russian, the term most often refers to pan-sized leavened thin pancakes, although smaller leavened pancakes are also called blini.

Russian types of hard cheeses: Brynza, Adyghe, Poshekhonsky, Vologda, Russian, etc. Russian types of soft processed cheeses. Primary cheese, which in Russia is considered a dairy product - tvorog (cottage cheese).

Classic cottage cheese is made with animal or vegetable rennet, whereas tvorog is made with conventional acids, such as lemon juice, vinegar, or buttermilk.

All the cheeses such as Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Uglich, Poshekhonye, and so on came from that era. By the beginning of the 20th century Russia produced about 100 native cheeses.

In Russia, they are also known as tvorozhniki (творо́жники). They are a part of Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian (sirņiki), Lithuanian and Serbian cuisine. Their simplicity and delicious taste have made them very popular in Eastern Europe.

What does tvorog mean in Russian? ›

Tvorog (Polish: twaróg Russian: творог) is a European, non-liquid, white fermented milk product, traditional for Eastern, Northern and (less often) Central Europe, obtained by fermenting milk with subsequent whey removal.

Ukrainian cooks will often add lard to accentuate the flavour of their meals. Furthermore, Ukrainian cuisine is centered around specific proteins, including duck, goose, and pig, whereas Russian cooks will primarily use poultry and fish.

Syroman, Kyiv region — cheeses with white mold made from goat's milk “Rouan”, “Sophia” with beets, “Bilyi Triufel” with truffle; Lel', Kirovohrad region — smoked mozzarella and its mini-variation mozzarella ball; Jersey, Lviv region — “Massimo” cheese with a washed rind; Staryi Porytsk, Volyn — “Cheddar” cheese.

According to a recent poll, the four most popular types of breakfast in Russia are eggs (boiled, scrambled, fried, omelet, etc), bread and butter sandwiches/toasts with bologna or cheese, porridge (oatmeal, buckwheat, rice), various cottage cheese dishes (for example, cottage cheese pancakes).