Twarog (farmer's cheese / quark)

twaróg (PL) / Quark (DE) / сир syr (UA)

Flavor and role

An Eastern European fresh cheese of fermented, curdled milk; crumbly and tangy. Used in fillings and desserts.

Typical dishes and uses

Pierogi ruskie, Polish cheesecake (sernik), German quark desserts

Substitutes

Replace 1:1 with ricotta or drained cottage cheese.

Storage

Refrigerate and use within 3-5 days of opening. Freezing makes the texture grainy, so use frozen twarog only in cooked dishes.

Main countries

Poland · Germany · Ukraine

Used in this book

Pierogi RuskieSyrniki (Russian Cottage Cheese Pancakes)Brown Butter Bacon PierogiPierogi Lasagne BakeGhee-Seared Syrniki with Warm Berry CompoteInjeolmi Syrniki with Roasted Soybean Powder and HoneyBaked Lemon-Blueberry Syrniki Cups with Crumble Top

Updated 2026-10-10