#SundaySupper is having an egg-cellent egg-stravaganza with over fifty recipes featuring eggs. With Easter approaching, I thought once again it was time to reconnect with my Eastern European heritage and share an old family recipe for Hrudka – Ukrainian Egg Cheese for Easter.
Hrudka – Ukrainian Egg Cheese for Easter
Sadly I don’t know a lot about the background of many of the traditions in my Eastern European heritage. I don’t think it’s that I didn’t pay attention as a kid. I honestly don’t think that my family really talked about it. I mean, I have a cursory understanding. All of the foods that we put in our Easter basked to be blessed at church on Holy Saturday have a significance. The homemade bread is a symbol of Jesus, the Bread of Life. Horseradish is usually mixed with beets and the color is a symbol of the blood he shed for us. Eggs are a symbol of new life, and the rebirth of Christ. A candle is lit to symbolize the Light of the World.
Well as I was researching the recipe I was making for today’s Sunday Supper, I learned that cheese is symbolic of the moderation Christians should have in their lives. Huh? Cheese? Moderation? I never thought that cheese and moderation belonged in the same sentence, especially when you are talking about a cheese made from a quart of whole milk and a dozen eggs. But I’ll go with it.
I also have no idea about the origins of this particular cheese. A cheese made out of eggs. I mean, I guess it makes sense in the context of Easter and the symbolism of the eggs. Maybe it came out of frugality – those chickens laid a lot of eggs, so it was a way to stretch out the milk supply. I’m not sure, but it is definitely unique, and, from what I can find, unique to Eastern Europe. A Google search for “egg cheese” turns up lots of cheese eggs, but really only Hrudka as actual cheese made from eggs.
While I might not have known much about the overall history of the recipe, I do know that in our family, while my mom was helping my grandma make Paska, my aunt was making the Easter cheeses – the sweet Syrnyk, and this one. As a kid, unless it was my grandma’s cheese eggs (which I decided I hated by the time I was about five), I wouldn’t eat anything with eggs. Well, I mean, unless it was a cake or something, but you know what I mean. I told you once how this frustrated my grandpa every year on Easter when it was expected that we would all share a blessed hard boiled egg. So I certainly wasn’t eating this.
I totally blame my family. They should have just called it cheese. I’d have eaten cheese. But egg cheese? Heck to the no!
By the time I even began to accept that eggs were not repulsive, my aunt had long since moved to Kentucky and wasn’t often with us for Easter to make the egg cheese. Hence, the first time I ever even tried a bite was just several days ago when I made this…
I am so proud to slowly be ticking items off the list of foods from my Eastern European background. I have now made Hrudka, the Ukrainian Egg Cheese for Easter. And I tried it. And I liked it! I think I could have used a bit more salt (I wrote the recipe to reflect it) since the recipe my aunt gave me literally said “level salt”. The only thing I changed from the family recipe was to omit the flour. It was only two tablespoons, and every recipe I found online didn’t call for any flour. Since I didn’t want to mess around with gluten free flours, I just left it out. Seems no harm, no foul.
Or fowl? Hahaha! I’m a bad egg! How punny!
And while I shunned all things with egg as a kid, The Bug is alllll about cheese and eggs, so he was totally game for egg cheese. If you saw my Snaps the other day (yes, I’m on Snapchat at cupcakekalechip), he said “It’s pretty good! It tastes like an Easter egg!” I’m not sure what that means, but since he requested it in his lunchbox, I’m guessing that’s a good thing. I think it’s smooth and slightly sweet, and would be yummy with some Easter ham.
If you are Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak, or other Eastern European descent and want to connect with your roots, or just like trying new and unique recipes from different regions of the world. Give this a try. It’s easy, fun, and pretty awesome to say that you made your own cheese!
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Hrudka - Ukrainian Egg Cheese for Easter for #SundaySupper
A generations-old family recipe for the traditional Ukrainian Easter cheese made from eggs.
Ingredients
- 1 dozen eggs
- one quart whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set aside.
- Combine the ingredients in a heat-proof bowl or the top of a double boiler and whisk until combined.
- Place bowl over a pot of water or assemble the double boiled and, over medium heat, bring the water to a simmer. Cook, stirring very frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken and then the bids separate from the whey. This will take 20-30 minutes form when you start to see the curds begin to form, and it will look similar to scrambled eggs when it is done.
- Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth to drain off the liquid (the whey), and allow to drai for several minutes. Then gather the cheesecloth, forming the cheese into a ball and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, allowing to cool until you can handle it, if necessary.
- Keeping the cheesecloth wrapped tightly around the cheese, drain for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the cheese in an oven save dish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden.
- Cool completely in the refrigerator before slicing.
- Serve with your Easter ham.
Enjoy!
Here are some more of my Eastern European family recipes…
- Paska – Ukrainian Easter Bread
- Pot Cheese and Potato Cheese Pierogies
- Syrnyk – Sweet Ukrainian Easter Cheese
And here are all of the egg-ceptionally good egg recipes from the #SundaySupper crew…
Appetizers & Sides
- Classic Deviled Eggs from Confessions of a Cooking Diva
- Classic Deviled Eggs(-alad Sandwiches) from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
- Easter Deviled Egg Chicks from Pine Needles In My Salad
- Guacamole Deviled Eggs from Momma’s Meals
- Ham and Swiss Deviled Eggs from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
- Hrudka – Ukrainian Egg Cheese for Easter from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Jalapeño Popper Deviled Eggs from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Smoky Deviled Bacon And Eggs from Taste And See
- Spicy Sriracha Deviled Eggs from An Appealing Plan
Main Dishes (Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Brinner and Dinner!)
- Achiote Pulled Pork and Black Bean Huevos Rancheros from Cooking on The Ranch
- Asparagus Sausage Skillet with Egg from Wholistic Woman
- Avocado Egg Chilaquiles from Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Baked Eggs in Cream from Tramplingrose
- Baked Scotch Eggs from Curious Cuisiniere
- Chorizo, Dubliner, and Vegetable Quiche from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Classic Egg Salad Sandwich from My Imperfect Kitchen
- Classic Shirred Eggs with Gruyere and Ham from The Weekend Gourmet
- Egg Biryani from Food Lust People Love
- Fri-Tot-Ta from Feeding Big
- Hashbrown Egg Nests from The TipToe Fairy
- Italian Style Stuffed Bread from The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
- Jalapeño Popper Quiche from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
- Japanese Egg Crepes (Kinshi Tamago) from NinjaBaker.com
- Low Carb Breakfast Pizza from My Life Cookbook
- Make Ahead & Freeze Omelette Cups from Hardly A Goddess
- Mediterranean Frittata from A Mind “Full” Mom
- Mini Frittata with Asparagus and Six Italian Cheeses from La Bella Vita Cucina
- Papas con Huevos (Potato and Egg Tacos) from Kitchen Gidget
- Pasta Carbonara with Shrimp and Leeks from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Poached Eggs over Roasted Asparagus from Monica’s Table
- Potato, Egg and Cheese Scramble from And She Cooks
- Spaghetti with Fried Eggs from The Texan New Yorker
- Steak Benedict from Palatable Pastime
- Steak Omelette from From Gate to Plate
- Sun-dried Tomato and Spinach Quiche from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Sunny Side Up Burger from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Tex-Mex Migas from Caroline’s Cooking
- Toad in the Hole Breakfast Sandwiches from Daily Dish Recipes
- Tomato Asiago Frittata from Books n’ Cooks
- Yemeni Shakshouka (Yemeni Spiced Scrambled Eggs) from Tara’s Multicultural Table
Desserts
- Creamy Flan from The Freshman Cook
- Creme Anglaise from The Redhead Baker
- Croquembouche from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
- Dark Chocolate Mousse from The Chef Next Door
- Orange Coconut Bundt Cake from Desserts Required
- Pavlova with Strawberry Curd from Love and Confections
- Pistachio Chai Baked Alaska from The Crumby Cupcake
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies from Pies and Plots
- Plus Curried Egg Salad on Toasted Naan and More Eggtastic Recipes from Sunday Supper Movement
Want to see lots more yummy food from me and my friends, and cute pictures of my kids?
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How very interesting, Brianne! I couldn’t wait to see this recipe and it does not disappoint! I love learning about food traditions around the world.
Stacy Rushton recently posted…Egg Biryani #SundaySupper
I love this post Brianne! This is so unique and very interesting. After reading your recipe I am pretty sure I would eat this and I may have to give this one a hand at making too!
I never knew such a thing existed! Glad you recreated this traditional dish—and came to love it! I would, too!!!
Brianne, NEVER have heard of this, but my mouth is watering right now. I really want to try this!
How interesting! I had never heard of this cheese before. Will definitely have to try it.
Tara recently posted…#SundaySupper Eggtastic Recipes: Yemeni Shakshouka (Yemeni Spiced Scrambled Eggs)
Wow this egg cheese sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
Cindys Recipes and Writings recently posted…Sunny Side Up Burger #SundaySupper
Oh wow! What a neat recipe! I have never heard of this before.
I definitely need to try this!
Sue Lau recently posted…Steak Benedict for #SundaySupper
I am half Ukrainian and know all too well about the traditions of Holy Saturday and all that goes with it, but I have to say, I have never had egg cheese! I’ll have to give it a try sometime!
Renee@Renee’s Kitchen Adventures recently posted…Ham and Swiss Deviled Eggs #SundaySupper
WOW! I learned so much!! Thank you so much for sharing! I think it’s wonderful you are digging into your roots through recipes. Can’t wait to come back and learn more!
Sara recently posted…Classic Egg Salad Sandwich for #SundaySupper
My baba called it “chicken cheese” in English. I made it, oh, maybe 20 years ago for my husband. Glad you reminded me of it, seeing as right now I’m overstocked with eggs from my neighbor.
I’m Slovak and we’ve been making this since I was a child, however we refrigerate it overnight and just serve it the next day with our ham or kielbasa. What is the reasoning for putting it in the oven? It seems as if it would dry it out. We always serve it with beet horseradish, as an option too! Yum!!
Hi Patricia! I’m not exactly sure why we heat it, but that’s how my family has done it for generations. It’s very good that way, but I guess there are a few different ways to make it! 🙂
My Dad’s family made this cheese every Easter…they passed this on to their children but it wasn’t passed on to my generation. Thank you for giving me this blessing. I took it to my Grandson’s school for a presentation on Easter traditions (blessing of Easter baskets…they loved it.
I’m so happy to have given you a recipe that you can share with your family, Ella!
My family has been making this for over 100 years!!! My great-grandmother was born in 1889, and her mother and grandmother made it! (If I calculate her grandmother being age 50 in 1889, that’s 178 years!!!!) I remember my great-grandmother making this, and the same for my grandmother, my mother and father, my sisters and I, and now my children!
Our recipe differs slightly . . .
Instead of a quart of milk, we use one cup of milk, and 1 1/2 pounds of ricotta cheese. Years ago, a similar cheese was used that cannot be found now, but I don’t remember the name of it.
Also, one egg yolk is retained and put aside. Before baking, the yolk is broken on top and rubbed around the outside.
It’s DELICIOUS, and easy to make!
After my father had a triple bypass, I made one for him with (don’t gag!) Egg Beaters and skim milk . . . I know . . . It’s sacrilegious in the making of our Hrudka! But, it turned out pretty good!
Your family’s recipe for Hrudka sounds delicious, Laura!