5-Minute Gzik Recipe! Traditional Polish Farmer's Cheese Dip (2024)

FAQs

Where is Gzik from? ›

The classic version, called gzik, comes from the Wielkopolska province in Poland. It's built from a farmer's cheese called twarog, which is essentially a dry version of what Americans know as cottage cheese.

Beat softened cream cheese with mayonnaise, sour cream, and seasonings. Stir in shredded cheese (per the recipe below). Chill and enjoy!

The most popular Polish breakfast food are open-face sandwiches featuring slices of hard cheese, cold cuts, tomatoes and cucumbers. Also eaten are different style eggs (soft and hard boiled, fried, scrambled, etc.), pot cheese with radish and chives or honey or jam served with fresh bread and rolls.

For a cheese dip or sauce, the addition of cornstarch serves a similar function: Starch molecules absorb water and expand, not only thickening the liquid phase of the sauce, but also physically preventing the proteins from binding into long, tangled strands and the fats from separating out and pooling.

According to Nick Rogers, who has researched the history of cheese dip, the dish was invented by Blackie Donnely, the original owner of Mexico Chiquito restaurants. The Mexico Chiquito chain, which now has multiple locations in central Arkansas, was opened by Donnely and his wife in North Little Rock in 1935.

Scanning the internet and the supermarket shelf, we realized that the cheese sauces are divided into two basic categories: Queso Dips, which include some amount of heat, spices, and other flavorings, and Cheese Dips, which are cheese and little else.

Fresh goat cheese, quick farmers cheese, paneer, queso fresco, and ricotta just can't melt. When heated, the acid in these cheeses lose water, but not proteins. Water will continue to be cooked off, but the proteins in the curd are only going to tighten, holding the cheese together.

What is farmer's cheese? Farmer's cheese, a fresh cheese variety, is a pressed cottage cheese that is slightly more acidic and has a firmer texture, thanks to a lower moisture content. Farmer's cheese can be made from the milk of cows, sheep, or goats and can be rolled in different herbs or seasonings for extra flavor.

Signs Cheese Has Gone Bad

"However, I'd throw out high moisture [cheese] with visible unintended mold because it can spread quickly in a high moisture environment," he says. Other signs you should toss cheese include an unintentional bitter flavor, fermented fruit taste, and a fizzy sensation on the tongue.

Cheese spread tends to have a creamier, thicker texture than mayonnaise, and it often has a more intense flavor.

What is Velveeta made from? ›

Velveeta is a shelf-stable cheese product made from substances including whey, milk, milk protein concentrate, modified starch, canola oil, and cheese culture. It has a smooth consistency, mild taste, and vivid orange hue. Velveeta triumps in its ability to melt, making it a great base for dips.

Since 2002, Velveeta has been labeled as a "pasteurized prepared cheese product." What does that even mean? Because of the ingredients and the way it is prepared, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider it real cheese.

A cheese dip historian traced the dish to the Mexico Chiquito restaurant in Little Rock in 1935, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Other experts claim cheese dip was invented in Hot Springs, Arkansas, while others claim Texas. The World Cheeese Dip Championship is held in Arkansas every year.