Polish Cottage Cheese Dip (Gzik) Recipe (2024)

My mother, born 95 years ago in Eastern Poland, made a version of this she called spring salad. Sometimes cucumber or a red bell pepper would find its way into the mix. Quick, light, refreshing on a hot day.

Glad to see a recipe using cottage cheese. I often eat the small curd on toast with seasonings for breakfast and am mildly dismayed to see it and cottage cheese in general becoming a scarcity on grocery shelves. Does one really need 10' or more of shelving for yogurt???As soon as I find some good-looking radishes, this is on my list. Thanks.

It is important to use the dry (pot) cheese in this dish. Cottage is too wet. Check out Jewish delis and shops because this cheese is used in blintzes

I have been eating a version of this my entire life, as my parents were Polish. We didn't spread it on toast, but rather in a bowl, and the radishes can be sliced vs. minced (quicker) and then sour cream and lots of pepper and salt to taste. One of my favorites with some sliced baguette. I've share it with friends, and they always love it. Nice to know that memories of my childhood are being shared with such a diverse group of foodies. Enjoy

In my area you can buy dry curd cottage cheese which works very well for this. It is fat free and salt free and has no added gums or other unpleasant ingredients. Process it in food processor until it comes together in a ball (takes at least a minute - be patient). Add Greek yogurt - about 1/3 the weight of the cottage cheese, and salt to taste. Then carry on with flavourings suggested in this recipe or just use as is on toast.

Dry curd cottage cheese is also frequently sold as “Farmer’s cheese”. It is usually well hidden on the top shelf in the cheese section (not the deli). If you don’t see it, ask. Packaging is a small, rectangular brick in clear plastic, not a tub.

I grew up with a version of this with chopped radishes, scallions, dill and cucumbers. My mother was a child of Eastern European immigrants. Really refreshing in the summer.

Substitute chopped scallions for chives. Add dill. Add chopped cucumbers (seeds removed.)My mother made a cold, summer soup with these ingredients... using sour cream and milk instead of cottage cheese. She added ice cubes to the mixture to keep it very cold.Refreshing and delicious!

Growing up in MI in the 60's & 70's,it wasn't just diet food;it was a staple on our low-income dinner table.I was lucky to learn how to make it from my Grandma,who was a farmgirl in OH.It took 2 batches/week to feed a family of 14.It was served in many ways- a stand-alone dish,or mixed with fresh spring vegetables for a salad,or folded into other dishes to add richness.I want to get back into home cheesemaking and this will be the 1st thing I make in Grandma's cheese pot!

I've made this half a dozen times now. I use a full fat small curd cottage cheese. Add fresh dill. Finely chopped purple onion. Lots of fresh cracked black pepper. Few grinds of salt. Last time I added crumbled dried mint from the garden. It's very satisfying as a savory breakfast on rye bread with a smear of butter, add a chopped hard boiled egg if you have it. Still experimenting!

I still make my mother's variation of this, which adds shredded carrot and curry powder. She served it with a platter or crudités—carrots, cauliflower, celery, red pepper strips, cherry tomatoes. I grew up with this in the '50s, '60s and '70s.

Really yummy. This sounds crazy, but on one occasion making this we were out of radish, so I chopped up a little bit of kimchi (just the crunchy cabbage bits) to add the same spicy bite. Just as delicious if not frankly better.

This may be sacrilege but sometimes I add a finely chopped hard boiled egg and leave the whole mixture a bit more chunky. Savory cottage cheese is absolutely delicious on its own or scooped onto good bread, whether for breakfast, lunch , or a light weekday dinner

I didn't have chives so I substituted fresh dill and some finely chopped onions.

I love cottage cheese and Aldi makes the perfect whole milk version.. It's perfect with fruit or in Lasagna or a casserole with spinach, eggs,onion and cheddar cheese.

Thank you, you just took me back sixty years to my Mother's kitchen. She grew up in Brooklyn with a Polish mother. I'm going to put Farmer's cheese and radishes on my shopping list.

I grew up in Poland and this was our staple breakfast dish. I never heard it being called Gzik (must be a regional name?). We called it Twarog. Made it with dry curd cheese, called Farmer's Cheese in US. Radishes and chives were most often used additions. We also used home made white cheese as a base at times. This is a very flexible dish and I am happy to see it here! Highly recommend.

If farmer's cheese is readily available in the supermarket, doesn't it make more sense to use that than to use cottage cheese. I realize that farmer's cheese in the US may not be the same as Poland, but it certainly is dryer than cottage cheese.

This stuff is delicious, and a great way to get some delicious protein. It's super good on hot baked potatoes. I like to stir a bunch of chopped fresh veg in it.

I have not made this recipe, but I will. And when I do I will use Farmer Cheese which is probably more like the twarog used in the original Polish version. the Farmer Cheese I am referring to is made by Friendship and is easily found in most supermarkets in NYC.

My mother made something similar which we called glumped up cottage cheese. It’s delicious served with tomato aspic or sliced tomatoes or sliced avocado, etc. It’s just cottage cheese with a little good mayonnaise mixed and chopped scallions with some Lawrys seasoning salt. We eat it regularly but I’ll give this a try.

In Poland this would not be made with wet cottage cheese, but with farmer's cheese (twaróg). I think using American cottage cheese would really change the texture.

My Polish husband makes this with cottage cheese and adds cucumbers, it's deliscious.

I often make this for breakfast with dried basil and oregano and skip the toast. I've experimented with different varieties of radishes too. Not to everyone's taste but for me its a healthier choice than a bagel.

Jewish girl here and my Mom made this often in the summertime but with tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers and radish. The GOOD brand of cottage cheese, or my personal favorite, Kalona Super Natural cottage cheese, makes this dish so delicious. Stay away from Knudsen at all costs.

We use pot cheese which is fry. Delicious and available in Russian markets in greater NYC area.

This seems delicious. Try Ben’s baked farmer cheese with vegetables if you don’t have time to make it yourself.

My college roommate's mother is from Japan. She makes this with green onion, chopped tomato, sunflower seeds and a drizzle of soy sauce.

This is similar to Austrian Liptauer - the same cottage cheese/sour cream base, with sweet paprika, chopped capers, dill,chives, and caraway seeds. Perfect with pieces of rye or (even better) pumpernickel bread.

I never knew my habit of adding ingredients to cottage cheese was an actual dish. Thank you for this recipe! Cottage cheese with chives, dill, pepper, and tomatoes has always been a favorite dish particularly on evenings when I was too tired for anything more ambitious after work. I've passed it on to my son who adds balsamic glaze or salad dressing.