Lor Cheese substitute

Best substitute

Ricotta, well drained and salted

Use the same amount plus ¼ to ½ tsp salt per cup as the lor cheese you are replacing

Best for borek fillings

Close match

Well-drained ricotta is the closest swap at 1:1, but drain it in a sieve for at least 30 minutes and season it with a quarter to half a teaspoon of salt per cup, because ricotta is wetter and sweeter than lor and undrained it makes borek soggy. Dry-curd cottage cheese or farmer's cheese matches the crumb even better. For a salty lor in borek, a mixture of half ricotta and half crumbled feta is the best flavour match.

Other lor cheese substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Dry-Curd Cottage Cheese or Farmer's Cheese
Close match
Use the same amount
The best texture match on this list.
What changes
Both are pressed fresh curds with very little cream, which gives them exactly the dry, loose, crumbly body that lor has and that ordinary wet cheeses do not.
Best for
borek fillings, stuffed pastries, savoury pancakes, baked dishes
Because they are low in fat and moisture, they go straight into a filling with no draining, which is a real advantage. Salt levels vary a lot by brand, so taste first: if it is very salty, rinse briefly and drain, and if it is bland add a quarter teaspoon of salt per cup. It reads slightly drier and less creamy than lor, so loosen the filling with a tablespoon of yogurt or one beaten egg per two cups.
3Cottage Cheese, drained and pressed
Different texture
Use the same amount
The version most supermarkets carry, and perfectly usable once you get the liquid out of it, since the curds themselves are mild and milky in the right way.
What changes
Best for
borek fillings, baked pastries, dips, savoury fillings
Standard cottage cheese swims in cream dressing, so drain it in a sieve for 30 minutes and press gently with the back of a spoon. The curds are much larger and rubberier than lor, so pulse it two or three times in a food processor or mash it with a fork to break them down. Skipping that leaves visible squeaky lumps in the filling rather than an even layer.
4Half Ricotta, Half Crumbled Feta
Different texture
Use the same amount total, mixed half and half
The best flavour approximation of a well-made, lightly salted lor for savoury cooking, because you get the soft milky bulk from the ricotta and the tang and salt from the feta.
What changes
Best for
cheese borek, spinach and cheese fillings, stuffed pastries, gozleme
Drain the ricotta first and add no extra salt, since the feta brings plenty. Feta does not soften much in the oven, so the filling has a slightly two-textured quality with soft cheese and small firm flecks in it, which most people read as an improvement rather than a flaw. Use beyaz peynir instead of feta if you have it, for a milder, creamier result.
5Quark or Low-Fat Fromage Frais
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Fresh, low-fat, gently sour and smooth, which makes it the best option when lor is being used in a dip rather than a pastry.
What changes
Best for
haydari, dips and spreads, cheesecake-style fillings, smooth fillings
Quark is smoother and tangier than lor, with none of its slight graininess, so a filling made from it is creamy rather than crumbly and a haydari made from it is bright and yogurt-like. It is also wetter than pressed lor, so drain it for a filling. Its acidity means it needs less lemon than ricotta and a little less salt.
6Paneer, grated
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Useful specifically when you need a filling that holds its shape absolutely and gives off no liquid at all in a hot oven.
What changes
Best for
borek fillings, baked pastries, stuffed vegetables
Paneer is firm and slightly squeaky, so grated it stays as distinct shreds instead of forming a soft layer, and it is blander than lor with no tang whatsoever. Add a quarter teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of yogurt per cup to loosen and season it, plus plenty of chopped dill or parsley. Good insurance against a soggy borek, less good if you want a creamy filling.
7Firm Tofu, crumbled and seasoned
Different taste
Use the same amount plus ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp lemon juice per cup
The dairy-free option, and honestly a decent one in a well-seasoned savoury filling because lor is a mild carrier rather than a strong flavour.
What changes
Best for
dairy-free borek, baked savoury pastries, stuffed vegetables
Press it under a weight for 20 minutes, then crumble it with your fingers so the texture is irregular like curd rather than cubed. Season firmly with salt and lemon and add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast per cup for savoury depth, or it tastes flatly beany. It will not taste like cheese to anyone paying attention, but in a buttery borek packed with herbs and onion it works better than you would expect.

What is Lor Cheese?

Lor Cheese is a soft, low-fat fresh curd made from the whey left over from other cheesemaking, called lor peyniri in Turkish and sometimes described as Turkish ricotta, mild and milky with a slightly grainy crumb and a faint salty tang, and its job in borek and pastries is soft moist bulk rather than stretch or strong flavour.

Cooking tips

Lor's job in a borek is bulk and moisture with a mild milky flavour, not strong taste. It is a carrier, which is why substituting it is mostly a matter of matching wetness and salt rather than chasing flavour. Get those two right and almost any fresh white cheese will pass.
Drain the substitute before you use it, every time. This is the single difference between a borek with crisp layers and one with a wet grey base, because water in the filling turns to steam that has nowhere to go. Thirty minutes in a fine sieve, or ten minutes squeezed in a clean cloth, is enough.
Season the filling as if it were the whole dish. Lor and its substitutes are low in salt and the pastry around them has almost none, so an underseasoned filling tastes of nothing. Per two cups of cheese, work in half a teaspoon of salt, a large handful of chopped parsley or dill, and one beaten egg to bind it so it does not slide out of the layers.
For haydari, the thick Turkish cheese and yogurt dip, mash the lor or its substitute with an equal amount of strained yogurt, a crushed garlic clove, dried mint and olive oil, then chill it for an hour so it firms up and the garlic mellows. Quark and labneh are the best substitutes here, ricotta the mildest.
Lor is a fresh, unaged cheese with a short life, usually only a few days in the fridge, and the same goes for ricotta, cottage cheese and quark. If it smells sharp, yeasty or fizzy rather than clean and milky, throw it out rather than baking it into a pastry.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave lor out?

Not in a cheese borek or kete, where it is the filling and there is no dish without it. In a mixed filling with spinach, potato or minced meat, you can leave it out and the result will simply be leaner and less creamy, though you should add a beaten egg to help bind what is left. For haydari, the cheese is half the dip, so use quark, labneh or drained ricotta rather than omitting it.

Is lor cheese the same as ricotta?

Very close in principle, since both are made from the whey left after making other cheeses, which is why lor is often described as Turkish ricotta. In practice lor is drier, firmer and slightly salty with a faint tang, while Italian ricotta is wetter, creamier and distinctly sweet. Drain ricotta well and add salt and a little lemon juice, and the difference largely disappears.

What is the best substitute for lor in borek?

Dry-curd cottage cheese or farmer's cheese if you can find it, because it needs no draining and has the right crumb. Otherwise use ricotta drained for half an hour and salted, or for the best flavour a half-and-half mix of drained ricotta and crumbled feta, which gives you both the soft bulk and the savoury tang. Whatever you use, mix in an egg and plenty of chopped herbs.

Why did my cheese borek come out wet at the bottom?

Almost always because the cheese was too wet, not because of the oven. Fresh cheeses hold a lot of water, and once trapped between thin pastry layers it turns to steam and soaks the base. Drain the cheese in a sieve, avoid pouring in the liquid from a cottage cheese tub, squeeze cooked spinach dry if it is in there, and bake on a preheated tray or in the lower part of a hot oven so the base sets quickly.

Can I make lor at home?

Yes, if you happen to have fresh whey from making another cheese: heat it to just below boiling, add a splash of lemon juice, and the fine curds that rise can be strained through cloth. Most people do not have whey lying around, in which case the practical answer is to use one of the substitutes here rather than to make cheese from scratch, since a drained and salted ricotta gets you to the same place in half an hour.

Related substitutes

More cheese substitutes

Lor Cheese substitute

Other lor cheese substitutes

2Dry-Curd Cottage Cheese or Farmer's Cheese

3Cottage Cheese, drained and pressed

4Half Ricotta, Half Crumbled Feta

5Quark or Low-Fat Fromage Frais

6Paneer, grated

7Firm Tofu, crumbled and seasoned