In the culinary pantheon, cheese is right up there in the heavens, on the mountaintop of flavor. Its incredible that such a simple process as cheesemaking can yield such a wide variety of products for both savory and sweet dishes. But if youve found yourself falling into the rut of picking up the same block of Colby Jack or bag of shredded mozzarella cheese every time you hit the store, it might be time to broaden your horizons.
Quark is the perfect foray into this exploration of cheeses. Its a rustic cheese with many distant relatives but still in a category on its own. While a common staple cheese in parts of Europe, in the U.S., quark is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Its not widely known, which makes it tricky to find, and many of the dairy products put forth as substitutes cant exactly capture quarks unique texture and taste.
It may not be easy to find in North America, but its worth searching for. Quark cheese is a versatile and nutritious dairy product that can enhance the flavor and texture of a wide range of dishes. It has a mild taste and creamy consistency that makes it well-suited to cooking and baking. Heres everything you need to know about quark.
Quark is a spreadable soft cheese thats created in a similar process to cottage cheese, but with a few differences giving it a smoother, creamier texture. If cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and mascarpone had a baby, the child would be named quark, with a texture and taste that combines elements of each of its dairy parents.
Quark is prevalent across Europe, but not specifically attributed to originating in any one country or region. Eaters in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland enjoy it and use it in sweet and savory dishes, as do diners in Eastern European and Scandinavian countries. Different countries have different names for this cheese — topfen in Austria and rahmquark in Switzerland are just two — and there are also regional variations in the method of production. Some of these methods create a quark cheese with slight differences that reflect that countrys preference for texture and taste.
In the U.S., quark is sometimes called farmers cheese, dry curd cheese, or Amish cheese. Its sold in small tubs, often still in its own whey. Its as white as the dairy milk that it comes from and can be found, in some cases, in skimmed versions with less than 10% fat (called magerquark in Germany) or with cream added to bump up the fat content. And good news for the adventurous but lactose-intolerant: Quark is lower in lactose than many other dairy products.
If you open your tub of quark, hoping to add some fruit and dive into it with a spoon, prepare to be disappointed. The texture of quark is closer to mascarpone or fresh ricotta, and sometimes even stiffer than those. Some varieties of quark may resemble strained Greek yogurt, but those are regional and not common. The richness of this dairy product also makes it challenging to eat it by the spoonful.
All the same, quark does have a few things in common with yogurt. Its ratio of fat to protein is similar to yogurt, while being lower in fat and higher in protein. This makes quark more closely related to yogurt than cheese, but there is another significant difference that further separates them: How theyre made. Yogurt is made by adding live cultures to warmed milk, but quark is made by adding lactic acid along with rennet to milk. This produces a different flavor that is much milder than yogurts trademark tang. Rennet is a relatively modern addition to quark production — its used primarily when raw milk is not available, or when its use in food is not legally allowed.
As long as the smell and taste are okay and no visual changes such as mould are visible, a dairy product that has passed its best-before date can usually still be consumed.
Using quark in desserts
Quark is good for all types of cooking and baking, but it really shines in desserts. Its luxurious texture and creamy mouthfeel are in line with what people expect in a dessert, and quarks mild flavor is a tabula rasa for cooks and bakers to work with. One of the most traditional uses of quark is in German cheesecake (käsekuchen), quite different from the more familiar New York- or even Basque-styles of cheesecake. A filling of quark, sugar, eggs, and vanilla pudding powder (plus a few other ingredients) is baked in a pastry crust then cooled and served as both an all-occasion and special dessert.
Quark can be used for much more than just cheesecake, though. Anywhere mascarpone is used would be a great place to try substituting quark. Try adding quark to your next tiramisu. Blend it with heavy whipping cream and make a fruit parfait. Use quark in your favorite icing recipe that calls for cream cheese and spread it on a deeply spiced cake.
How is quark made?
Quark is a fresh cheese that is not aged but is used immediately after its made. The simplest recipes combine warmed milk with buttermilk and allow the bacteria in the buttermilk to create curds in the milk. This only works if your buttermilk is not ultra-pasteurized, a heating method that destroys both bad bacteria that make you sick and good bacteria that make yogurt and cheese. If you cannot find unpasteurized or raw buttermilk, lactic acid and rennet are the way to go. Rennet can be found in vegetable or bovine form, and its what helps the milk proteins come together into curds.
With both methods, the milk is heated slowly and held at a warm temperature (not boiling) until it curdles. The solids are then strained using cheesecloth. Heres where the cheese maker has some influence over the texture and the taste. The longer the curds are strained, the dryer and thicker the cheese is. For a creamy texture, cheese makers may add a small amount of cream. Salt is rarely — if ever — added to any version of quark.
If youve ever tried your hand at making homemade ricotta, quark is an easy next step. You need a few more specialized ingredients, but other than that (and the best-quality milk you can buy), the process is simple.
Don’t Just Throw Out Food After Expiration Date
FAQ
Can you eat quark out of date?
What is the shelf life of quark cheese?
Is it safe to eat yoghurt after use by date?
Can you eat Greek yogurt 5 days after expiration date?
What to eat if you eat quark?
An easy option is to combine quark with a bit of cream or yogurt to loosen it up and create a breakfast parfait with granola and fresh fruit. Or, if you want to experience quark the way Russians and Ukrainians have for centuries, try syrniki for breakfast. These quark pancakes are made with very little flour.
Are dates good to eat?
Dates are a great food. They have antioxidant properties, large amounts of fiber, and healthy fats. They help take care of the health of the brain, skin, and heart and control blood sugar levels.
Is quark good for baking?
Quark is good for all types of cooking and baking, but it really shines in desserts. Its luxurious texture and creamy mouthfeel are in line with what people expect in a dessert, and quark’s mild flavor is a tabula rasa for cooks and bakers to work with.
Is quark good for You?
The short answer? Yes. Per one-cup serving, quark has around 25 grams of protein and just one gram of fat. It’s low in sodium, carbohydrates, cholesterol, and sugar, while also being packed with calcium and vitamins A and D. Quark is also low in calories, with 140 per serving (as compared with around 180 for a cup of Greek yogurt).