Quark (fresh cheese)

Although very common in Europe, manufacturing of Quark is rare in the United States. A few dairies manufacture it and some specialty retailers carry it – so make it yourself! It is really easy, only drawback may be that it takes 2-3 days, but the work input is minimal.

Ingredients

1 gallon Milk  (3.8 liter)

1 quart Buttermilk (9.5 dl)

Preparation: Making the Curd

Mix together and keep for approx 2 days at between body temperature and 130F (55 C) warm, until the culture has grown and the milk has clotted (looks cloudy). No stirring!

Preparation: Making the Quark

To separate the whey from the milk transfer the batch of clotted milk and whey into a large strainer lined with a dish towel or other linen  over the sink, cover with lid, letting the whey drip off for about 6-8 hours. Sometimes you need to wait longer. To collect the whey, have a bowl placed under the sieve. You can choose how dry or moist you like your quark. Periodically remove the whey that has collected in the bowl.

Finishing

To get a creamy Quark (Sahnequark) add heavy cream to it, or start Quark with cream milk mixture.

Freshly purchased milk from the store is already sterilized, it needs not be preheated before making quark. 

Serving Tips

Quark is versatile and can be used in both sweet or savory dishes:

Serve with a traditional Swiss cheese dinner: Jacket potatoes, a cheese platter with fresh and hard cheeses, some pickles and salad. Quark would be served either plain, or blended with fresh and fine chopped gives or other herbs.

One can eat it simply as a bread spread.

Quark also tastes fantastic as a dessert: serving the Quark in small bowls, pouring honey over it and decorate with walnuts, or adding fresh fruits to it. Or whip heavy cream and stir under the sweetened Quark.