Quark 101: Everything You Need To Know About The Fresh Cheese

Quark is Germany’s-and maybe the world’s-best-kept dairy secret. It is technically a cottage cheese but tastes and feels more like yoghurt.

Smooth and spreadable, this cheese goes well with almost everything, including cereals, almonds, fruits, and roasted veggies. If you don’t reside in Germany or any other northern European country, you’ve probably never heard of it, but it’s a great yoghurt substitute that’s loaded with protein, calcium, and vitamin A.

What Is Quark?

Quark is the German word for a mild-tasting, spreadable, unaged cheese made in Northern and Eastern Europe since at least Roman times. It may be used in baking and cooking, although it’s usually eaten for breakfast or spread over toast. Quark is not aged; rather, it is merely cultivated and filtered, giving it a very mild, milky flavour and texture that is closer to yoghurt than cheese.

How Is Quark Made?

Pasteurised milk is gradually heated and then cultured to create quark. At this stage, some quark producers add a very small quantity of rennet to increase the milk’s coagulation and eliminate more whey, giving the end product a somewhat harder texture. After that, the milk is left to cool to around 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 24 hours, during which time it coagulates into a soft curd. The quark will get firmer and tangier the longer it sits.

After gently ladling the curd into a muslin bag or fine sieve, it is let to drain for a further 12 to 24 hours. During this stage, the cheesemaker has complete control over the final product’s texture: a shorter draining time results in a higher moisture content and a softer end product, whereas a longer draining time yields a harder, drier cheese. A tiny quantity of cream may be added to the cheese to add richness, depending on how it will be consumed. Before packing, the quark can also be whipped to give it a lighter, airier texture.