…….and my today’s Lunch!
You who have visited Germany no doubt will have come across this delicious, super healthy and versatile cheese at most breakfast tables in their Hotel or/and in private homes.
As a born German I simply cannot, for the heck of it, imagine sitting down for breakfast and not finding a bowl of this cheese waiting to be lavishly spread on my preferably “Vollkornbrot” (whole grain bread), Pumpernickel, or toast, with just salt and pepper added or mixed with chopped fresh herbs or simply topped with a slice of tomato.
Quark to me (my family and friends) is quite obviously what the potato is to the Irish!
And when I lived in those faraway lands and also in England I missed my daily dosage of Quark, never of course even thinking of making it myself at home. Come to think of it, I actually knew not a single person who made this in their own home; it was always readily available in most shops and at a pretty low price, too.
So, living here now again I found that Quark was not available and only with the opening of India’s largest Hypermarket near us just over a year ago, did I find out to my delight, that a certain world famous creamcheese (imported, of course) was occasionally available – but……… at a price!!!
So a quick telephone call to one of my close friends in Germany and hey presto – her recipe for making my own Quark at home came flying into my email account. And as you will see, it is sooooo dead easy to make, that I got a bit annoyed with myself for not having made this all those years ago. But then, as the saying goes “…one is never too old to learn new tricks...”
Surely you can understand my amazement when subsequently I googled “Quark” and found that now, only a couple of years or so ago, a company in the UK started producing Quark and from a sheer commercial point of view they never looked back.
So, for all of you, who are not suffering from a dairy intolerance or are vegans, here is the recipe I make now for the past year in my kitchen on average once a week.
I not only use Quark for cooking (often instead of cream), baking (use it to make your favourite cheese cake), I often eat it just on its own mixed just with delicious fresh herbs (if and when I can get them), mixed with fresh fruit like kiwi, apple, grapes etc, on bread/toast and/or water biscuits or the typical German way, just some boiled potatoes (Pellkartoffeln), and a salad on the side or a filling of a baked potato mixed with a chopped hardboiled egg for example. There are 1001 and more ways in which to consume this, so I suggest, just let your imagination run wild – go ahead, try out anything!!! It is soooo good, healthy and slimming, too. After all on average you will find that in 100 grams, it has just 0.2 grams of fat. So in short, it is a healthier alternative to many cheeses and yoghurts.
Here are just a few ideas how to eat Quark – the sky is the limit, as the saying goes. Just experiment.
As you see in my photograph below, I use 4 pouches of milk and later, after boiling, I add 1 pouch of Curd. A couple of days later I have a yield of app ½ kg plus of beautiful Quark.
And regarding cost? It is so very low cost, (app GBP = 1.101, USD = 1.48, Austr. Dollar = 1.935) that I believe you too will rush into your kitchen and start making QUARK – GLORIOUS QUARK!!!
What you will need!
4 x pouches of milk (500 ml each)
1 x pouch of curd
Large pot, cheese cloth, large spoon and large bowl, 1 scissor
How I make my QUARK – GLORIOUS QUARK
1) Empty 4 x pouches of milk into a large pot.
2) Put on flame and WHILST WATCHING bring this milk to just boil.
3) Switch off and let cool down (since I live in a tropical country I switch on my fan in the kitchen to cool milk down quickly)
4) Once cool enough add 1 pouch of Curd, stir, cover and keep aside overnight (I normally make this late morning)
5) Next morning, dampen your cheesecloth, line a colander and carefully pour your milk with curd into this
And then knot cloth, cover with heavy lid, and keep inside fridge once more overnight!
After that discard of whey (some people might want to use this – I do not!), open your cloth and transfer Quark into a smaller bowl (with lid) and keep in fridge – ready to be used!
And now tada tada once again – this is it – ready!!
Enjoy …. und Guten Appetit!
Carina xx
Anyone 4 Curry & Other Things 
A straightforward method to bring back memories of home. Thanks.
Darryl, good morning – like a lot of us, I too love going down “memory lane” sometimes. 🙂 🙂
It looks absolutely wonderful, Carina. As a lover of any type of cheese, this one sounds perfect for me. I can’t say I’ve seen Quark for sale in supermarkets here, but I’ll certainly have a look round. But It looks so easy to make, it hardly seems necessary to buy it. Just one questions – do you use full fat milk or skimmed/semi-skimmed, and does it make much difference which you use? (Two questions in one.) 🙂
good morning, Millie. I am glad you like this and are ready to make it as well. Please do come back and tell me how you liked it, please. 🙂 To your “2 questions in one” – to be honest, my absolute preferred choices are either semi-skimmed or skimmed, but frequently I have to use full fat, it all depends what is available in the shop near me. Those pouches sell out very quickly. And my super new Hypermarket (the largest in the whole of India) is a little bit “off the track” for me – they of course never run out of fridge space!!! So, in other words, we dont mind, being just happy when I can make it. Why not try all three, one after the other, and see what you like best. Good luck. Carinax
Millie, btw – where do you live? UK?
Hi again, Carina. I do live in the UK – in between Lincoln and Newark. Our village is close to the Notts-Lincs boundary, but we are actually in Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood County 🙂 ).
Quark is very popular in Israel, where I’m from. It is used by all and is also a big part of breakfast. The texture is softer and creamier than anything I was able to make at home. Luckily here in NY I can get the Israeli version so it makes life easier. But I will definitely give your recipe a try as no doubt it will be fresher than what I can get in the store. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I thought you might know it, and if you want your homemade Quark a bit creamier (I dont – creamy enough), just add a few drops of milk to it. I am of course now very curious to find out how yours taste – would you let me know? Thanks. Carina
I also thought about adding a bit of milk or heavy cream. I’m hoping to get fresh milk from a farm stand and to experiment. I will update you about the results! 🙂
We have quark in some Australian supermarkets but I would love to make it. I am not sure about the ingredient ‘curd’ though.
Buon giorno, Francesca – I bet it is much cheaper to make it at home? It really is no work at all – and certainly worth your while if you are more than 1 person in the family 🙂 Re your question ‘what is curd’, please refer to my explanation above to Penne. Any more questions, please do not hesitate to come back to me. Ciao, Carina
I have never seen milk come in pouches before! Where do you live? Also, what is curd?
🙂 🙂 good morning, Penne. I now live in South India in the beautiful lush state of Kerala – the land of Coconuts and spices 🙂 Shops sell milk either in pouches or in those Tetra-boxes, which I buy mainly, since they keep in my larder and I do not have to rush out to buy new milk every day. But to make QUARK I buy those pouches. According to wikipedia,”Curds are a dairy product obtained by coagulating milk in a process called curdling. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to sit”. We can buy Curd also in tubs, which I do quite frequently and just use it like Yoghurt, eating it often before bedtime. Btw, try Quark with Jam, Marmalade etc. for a very quick sweet treat, if you like. Carina
Thanks Carina! I’m not sure what equivalent curd would have here in Australia. Yoghurt maybe? Or ricotta?
Had it for this morning’s late breakfast! Made a kind’of Liptauer out of it with paprika and with chopped raw red onion it was yummy indeed! Used to make my own: as life got busier and busier: have to admit I buy it these days: no problem with assessing the ‘real’ stuff here of course! Have a happy Sunday: hope the cough has fully departed . . .
good morning Eha – I somehow guessed you might not only know of it but also have it!!! I am having this now, too in a few minutes for my own breakfast. How is your TdeF going? Have not even had a minute to google and see – And yes, thank you, cough etc. all gone (at last), but what about you? Ready for a letter? Big hugxx
Why are you not asleep on a Sunday morning 🙂 ?? One more week of being crazy watching TdF . . . oh, heavens above then ’tis Rio and I LOVE swimming and of course cycling and diving and a few other passions! But ‘quark: know it by name ’cause we usually spoke German at home, but thought of ‘kohupiim’ in Estonian [‘foaming milk’ if you please’!!!] – yup, Mr Google agrees and says it is either ‘quark’ or ‘curds’!!!! Whichever, it has a great consistency and a lovely clean flavour and I would be lost breakfast time w’out it: also love it with marinated herring or gravlax or even sardines . . . hope I am not making those who eat Kellogg’s Corn Flakes somewhat ill 🙂 !!
hahaha, asleep? at 10 am??? I wish!! Preparing next post, also younger daughter home for Lunch, super treat! Oh and btw, m.herring or (yum!) gravlax YES, sardines….I am not sure, would try if I could.For now I take your word for it 🙂 🙂 🙂 get some rest now xxx
I’ve never used quark but now I’m intrigued… Looks delicious!
please do try this – I would be very surprised indeed if you would not like it 🙂 🙂
I remember how excited an Austrian friend was to find Quark here in Australia. She was so excited! 😀
🙂 🙂 – have YOU tried it, Lorraine? If not – give it a go – would appreciate your comment here! xx
Interesting name. I’ll look for Quark when I go to Germany in a couple of months.
Hallo Karina – Germany!! Wohin?? Have a safe journey, stay safe and most of all, have fun:) 🙂
You will find shelfs full of Quark – no doubt about that 🙂 But before you leave I hope to see you here again soon, oh btw. for how long will you be gone?
Just 10 days but it won’t be until fall.
Have never tried quark but seen it being used in the blogosphere. Would love to try making it though.
Namaskaram Shumaila, I really hope you will try. It is so so so easy to make and most delicious. Maybe you come back and let me know. Thanks. Carina
I’ve heard of quark though I still find it hard understand how it differs from paneer, fresh cottage cheese or even strained yogurt (labneh) based on the wiki article I read. The various ways you use it are quite interesting especially that pumpernickel sandwich with the julienned crab legs (surimi) nearby.
I bought a yogurt maker that can be turned into a quark maker and it works very well. I have quark for breakfeast and just made Grüne Sauße . I will try out your recipe, are you using unpasteurized milk?
Hallo Gerlinde, Guten (Sonntag) morgen – that’s a clever sounding gadget you got there. Re the milk, I use what I can get, actually, but – I always, always bring the milk JUST to the boil, then switch off and ……Hope this helps. Carina
My mom used to make dicke Milch ( sour milk) and she made quark and then turned the quark into Kochkäse by adding Natron.
Yes Gerlinde, my mother did the same, but it always seemed so much bother……this method here is so neat and easy and NO natron 🙂 Verflixed nochmal! – I ran out of Quark. Time to make a new batch – will be thinking of you 🙂 🙂
Next week I will look for curds and make your version.
great 🙂 – please do let me know how it worked out for you. From me, for now “good night”
As a lover of cheese I’m sure I would love Quark, but I’ve never seen it in the shops here and am wondering if it is similar to cottage cheese.
It is so very very easy to make this at home and so cheap, and extremely healthy, too. Re taste, yes and no to your question. Q is so much finer and creamier with the lowest fat content of them all. Do not replace one with the other, I never do 😉
Thank you for answering my question, I am going to seek out Quark on my next shopping trip 🙂