Move Over Yoghurt, Quark is Here

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Quark is a cultured dairy product that is widely popular in Scandinavian countries, some other European countries and in Russia. It is similar to yogurt or sour cream. The texture of home made quark is thicker and more “crumbl-y” than that of kefir or yogurt. A similar type of product is ‘skyr’, an Icelandic version of this cultured dairy product.  Some people also think of it as a soft cheese however it does not contain rennet or salt like a commercial cheese would.

 

There are a couple of nutritional benefits for using quark in your daily diet. Besides being high with calcium, the fat content is only 0.3-0.5% in Scandinavian style quark. The low fat content along with high protein content (10-11 g protein /100 g quark), makes quark a popular snack among athletes.

Quark can be prepared at home easily, but it takes some time.  Make sure to start a day before you want to enjoy it.  Serve quark as it is or with some fresh berries. You can also use it as a main ingredient for a dip or sandwich spread with some herbs. Try substituting quark for yogurt or sour cream in baking and cooking to create new variations of your favorite recipes.

Move over yoghurt, get started on our batch of Quark!

Quark from Scratch

Yields to ~175-200 g of quark

Ingredients:

1 liter of butter milk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 F degrees.
  2. Pour buttermilk in a shallow pan, and place in a rack in oven for 45 to 60 minutes.
  3. With a knife, cut crisscrosses all over the baked milk to boost the isolation of whey. Let sit in oven for another 30 to 60 minutes until all whey has been separated from buttermilk.
  4. Place a sieve or strainer on top of a bowl or pot and cover with cheese cloth. Using a slotted spoon, scoop baked buttermilk into the strainer and pour whey carefully through as well. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap to prevent from drying.
  5. Let sit in fridge for about 12 hours.
  6. Rub/press quark evenly with a spoon to form firm mixture and spoon it into a mason jar or similar air tight container. Pour whey into a separate jar, and use for cooking or baking (e.g. substitute whey for water or milk when baking dinner buns).
  7. Eat quark as a snack as it is, or season with berries and granola, or use for baking and cooking.