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Quark (or qvark) is a fresh cheese of East European
origin. Dictionaries usually translate it as curd cheese. It is soft,
white and un-aged, similar to fromage frais. It is not the same thing as
cream cheese or cottage cheese. |
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Left:
Homemade
Quark. |
It is distinct from
ricotta because ricotta
(Italian: recooked) is made from scalded whey. It usually has much lower fat
content (about the same as yoghurt) than cream cheeses and has no salt added.
The name comes from the German Quark, which in turn is
derived from the Slavic tvarog, (Polish twaróg, Belarusian
тварог, Russian
творог, Czech and Slovak tvaroh) which means "curd."
Quark is a member of the acid set cheese group, meaning it is
traditionally made without the aid of rennet. In dairies today, it is made
with rennet. Because quark is consumed without aging, in the United States
the milk must first be pasteurized. Once the milk is ready, lactic acid bacteria
are added in the form of mesophilic lactococcus starter culture.
Acidification continues until the pH reaches 4.6, which causes precipitation of
the casein proteins. In Germany, the curd is continuously stirred to prevent it
from getting hard, resulting in a thick, creamy texture.
Quark is usually sold
in plastic tubs with most or all of the whey. This type of quark has the
firmness of sour cream but is slightly drier, resulting in a somewhat crumbly
texture (like American ricotta), and contains in its basic form about 0.2 % fat.
Quark with higher fat content is made by adding cream, and is often sold
flavored with herbs, spices, or fruit.
To make the firmer eastern European version, a small amount of rennet may be
added to make the curd firmer.
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Some or most of the whey is removed to standardize
the quark to the desired thickness. Traditionally, this is done by
hanging the cheese in loosely woven cotton gauze called cheesecloth and letting
the whey drip off, which gives quark its distinctive shape of a wedge with
rounded edges. In industrial production, however, cheese is separated from whey
in a centrifuge and later formed into blocks. |
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Left: Hanging the cheese to
remove excess whey. |
The Polish, Lithuanian and
Austrian varieties contain less whey and are therefore drier and more solid than
varieties common in other countries.
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In Russia (and in almost all former USSR countries) quark is
known as tvorog (Russian: творог). This type of fresh white cheese is
highly popular and is bought frequently by almost every family. As a
result, tvorog is a member of the official minimal basket of foods. |
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Left: Ukrainian
Vareniki. They are like Russian
Pelmeni, but with Quark filling
(particularly). |
Quark is commonly used for cooking. Various cuisines, especially
cuisines of former-USSR countries (e.g. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) feature quark
(fresh white cheese) as ingredient for appetizers, salads, main dishes, side
dishes and desserts.
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Try some of our recipes with
Quark: |
