Ingredient: Quark
Category: Dairy - Cheese
Season: All
Quark (or qvark) is a type of fresh cheese of Central European origin.
The name comes from the German Quark, which in turn is derived from the Slavic tvarog, (Polish twaróg, Russian tvorog (творог), and Czech and Slovak tvaroh, and Hungarian túró,) which means "curd".
In Austria the name Topfen ("pot cheese") is used instead of Quark,
In Estonian, it is known as kohupiim ("foamy milk").
The cheese is also known simply as "white cheese" (Polish: ser biały, Lithuanian: Baltas sūris, Southern Germany: Weißkäse or weißer Käs, Hebrew: Gvina Levana) as opposed to any rennet-set "yellow cheese.
Dictionaries usually translate it as curd cheese.
It is soft, white and un-aged, similar to Fromage frais, but with a higher fat content.
It is not the same thing as cream cheese or cottage cheese.
Some have erroneously compared it to ricotta. It is distinctly different from ricotta because ricotta (Italian: recooked) is made from scalded whey.
Manufacture
Quark is a member of the acid set cheese group, meaning it is traditionally made without the aid of rennet.
In the United States, because quark is consumed without aging, the milk must first be pasteurised.
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 texture of sour cream, about 11% fat, and is often sold flavoured 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.
Some or most of the whey is removed to standardise 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, the cheese is separated from whey in a centrifuge and later formed into blocks.
The Polish and Lithuanian variety contains less whey and is therefore drier and more solid than varieties common in other countries.
It is often used as an ingredient for sandwiches, salads, and cheesecakes.
Quark consists of 60% to 80% water . Dry mass has 10% to 40% fat; most of the rest is protein (80% of which is casein), calcium, and phosphate. |