Quark Cheese | Wisconsin Cheese (2024)

FAQs

What is a quark cheese? ›

Quark is a creamy, mild fresh cheese common throughout Northern and Eastern Europe. It's consumed on its own as a breakfast food, similar to Greek or Icelandic yogurt, and incorporated into dips, baked goods, and other recipes.

Quark is traditional in the cuisines of Baltic, Germanic and Slavic-speaking countries as well as amongst Ashkenazi Jews and various Turkic peoples. Dictionaries sometimes translate it as curd cheese, cottage cheese, farmer cheese or junket.

Greek yogurt is an acceptable substitute for desserts calling for quark, and other non-baking recipes.

Quark is somewhat similar to the French fromage blanc, a soft white cheese made from milk and cream. The mild and creamy spread, a staple in German kitchens, is used to make both sweet and savory dishes.

Quark tastes like a mild, fresh cheese and has a smooth, creamy texture. Its flavor and richness also vary, depending on the source of the milk and its fat content, which Gutenbrunner says ranges from 10 to 40 percent.

It is moist, snowy white in colour with a subtle taste and smooth & soft texture. Its texture is similar to that of cream cheese, pot cheese or ricotta, with a fat content ranging from low to medium.

So what are the best quark substitutes? Cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt culture, mascarpone cheese, and crème fraîche are all good alternatives to quark cheese, though you really owe it to yourself to try making this fantastic cheese yourself to find its own unique cheese voice!

Quark is a soured milk, fresh, unaged cheese product which is gaining popularity in the U.S. because of its versatility. You also will hear it called dry curd cheese, farmer's cheese and sometimes pot cheese. It is found all over Germany, Poland where it is known as twaróg, and Austria.

Quark is a type of fresh cheese, also known as tvorog (from the Russian творог), topfen (from the Austrian name), biezpiens (from Latvian), and varškė (from Lithuanian). It is made by warming soured milk until the desired degree of denaturation of milk proteins is met, and then strained.

While it's very popular in European countries like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus since it's regarded as good for infant health, quark cheese is rare in the US. Only a few dairies in Vermont, Illinois and California make quark in the country.

Can you buy quark in the United States? ›

Quark, 8 oz at Whole Foods Market.

Emporium Plain Quark Spoonable Soft Cheese 250g | ALDI.

Stores like Lowes Foods and ShopRite carry quark from Wünder Creamery in their yogurt aisles. Different brands of the dairy product can be found at stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in the yogurt or cheese aisles, whileKroger carries cups of quark from Vermont Creamery in some of its locations too.

Quark is a fresh cheese of European origin. It is a mild creamy cheese without the sour taste of yogurt. It is a soft un-aged cheese and is not the same thing as cream cheese or cottage cheese. It is also distinct from ricotta because ricotta is made from scalded whey.

Dictionaries typically define quark as curd or cottage cheese, however unlike most commercial cheeses, quark contains neither rennet nor added salt. And despite a very similar texture and appearance to Greek yoghurt, quark is not a yoghurt either.

While it's very popular in European countries like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus since it's regarded as good for infant health, quark cheese is rare in the US. Only a few dairies in Vermont, Illinois and California make quark in the country.

Speciality shops and supermarkets often sell quark made in Germany. However, any sort of soft cheese can be substituted for it, whether as a spread, an ingredient or in baking. The differences will be of acidity, fat content and moisture content.