Homemade Quark

Did you have a lovely weekend? I know I did! It had the right mix of busy-ness, rest, recreation and family time. Really nice...

Last week I was among a group that was reviewing a popular restaurant (I will post the review on my blog on Thursday), and one of the desserts we tasted was a quark based dish. Now quark has been on my must-make list for AGES.

Speaking of my must-make list - am I the only one who has a must make list which has more items on it than there are days in a year? Seriously - I don't think I'll ever get all these things made. I get side tracked so easily. For example, a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to make a marshmallow fondant. So I went to the supermarket to buy marshmallows, and this jar of juniper berries caught my eye! And I went - "Oooooooooooh! I've always wanted to cook with juniper berries!" And I came home with a jar of dried juniper berries (that I still don't know how to use!), and NO MARSHMALLOWS! Hmmm. How am I going to get things done at this rate?

Back to the quark.

('Quark' is such a fun word, isn't it? So much you can do with it! "I'm quarking today!""This tastes a little quarky!" "I'm a quarky person!" etc. Also, I was wondering - since quark is also a scienc-y word, and is the word used for the fundamental constituent of all matter, don't ALL foods have quark in them? Technically? Just asking. Sorry. Who named this cheese 'quark' anyways?)

See? This is exactly how I deviate from my planned course of action!

So as I said, it's been on my list for ages and when I tasted this 'quarky' dessert at the restaurant, I was reminded of it. And I finally got it done.

I read and re-read several recipes. I started on using the method listed on one blog, and it didn't work out the way it was supposed to. So halfway through, I just started doing things my own way based on the principles I understood from reading the other blogs.

Homemade Quark
Ingredients
4 cups full fat milk (I used pasteurized milk)
1/2 cup full fat buttermilk

Method
1. Clean and sterilize a large jar which has a lid.
2. If you are using pasteurized milk, just pour the room-temperature milk into the jar and mix in the buttermilk.
3. If the milk you are using is not pasteurized, just boil it like you usually do and allow it to cool before you add in the buttermilk.
4. Stir the milk-buttermilk mixture gently for about 10 seconds, close the jar with the lid and set aside in a warm place for 24-32 hours. During this time, it may or may not begin to look curdled. Don't worry about it. Mine rested for about 28 hours and did not curdle.
5. Transfer the mixture into a saucepan and place on a gentle flame. You will notice the curdling immediately. Don't let the mixture boil. I had the mixture on the stove for about 60 seconds totally.
6. Line a strainer with a clean tea-towel and place over a bowl. Pour the mixture into the strainer, cover with a plate, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
7. Transfer the quark in the strainer into an airtight box, and store in the refrigerator.

I got about 200gms of quark from this recipe. The higher the fat content of your milk and buttermilk, the more quark you will have in the end. From what I've read, you can store the quark in your refrigerator for up to a week. If you want to keep it longer, wrap it in a few layers of cling film, put them in an air-tight freezer bag, and freeze it for up to a month. Thaw it in the refrigerator when you want to use it. I haven't tried this myself, but it sounds right.

As for the whey - do not discard it! It is a very high source of protein and is has many uses. They are supposed to be wonderful in bread dough. Just replace half or all the water in your favorite bread recipe with the whey and see if there is a difference! I've saved my whey in the fridge and intend to try it! I used a some of it in my multi-grain crepe batter too, and I felt that the crepes were a lot easier to handle and didn't tear as easily. There are some recipes out there for whey shakes and smoothies too - which is a great source of protein if you a person who works out regularly!

I was really pleased with the way the quark turned out and with the flavor. (Not so pleased with the photographs, though! Ugh!!!) It is smooth and creamy, with a slightly ricotta-ish texture to it. The flavor is sourish with some sweet undertones. Just how I imagined it would be. I mixed a about two tablespoons of the quark with about 1 tsp of of heavy cream and mixed it till smooth and creamy, and spread it on a piece of toast. It was really nice!!!

And for the remaining quark in my refrigerator, I have some grand plans for it! If it all goes the way I plan, I will share my quark-based recipe with you next week!