Quark is a wonderfully creamy, spreadable soft cheese that’s deliciously versatile in both sweet and savory dishes. Now you can make it yourself for a fraction of the cost and it tastes better than store-bought! Learn how to make homemade quark cheese the right way for the BEST flavor and texture!
Being from southern Germany, Quark is something I grew up eating on a regular basis. Since moving to the U.S. I’ve had to adjust to the fact that I can no longer readily or cheaply find it in the grocery stores. For anyone living outside of Western Europe, quark is not only challenging to find (in some places downright impossible), it’s also very expensive. This tutorial will show you how to make quark right at home that not only tastes better than the store-bought stuff, but is also much cheaper!
What is Quark?
Quark is a kind of soft, creamy, spreadable cheese that has been around for millennia and is known by different names in different countries. The most popular version of this cheese is Germany’s Quark. It’s very versatile and is used in both sweet and savory recipes. Some have dubbed it as “Germany’s Greek yogurt” but it’s really not an accurate comparison because not only is it thicker (a spreadable cheese) and has a different flavor (less tart and tangy, mild but more complex), the process of making it is also different. It has also been described as something of a mix between yogurt and cottage cheese.
Is Quark Healthy?
Quark is a great source of protein, calcium, vitamins A and B, and probiotics. Quark is traditionally made with whole milk and so cup for cup has a higher protein content than plain, low-fat Greek yogurt or skyr. Being made with whole milk it has a higher fat (and therefore calorie) content than low-fat yogurt so keep that in mind if you’re on a calorie-restricted diet.
How Do You Use Quark?
Quark is very versatile and, like cream cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt, is used in a lot of both sweet and savory recipes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Spread it on toast or bagels with your favorite savory or sweet toppings
- Use it as a base for parfaits
- Mixed with fruit preserves or fresh fruit for a quick and healthy dessert
- In smoothies for a great velvety texture
- Use it in anything that calls for cream cheese
- On baked potatoes
- Add herbs and garlic to make a delicious spreadable cheese or serve with boiled potatoes
- Add lemon zest or cinnamon and honey for a delicious fruit spread or dip
- Filling Danish pastries
- In your muffin, cupcake or cake batter
- In bread doughs
- In creamy salad dressings
- In creamy sauces in place of sour cream, heavy cream or yogurt
German cheesecake is also made with quark. Many of our readers have lamented the fact that they can’t make proper German cheesecake because it’s so difficult to find quark and when you do it comes with a hefty price tag. Friends, problem solved!
What are you favorite ways to enjoy quark? Share them in the comments below!
How Long Does Quark Keep?
Made as described in this recipe your quark will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator.
Can You Freeze Quark?
You can but it isn’t idea as the texture and consistency will change. As it thaws the liquid will separate so give it several good stirs.
Should I Use Whole, 2%, Skim or Non-Fat Milk?
For the best texture and flavor we recommend using whole milk. But you can use 2% or skim milk if you prefer. We do not recommend using non-fat milk.
Hands down, raw milk will give you the best texture and flavor (that’s what I use). However, you can make great quark with pasteurized milk also. If you can find non-homogenized, even better. If not, proceed with what you have.
Do I Have To Use Rennet?
Traditionally quark was made without rennet. But that’s because traditionally quark was made with raw milk. Pasteurized milk will not “set” or thicken as well as raw milk and so a tiny bit of rennet is used.
If you’re vegetarian you can use vegetarian rennet, however some people report that it has a bitter flavor.
Do Have to Use a Culture or Can I Use Buttermilk?
Here’s the deal: The vast majority of recipes out there for quark call for heating milk, mixing in buttermilk, letting it sit for several hours until it thickens and then straining it.
The problem with using buttermilk to make quark:
Let’s start with a little background. Traditionally buttermilk was what was left behind after creamed was made into butter. The leftover liquid would be left to sit at room temperature for several days and undergo fermentation wherein milk sugars would be converted into lactic acid and bacteria/cultures would grow. The end result would be a mildly sour and slightly thickened buttermilk with healthy live cultures that could be consumed directly or used in a variety of cheesemaking processes.
The challenge today is that virtually all dairy products are pasteurized, including the buttermilk you get at the store. What this means is that all the benefits of the fermentation process are gone and that all the live cultures/bacteria have been killed off. And those live cultures in the buttermilk are the very reason many recipes call for it when making quark.
So to try and circumvent, manufacturers simply reintroduce bacteria to pasteurized low-fat milk and then market it as “cultured buttermilk.” The result in a completely inferior-tasting product (no wonder many people say they dislike buttermilk – and would likely change their minds if they could taste the “real thing”). This likewise results in an inferior-tasting quark. And how do manufacturers make up for the loss of the naturally-thickened texture of REAL buttermilk? They add salt and thickeners: Starch and/or carrageenan.
So for the best-tasting and best-texture quark, we highly recommend skipping the fake, inferior-tasting buttermilk and using a real culture to inoculate your quark. This particular culture is called mesophilic culture and is the culture that is found naturally in REAL, traditionally fermented buttermilk (more on that below).
In Short….
Using buttermilk is an “easy quark” method and while it will get you a thickened milk product that you can use as quark in a pinch, but it will lack the same thickness and creaminess and will not have nearly as good or complex a flavor. We highly recommend gathering up the ingredients you’ll need to make quark that has the best flavor and the best texture.
What Do I Need To Make Quark?
You’ll need:
- A large stainless steel pot
- A stainless steel skimmer
- Whole Milk
- Mesophilic culture
- Calcium chloride
- Liquid rennet
- Thermometer
- Cheesecloth
If you’re into cheesemaking you’ll already have these items on hand. The pot and skimmer you can of course use forever and a good quality cheesecloth can be reused many times over. There’s enough calcium chloride and rennet in a bottle to make more quark than you’ll know what to do with. And the mesophilic culture will be measured out in 1/4 teaspoons per batch of quark and will make several batches. In other words, these items are good investments if you plan on making quark or other cheeses frequently.
Let’s look at a few of these items in detail.
Stainless Steel Skimmer
You’ll use this to draw the culture and rennet into the milk. You can find skimmers in most kitchen stores or here on Amazon.
Mesophilic Culture
A standard cheese-making ingredient, this is the live bacteria that provides the flavor for you quark. You can find mesophilic culture in cheesemaking and winemaking speciality shops or here on Amazon.
Calcium Chloride
A standard cheese-making ingredient when using store-bought pasteurized milk, it helps the milk coagulate and set more firmly. If using raw milk you can omit this. You can find calcium chloride in cheesemaking shops or here on Amazon.
Rennet
A standard cheese-making ingredient, in conjunction with the calcium chloride this also helps coagulate and thicken your milk. You can find rennet in cheesemaking and winemaking specialty shops or here on Amazon.
Thermometer
You will need a thermometer to check the temperature of your milk. You can use a dairy thermometer or a regular digital thermometer. I use an instant read thermometer which I already have on hand and use regularly for bread-baking and other things.
Cheesecloth
This is what you will use to drain your thickened milk. I use and recommend this cheesecloth because it’s 100% unbleached cotton, is high grade, is very durable for multiple uses, and you get a ton of it. Overall it’s the best value I have found for the quality.
How to Use the Leftover Whey
Whey is the natural by-product whenever you’re making a cheese or yogurt product and the longer you strain the product the more whey you will get. Whey is milk minus the fats and solids, so basically water with lactose and protein. And it’s the protein that’s the valuable ingredient here. Milk contains two types of protein, casein and whey. Most of the casein ends up in the quark and the whey is in the liquid by-product.
How can you this leftover liquid whey? Here are a few ideas:
- Use it to make ricotta cheese
- Use it in place of water when you’re making broth or soup for an extra rich broth.
- Use it in place of water for baking bread or pastries.
- Add it to your smoothies of an extra protein boost.
- If you have a vegetable garden, use it lower the pH level of your soil if you’re growing things that prefer soil with a higher acidity level, like tomatoes.
Whey can be frozen and will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How To Make Quark
Let’s make some homemade quark!
Put the milk in the sterilized pot over medium heat. Slowly heat it to 77 F. Don’t try and speed up this process or the milk will not set properly. Stir the milk gently with a sterilized stainless steel spoon to prevent scorching. Remove the pot from the heat.
Sprinkle the mesophilic culture evenly over the surface of the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes to rehydrate.
Use a sterilized stainless steel skimmer, moving it in a gentle up-and-down motion to draw down and mix in the culture, avoiding breaking the surface of the milk.
Dilute the rennet in 1/4 cup of cool, non-chlorinated water. Give the milk a gentle stir and while it’s swirling, add the diluted rennet to the milk. Immediately stir the milk with the skimmer using the same up-and-down motion. Do this for about 2 minutes, making sure the rennet is thoroughly mixed throughout the milk, otherwise the milk will not set properly.
Cover the pot and let it sit in a draft-free location at room temperature for 24 hours (wrap the pot in a large towel if needed).
After 24 hours check the milk. Tip the pot carefully to drain off the whey on the surface.
If the milk is properly set it will have pulled away from the sides.
Use a long, sterilized knife to check for a clean break in the thickened milk/curd (bottom right picture). If you can cut through it and get a clean break the milk is properly set. If it isn’t, let it continue to sit and check again after 30 minutes. Repeat if needed.
Use a long, sterilized knife to cut 2-inch-wide strips from top to bottom through the curd. Then follow the same process to cut 2-inch strips horizontally from side to side.
Now that you’ve used a long knife to cut the curd vertically, next use the skimmer to cut the curd horizontally into cubes as you scoop them out of the pot.
Place the curds in a colander lined with cheesecloth. Depending on the size of your colander you may need to work in batches. Let the curds drain for about 4 hours (it may be less depending on the mesh size of your cheesecloth).
Let the curd drain until you get a thick, spreadable consistency. Transfer the finished quark to a bowl, give it several good stirs to break up any lumps, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
For an even creamier consistency you can make what the Germans call Sahnequark, or “cream quark”, by stirring in a little heavy cream.
Enjoy!
Be sure to also check out our tutorials on:
How To Make Quark Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 gallons whole milk (or half whole/half 2%) (whole milk will produce the creamiest, most flavorful result. Raw milk, which is what I use, will produce the very best results.)
- 1/4 teaspoon mesophilic culture
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid calcium chloride (omit if using raw milk)
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet
- Additional equipment needed:
- stainless steel skimmer
- cheesecloth
- thermometer (you can use a dairy thermometer or a regular instant read digital thermometer)
Instructions
- Put the milk in a large sterilized pot over medium heat. Slowly heat it to 77 F. Don't try and speed up this process or the milk will not set properly. Stir the milk gently with a sterilized stainless steel spoon to prevent scorching. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Sprinkle the mesophilic culture evenly over the surface of the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Use a sterilized stainless steel skimmer, moving it in a gentle up-and-down motion to draw down and mix in the culture, avoiding breaking the surface of the milk. Stir the calcium chloride in 1/2 cup of cool, non-chlorinated water. Give the milk a gentle stir and while it's swirling, add the diluted calcium chloride to the milk. Immediately stir the milk with the skimmer using the same up-and-down motion. Stir the rennet in 1/2 cup of cool, non-chlorinated water and repeat the process of using the skimmer with the up-and-down motion. Make sure the calcium chloride and rennet are thoroughly mixed throughout the milk, otherwise the milk will not set properly.Cover the pot and let it sit in a draft-free location at room temperature for 24 hours (wrap the pot in a large towel if needed).After 24 hours check the milk. Tip the pot carefully to drain off the whey on the surface.
- If the milk is properly set it will have pulled away from the sides. Use a long, sterilized knife to check for a clean break in the thickened milk (see pics in blog post). If you can cut through it and get a clean break the milk is properly set. If it isn't, let it continue to sit and check again after 30 minutes. Repeat if needed. Use a long, sterilized knife to cut 2-inch-wide strips from top to bottom through the curd. Then follow the same process to cut 2-inch strips horizontally from side to side. Now that you've used a long knife to cut the curd vertically, next use the skimmer to cut the curd horizontally into cubes.
- Place the curds in a colander lined with cheesecloth. Depending on the size of your colander you may need to work in batches. Let the curds drain for about 4 hours (it may be less depending on the mesh size of your cheesecloth). Let the curds drain until you get a thick, spreadable consistency. Transfer the finished quark to a bowl, give it several good stirs to break up any lumps, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Yield: This will vary according to what type of milk you use and how long you let it drain. Yield will be approximately 4 pounds.
- For an even creamier consistency you can make what the Germans call Sahnequark, or "cream quark", by stirring in a little heavy cream.
Heather Stave says
I’m planning to use raw milk with a bit of cream added while heating the milk (not at the end of the process). The quark I remember from Germany was not grainy, and was not yogurt, but tasted more of a combo of yogurt, cream cheese and butter. I’m hoping I’ll get more of the sahnequark/rahmquark texture I remember if I go all in on the fat content from the very start. Thoughts? Am I destined to epic failure here? 😂
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Heather, I use raw milk as well but I stir in the cream at the end. Following the method outlined I always get perfect results.
Sabine says
Hello, I am planning on using raw milk..may I confirm I won’t need the rennet, correct? All other steps remain the same? Thanks much :)
Sabine says
Pls ignore this post, I just realised someone else asked the same. Thanks
Dale says
Can rennent tablets (junket) be used instead of the liquid? If so, how much (a quarter of a tab? an eigth?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Dale, I’ve only made this with liquid rennet so I’m not sure what the conversions would be.
Jeanette Duval says
Hello, I am keto and wanted to know if you can make quark with cream instead of milk? Thank you for such a detailed and understandable recipe. I look forward to making this!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jeanette, theoretically you should be able to but I hesitate to say yes for sure when I haven’t tried it and am unable to confirm via personal experience.
Alice says
Whey may be used in making Sauerkraut, as it aids in the fermentation process. We have chickens and will probably feed them the whey.
Nina says
Here is a online note I found and the correct spelling.
Squacquerone and Crescenza all belong to the same cheese type. These are soft-ripened cow’s milk cheeses with no rind, produced in Emilia-Romagna. They are buttery with a rich, slightly tart flavour.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Nina, right, they’re similar but follow a different process with squacquerone usually being put into a mold and turned over several times to drain over the course of 4-5 days as it ripens. It has a stronger flavor than quark but still very mild.
Nina says
I got to try this. Do you know if this is the same as squaroni cheese in north east Italy? Around Bologna?
It’s a local delishous soft cheese It sounds like it and I can’t find it in the states. It looks like it as well.
Andre says
77 Fahrenheit? Is that the correct number / unit?
Thank you.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Andre, that’s correct. 77 F (Fahrenheit).
Natalie Bos says
Hi- I’m wanting to try this recipe but am curious to know how much quark you end up with from 2 gallons of milk?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Natalie, it depends on how long you strain it but you get roughly 2 pounds of quark per gallon of milk. This recipe can also be halved and the process is the same.
Amanda says
Hi! Thanks for sharing this recipe! :) If I’m planning on using raw milk to make this, can I skip the rennet, or would I still need to use it? Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Amanda, technically no, you don’t need rennet with raw milk. That said I haven’t tried it without rennet so I can’t confirm how well it works. I actually use raw milk to make my quark as well and I still opt to use rennet because it gives it an especially good “set”, even better than using rennet with pasteurized milk.
Kathleen says
We have a dairy farm and I’m just getting into making my own dairy products at home. Since you use raw milk too, can you skip the culture and culture it yourself by “making” buttermilk? Thanks!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kathleen, yes technically in cheesemaking you can forego the cultures if you’re using raw milk, that’s one of the benefits. If there’s a particular flavor I’m after I’ll still use the culture anyway so that the end result is true to what it’s “supposed” to taste like versus letting the naturally present bacteria dictate the flavor :) I’m by no means an expert cheesemaker though and as I become more experienced I will be experimenting more with foregoing cultures and trying to “shape” the flavors via the cultures already present in the raw milk.
Diana says
Just wondering, has anyone tried making quark in their Instant Pot using the “yoghurt” setting?
Linda says
I would be interested to find out about Instant Pot useage, as well. I have a friend who makes several different soft cheeses, using hers, so I will ask her as well.
Angelika says
Hi Linda, did you have a chance by now to ask your friend regarding the Instant Pot usage for cheese. I am interested as well to find out. Thank you in advance.
Rose says
I’ve made Quark using buttermilk in my instant pot, and really liked the flavor. Also, it’s super easy. Just add your milk and hit yogurt and drain it eight hours later.
I tried this recipe with the culture and rennet. For some reason it tasted sour and I ended up dumping the whole thing.
Gabriele says
Thank you for the recipe! – Just ordered rennet and the mesophilic culture. I’ve tried to explain Quark to my cheese making neighbor, but the result didn’t taste quite like what I had hoped. Skyr was the closest thing I could find locally, but it comes in tiny packages and is overpriced for what it is. And the buttermilk here has not much resemblance to what I grew up with either – you’re absolutely correct there. Can’t wait to taste homemade quark!- with strawberries and all the other good stuff that goes so well with it…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Gabriele! Please let us know how it goes!
Richard says
Hi Kimberley
You Write: Quark originates in Germany
Such a nonsense!
Quark is probably the oldest dairy product known to us. Humans have known this by-product of milk for millennia.
It can be assumed that curd has been around since the Neolithic period, because our ancestors started breeding dairy animals in the Neolithic period. Historical finds show typical devices that were necessary for the production of curd cheese. For example, the fresh milk is kept in clay pots, which began to acidify after a few hours at higher temperatures and then turned into lumpy thick milk. This thick milk was now placed in a braided basket. This allowed the whey to drain and a solid mass (the curd) remained.
In Latin script, quark first appeared as “Caseus in formam malae manu pressus”, that is, cheese that was pressed with the hands in the form of an apple. The Germans presented this to the victorious Roman Emperor Julius Caesar as a welcome gift.
Quark appears in one of the first recipe collections of the Heilbronn monastery in the 15th century; there it was mainly prepared with salt, rare fruits and honey.
Quark and its preparation have also been known to the peoples of South and East Asia for thousands of years. This is evident from historical finds of sieve-like devices.
African tribes still used similar curd preparation equipment today. Nomadic tribes from the Orient are also known to have appreciated quark for millennia.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Richard, that is correct – this process of making cheese is age-old and it exists under different names in different countries. What I am sharing here is Germany’s version of this soft cheese product and in Germany it is called “Quark.”
Doris S. Platt says
History is interesting to know and learn about.
Important also is the sharing of recipes.
Thank you, Kimberly, I will certainly be making Quark.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Doris, I hope you enjoy the Quark! :)
Judith Carscadden says
when I lived in Germany in the sixties, i had cheese cake made with quark it was amazing, can’t wait to try it again. thanks for the recipe…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
It’s true, Judith, it’s a very different flavor than the cheesecakes made with cream cheese – I love it German cheesecake!