Quark?

Adynata
Adynata Posts: 128 Member
edited September 28 in Recipes
Hey everyone. I really like quark cheese, but know very little about what to do with it. I've heard it can be extremely versatile, so I was wondering if anyone had any recipes that use it?

Replies

  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    I eat it as my bedtime snack. I mix frozen blueberries and 1/2 scoop vanilla protein into it.

    I feel like you can use it instead of yogurt or cream cheese in pretty much anything.
  • cuerpito
    cuerpito Posts: 65 Member
    OMG! What can't you do with it! I'm Polish/German and grew up with quark.
    1. Slice it up and eat in on bread.
    2. Make pierogies (the original kind) with potatoes and quark,
    3. Make a salad: shred quark with a fork, add chopped radishes and spring onions, a little sour cream, salt and pepper and have it on bread. Love this!!!
    4. You can also make special Polish or German cheesecake with it.
    5. have it with crepes - mash with a fork, add some sugar/sweetner, berries - optional, a bit of yogurt or sour cream and use it as topping for crepes/large pancakes - that's probably my favorite!!!

    I could go on and on. There is a Polish website I use with recipes and they have 902 recipes that use quark. Add German recipes to it and you'll never be able to cook everything :)

    I frankly have the hardest time to find it in the States. I have to travel over an hour to a town with a Polish neighborhood to get it - sucks! But you can freeze it and use it when you need it!
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Even though this is in the recipes area, I was still expecting a Star Trek question. I should just go ahead and kill myself...
  • a_stronger_steph
    a_stronger_steph Posts: 434 Member
    Which came first, the cheese or the elementary particle? :laugh:
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Even though this is in the recipes area, I was still expecting a Star Trek question. I should just go ahead and kill myself...

    Me too. Don't feel bad. I have never even heard of Quark cheese.
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Even though this is in the recipes area, I was still expecting a Star Trek question. I should just go ahead and kill myself...

    Me too. Don't feel bad. I have never even heard of Quark cheese.

    The saddest thing about it is that I HAVE!
  • Adynata
    Adynata Posts: 128 Member
    Haha. Quark is a lot like cottage cheese but with a very smooth texture. It's very high in protein and low in fat. I am definitely liking the sound of that pancake idea! I'd be interested to see how you could work it in to a cheese cake, though.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Which came first, the cheese or the elementary particle? :laugh:

    :laugh: i needed to bump this thread as not to miss out on more geek humor
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Hi!
  • MissO﹠A
    MissO﹠A Posts: 906 Member
    Hi!

    I hear your voice in my head now and will for the remainder of the evening.
  • cuerpito
    cuerpito Posts: 65 Member
    There are many different recipes for cheesecake. here's one you could try (I'm not good at baking cheesecake - it always collapses when I make it. Mom mom, grandma, or sister can use the same recipe and it will turn out great).

    This recipe is for a high protein, low carb diet and you need to know that I never tried making it before. I just found it on a diet blog that I've been following:

    11 eggs
    1 kg quark
    1 cup of sweetener (surgar for non-diet version)
    1 tablespoon of baking powder
    vanilla or orange extract
    you can also add raisins, nuts, or fruit - for more carbs, if you don't count carbs

    Mix the egg yolks, quark, sweetener, extract, and baking powder in a bowl. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff. Add the mixture to the egg whites and fold carefully.

    Line the baking pan with baking paper (the waxed one for cookies). Bake the entire thing in 175 C (350 F) for 15 -25 minutes. Should the top get too dark, cover it with foil or paper. Then, lower the temperature to 125-150 C (250-300 F) and bake another 30 minutes to achieve a 55 minute bake altogether.

    I will try this recipe next week. So please keep in mind that I've never made it before. But the comments on the blog are great for it. Sorry for the awkward translation :):):)
  • cuerpito
    cuerpito Posts: 65 Member
    One more thing that came to my mind: there is a difference between a German quark and a Polish quark. The German is much much smoother than the Polish. So, if you have the smooth one, just use it for the recipe. If yours is not too smooth - creates small curds when you break it down with a fork, then you need to process the cheese either through a food processor or a meat grinder to achieve the smooth texture. I see you live in UK and not sure what kind they have there.

    Good luck with your cooking!!! Enjoy the quark!
  • TheGoktor
    TheGoktor Posts: 1,138 Member
    Quark the cheese is yummy (is very good in tomato sauce instead of ricotta, for example).

    Quark the Ferengi, OTOH, is not quite so yummy (IMO) but could probably be just as useful, providing there is a liberal dose of oo-mox in the offing!

    :bigsmile:
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    I also thought this was going to be a topic about the Ferengi or the particle. But instead I've learned there is a cheese called Quark that I'd like to try.
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
    I use quark as a substitute for bechamel is lasagne etc. It makes a very good low fat cheese cake as well!
  • Nikipowpez
    Nikipowpez Posts: 60 Member
    .
  • Nikipowpez
    Nikipowpez Posts: 60 Member
    Even though this is in the recipes area, I was still expecting a Star Trek question. I should just go ahead and kill myself...

    I was right there with you. Quark is one of my favorite characters. :laugh:
  • juicygooseface
    juicygooseface Posts: 2
    i mix quark with white chocolate options (40cals ish) and its just like a chocolate cheesecake-beautiful :) x
  • Izzys_mom
    Izzys_mom Posts: 64 Member
    Even though this is in the recipes area, I was still expecting a Star Trek question. I should just go ahead and kill myself...

    That is exactly who I thought of when I saw this question. I would like to see if I can find that here.
  • andreamichelle82
    andreamichelle82 Posts: 324 Member
    Which came first, the cheese or the elementary particle? :laugh:

    Haha, cute :laugh:
  • TheGoktor
    TheGoktor Posts: 1,138 Member
    i mix quark with white chocolate options (40cals ish) and its just like a chocolate cheesecake-beautiful :) x

    Someone told me about that a few years ago, so I tried it.....and I have to say, I found it completely repugnant! :laugh:
  • purplepollypops
    purplepollypops Posts: 323 Member
    I get a low fat digestive biscuit and put it in the bottom of a ramekin pot and then I mix sweetner into the quark with vanilla essence and top the biscuit with it and add some berries on the top and hey presto! A low fat, low cal cheesecake!

    I have also used it instead of cream when cooking sauces and it makes a lovely cream cheese frosting for carrot cake too!
  • purplepollypops
    purplepollypops Posts: 323 Member
    OMG! What can't you do with it! I'm Polish/German and grew up with quark.
    1. Slice it up and eat in on bread.
    2. Make pierogies (the original kind) with potatoes and quark,
    3. Make a salad: shred quark with a fork, add chopped radishes and spring onions, a little sour cream, salt and pepper and have it on bread. Love this!!!
    4. You can also make special Polish or German cheesecake with it.
    5. have it with crepes - mash with a fork, add some sugar/sweetner, berries - optional, a bit of yogurt or sour cream and use it as topping for crepes/large pancakes - that's probably my favorite!!!

    I could go on and on. There is a Polish website I use with recipes and they have 902 recipes that use quark. Add German recipes to it and you'll never be able to cook everything :)

    I frankly have the hardest time to find it in the States. I have to travel over an hour to a town with a Polish neighborhood to get it - sucks! But you can freeze it and use it when you need it!

    Thanks for the tip about freezing it! I've bought it a couple of times recently and forgot it was in the fridge and it has gone past it's best before date!
    Another thing I love about it is that it's so cheap! Only 70p for a 250g pack :smile:
  • iwillsoonbeslim
    iwillsoonbeslim Posts: 283
    Yeah, I didn't know it could be frozen, either. I don't know how many tubs I've had that have hidden in the fridge until reappearing two days after the use by date lol
    Also, I find that most of them (in the UK) are fairly firm in textre, but the one you can get in Morrison's is gorgeous and creamy :)
  • bakebunny
    bakebunny Posts: 253
    I was curious to find out about quark and found this article on how to make it yourself:
    http://www.ehow.com/how_2291303_make-quark-cheese.html
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    bump
  • woodsie1979
    woodsie1979 Posts: 13 Member
    I use it when I mash veg instead of butter or marg, if you add some wholegrain mustard to mash it gives it a lovely flavour.

    You can also use it to make stuffed chicken thighs or breasts instead of full fat cheese, using a small amount of strong flavoured cheese instead, for dishes like Kievs.

    Also you can use it to make low fat cheesecakes, you do need to add geletine to the mix to get it to set but I made a lovely baileys cheesecake for Christmas, which was tasty and a lot lower in fat than using full fat cream cheese.
  • Froggy1976
    Froggy1976 Posts: 472
    Even though this is in the recipes area, I was still expecting a Star Trek question. I should just go ahead and kill myself...

    Me too. Don't feel bad. I have never even heard of Quark cheese.
    Never heard of Quark cheese but don't get the Star Trek reference either. Just looked interesting.
  • Samantharose8akaDebbie
    Samantharose8akaDebbie Posts: 407 Member
    1/4 cup, 30 calories, no fat.......sounds fabulous to me!
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