Quark (Homemade Cheese)

I am German, living in the US, and I was very excited to try this. I left it on the counter over night, and in the fridge all day. What I ended up with is sour cream. I followed the recipe exactly. So now here's my dilemma, how do I rate it? If I judge it as Quark, it's a complete failure and zero stars. If I judge it as sour cream, it gets a solid 4 stars, it's very good. Although I was not able to make Quark, I now know how to make my own sour cream. Not a total loss there.

Made this cheese according to directions. After the recommended time, I strained the thickened liquid but almost all drained through the cheesecloth. I've made cheese before so I thought it should at least have some solidity when draining the whey through the cheesecloth. I then left the mixture for two days at room temperature; then strained it through the cheesecloth and that did the trick! The taste is kind of bland so I added a little salt for flavor. Now it tastes like soft cheese - great on crackers with toppings like fruit or herbs. So I rated it four stars for taste and texture but only after doing my own thing.

I fell in love with Quark on a recent trip to Germany. Not being able to buy it here at home, I set out to learn how to make it on my own. This recipe turned out perfect. It tastes exactly like what I had in Germany. I will be making this again and again.

I followed the directions using homemade buttermilk ( i don't mean that I have a cow! I mean I've made buttermilk from a starter I've been using continuously for about a year) About 2/3 of the final product is whey but that's okay, very useful stuff. I strained in cheese cloth, squeezed a bit then hung the little ball over the sink. We've been eating it with salty flat pretzels, tasty! For other purposes it might need a bit more salt, or it could go the other way toward sweet. Thanks for the recipe.

This recipe worked great with the only modification being that I had to let it stand longer after adding buttermilk. I live in cold climate and my buttermilk and milk mixture took two days to solidify properly. Also, make sure to drain off whey long enough to get authentic quark flavor and texture. Now I can be transported back to great memories of my childhood in Germany! Thank you for this recipe. I am already making my second batch.

I have made this many times and made a couple mistakes. I want to share them so you don't make the same ones.
1. make sure to heat the milk enough. I have under heated the milk and it takes forever to make the cheese. Start with lowest setting on stove, then gradually increase to 2 (low). it will take some time to heat but this works best. Stir occasionally.
2. Allow the milk to fully cool to room temp, about 4 hours. Add the buttermilk too soon = no cheese.
3. Put it in the oven with the light on. It's just enough heat to allow the process to work. can take from 8-12 hours. once you see the greenish way liquid you can start straining.
4. Do NOT use cheese cloth. It is too porous. Use a bread makers towel, T-shirt, or pillow case. It will take 8-10 hours to drain. You will need to empty the way depending on how big your drain pan is.

I make a batch with 1 gallon of milk and 1 quart of buttermilk, so I don't like mistakes.
Then it's German cheese cake time. :-)

The first time I made this, it was for a cheesecake I planned on making, and it came out perfectly. However, I recommend that rather than letting the simmered milk cool to room temp before adding the buttermilk, you should add it when it is still slightly warm. The formation of curds is supposed to occur in order to get a desirable consistency.

Of all the recipes I've found to make quark this is the easiest and yields a great product. A word of caution: using ultra-pasturized milk from the store gives mixed results. I've been using powdered milk lately and the results so far are excellent!