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.
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!
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.
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