In an (undated, from the 1980s) article from the New York Times, Marian
Burros wrote about Quark. She notes that although there are many
definitions of quark in food encyclopedias, the basic definition is a soft,
acid-cured cheese originally from Central Europe. It can be made with skim
or whole milk. It's often compared to cottage cheese, but "looks nothing
like American cottage cheese. It is probably closer to the farmer cheese
sold here, but even that is not an appropriate comparison. Quark has the
same sharpness characteristic of cottage cheese but is very creamy. And, it
has only half the calories of cream cheese, making it a good alternative in
recipes."
She provided the following cheesecake recipe (my comments in parentheses)
Crust:
1 3/4 cups crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup butter (substitute liquid Butter Buds to moisten)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Thoroughly blend the ingredients and line the bootom of a 9-inch
springform pan.
Filling and topping:
2 1/2 lb quark, divided
4 eggs (or equivalent substitute)
3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine 1/2 lb (24 ounces) quark, eggs, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla
and beat in electric mixer at medium speed about 10 minutes, until mixture
is light.
Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.
Cool for 35 minutes. While cooling, raise oven to 400 degrees and beat the
remaining 16 ounces of quark and 6 tablespoons sugar together until light.
Pour over the top of the cooled cake, and bake at 400 degrees for
10 minutes.
Cool and refrigerate ovenight for 8 hours or overnight.
Yield 14 to 16 servings.
I moved from College Station in 1990, so I don't know if the Texas A&M
"Meat Store" on West Campus still sells quark -- but it was delicious!
Elsa Kapitan-White <kapitan-white@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Schlumberger Oilfield Marketing Services
225 Schlumberger Drive, Sugar Land, TX 77478
(713)275-7563, fax -8545
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