What Exactly IS Quark?

Have you ever tasted quark? I haven't. What inspired me to make somthing I was so unfamiliar with? I haven't got a clue. Maybe it was because I was on a make-cheese-on-the-furnace kick. But while I am certain that I did not end up with quark, I am positive that I made something tasty. In the end, anyway.

First of all, my only knowledge of quark was from the old stomping grounds. We had a quark souffle at the restaurant that was quite a signature of our up-and-coming Pastry Chef. When the staff would ask, "What is quark?" I would explain that it is a fresh cheese originating from Europe with a texture and flavor between that of a cream cheese and sour cream. I have no idea where I got this explanation. I think I had translated it from chef-speak coming out of the kitchen, or maybe I just made it up all together. But I never tasted it. Wait. Not true, I was given a "taste" by the most humble of proportions; it was so frugle that I was not able to form any new opinions other than those which I had been fed. Like I said, I haven't (really) tasted quark.

And so, I set out to make quark and I'm not quite sure what I ended up with. The texture was very dry (but creamy); I let it drain far too long. It was also rather piquante. As described in one of my cheese making books, quark is less sour than yogurt. I'm not so sure about that in this case. Maybe I let it sit on my furnace for too long, or maybe the excessive draining only exagerrated the present flavors. I've got a whole lot of "maybes" workin' here.

Nonetheless, I decided to doctor things up a bit. Added some dried herbs, salt, cayenne, and a small clove of garlic smashed into a paste. Mixed thoroughly, and voila! I made Rondele (insert trademark here). You know, that whipped, flavored cream cheese-like mixture that you find in the deli section of most grocery stores, is horrendously bad for you, and one of my many junk food weaknesses. This one is similar to the garlic and herb flavor, I'd say.

After sitting in the fridge overnight, allowing the flavors to come together, it was ready to taste. Yum! This stuff goes great with crackers, spread on sandwiches, and hold up(!), I think I found a low-fat substitute for cream cheese (this stuff is made with whole milk instead of cream or half and half). That could get dangerous.

Garlic and Herb Quark
inspired by Making Artisan Cheese by Tim Smith

1 Gal whole milk (non ultra-pasteurized)
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried herbs (your preference – chives, parsley, basil, tarragon, etc.)
1 garlic clove, mashed into a paste*
Pinch cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 microwave safe bowl (no plastic or melamine)
1 instant read thermometer (you can find this in any cooking store, some markets, and online)
2 sq ft (more or less) fine cheesecloth or butter muslin
1 colander
1 bowl (to go under the colander)

1. In a sanitized, microwave safe bowl, heat the milk to 88°F (on 100% power this only takes a few short minutes, check after 2 minutes and then every 30 seconds thereafter). Naturally, if you don’t have a microwave, this can be done in a clean pot and transferred to a sanitized bowl after heating.

2. Stir the buttermilk into the heated milk and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave the milk to ripen at room temperature for 24 hours. *This is where I diverged. I decided to place the bowl in a warm spot, on my furnace (seriously, it’s not that hot), just like I had for the cream cheese I was making at the same time. This could account for the more tart than expected flavor. I made this choice because room temperature in my apartment this time of year is below “room temperature.” I’m wonder if this would have worked at a cooler temperature (?). Try it, get back to me.

3. After 24 hours, check for proper coagulation. Gently lean the bowl on its side; if it does not move, you are ready to move on. If there is still some movement, the cultures need more time to develop; allow the cheese to sit and check it again in 6 to 12 hours. Once you have a firm mixture, move on to the next step.

4. Line a colander placed over a catch bowl with cheesecloth. Spoon half of the curd into the cheesecloth and add a sprinkle roughly ½ tsp of salt over the surface. Then add the remaining curds to the cheesecloth and another ½ tsp of salt.

5. Tie the corners of cheesecloth and together in a knot and hang the bag of curds to drain for 2 hours. Next, transfer the bag back into the colander to finish draining in the refrigerator overnight (or longer if a stiffer, drier texture is desired).

6. Once the cheese has reached the desired texture, remove it from the cheesecloth and place in a clean bowl. Scatter the dried herbs evenly over the surface of the cheese, add the garlic clove, cayenne, salt and black pepper (be conservative - you need less than you think) and mix well. Return the cheese to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, taste again for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.

Hey, if you thought that was easy, try the cream cheese!

*To mash the garlic into a paste (without the help of a garlic press), add a pinch of kosher salt to a roughly chopped garlic clove and mash the garlic between your knife and the cutting board until it is…paste. Or, watch this.

This Cream Cheese Rises to the Top

Now we've got cream cheese! After my last attempt, I was still determined to make a successful batch of cream cheese. This time I used a recipe that was far more simple and it used half-and-half instead of heavy cream (okay, it uses a little cream) as the main ingredient. It required nearly no equipment; time was all I needed. And a bowl. And a warm space. You get the idea...

After heating the half and half, then combining ingredients as necessary, I wrapped the bowl in a bundle of towels and placed it on my heater. I just so happen to have those old-time radiator heaters that provide just the warmth this cheese needs (too bad it's not big enough for the two of us). After about 24 hours, it was ready to drain. The recipe indicated that the cheese be drained in the refrigerator, but per the usual, I forgot about that part and allowed it to drain on my counter for about 12 hours. I reread the recipe at that point and then moved it into the colder environment of the fridge for another day and a half. While that sounds like alot of time, I was going for a stiffer consistency and it drained very slowly after the first couple of hours.

When it was time, I removed the cheese from the cloth and noticed that there was clear separation of the fat within the ball of cheese. I had to get that back in there, back together. Now, given my last experience, when I ended up making butter (practically) out of my cream cheese, I was a little reluctant. But I'm dealing with half and half in this instance, after all, so get stirrin'! I added salt, but only to enhance the flavor, you couldn't taste it.

And let me tell you. Wow. Creamy, spreadable (not as hard and thick as store bought), delicious. I had so much, I decided to divide the batch and add herbs to my schmear. But one can not live on cream cheese alone (but I did live on cream cheese and crackers for a couple of days); luckily I have a live-in baker. Homemade everything bagels, yeeayah! It just doesn't get much better than this.









Cream Cheese
adapted from Making Artisan Cheese by Tim Smith

4 cups half and half (non-ultrapasteurized)
1 cup heavy cream (non-ultrapasteurized)
2 tablespoons buttermilk
Salt
Herbs (optional)

1 microwave safe bowl (no plastic or melamine)
1 instant read thermometer (you can find this in any cooking store, some markets, and online)
1 colander
1 bowl (to go under the colander) 2 sq ft (more or less) fine cheesecloth or butter muslin


1. Combine the half and half and cream in a sanitized, microwave safe bowl. Heat the milk to 90°F (on 100% power this only takes a few short minutes, check after 2 minutes and then every 30-60 seconds thereafter).

2. Stir the buttermilk into the heated cream mixture and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Wrap some kitchen towels snugly around the bowl, this will insulate the bowl and help the cream maintain its temperature. Keep the bowl in a warm place and allow it to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.

3. After 24 hours, check the cream mixture for proper coagulation. Gently lean the bowl on its side; if it does not move, you are ready to move on. If there is still some movement, the cultures need more time to develop; allow the cheese to sit and check it again in 6 to 12 hours. Once you have a firm mixture, move on to the next step.

4. Line a colander placed over a catch bowl with cheesecloth. Spoon half of the curd into the cheesecloth and add a sprinkle of salt (roughly ½ tsp) over the surface. Then add the remaining curds to the cheesecloth and another sprinkle of salt.

5. Tie the corners of cheesecloth together in a knot and hang the bag of curds* to drain for 2 hours. Next, transfer the bag back into the colander to finish draining in the refrigerator for 36-48 hours longer, depending on the consistency you are looking for. To finish, add seasonings as desired (or none at all) and enjoy! Keep in a sealed container in the fridge up to two weeks (if you can get it to last that long).


*For tips on draining, read the recipe at the end of this post.

They Must Do Things Differently in Philly

I wanted to make cream cheese. I love cream cheese. For the most part, I try to stay away from the stuff. Technically, I just don't buy it. But I eat it (when the opportunity presents itself in the form of bagels and cream cheese in the office, mail order cheesecake, etc).

Between two books, I've got five recipes. Hmmm, where to begin. Naturally, I thought the more cream the better, so I chose the recipe for Swiss-style cream cheese. This particular recipe is a bit more complicated than some of the others, but I let the ingredients lead the way, nothing but cream. Don't you make cream cheese out of cream? It's not called half-and-half cheese.

As instructed, I heated the cream to 65 degrees using the ol' microwave method that I love so much (it is my preferred method for making goat cheese; we'll go into more detail later). I then added the necessary starter culture and rennet, covered the bowl of cream with plastic wrap and set it aside for 24 hours (or so). After that period of time, the cream was ready to drain. Half the cream goes in the cheese cloth, then a sprinkle (well, a teaspoon) of salt, then the remaining curds, and another teaspoon of salt. I was leery of the salt. I couldn't imagine salted cream cheese tasting good, but the recipe indicated it was present to help the cream drain, so I did as I was told.

After draining the curds required a short amount of time under pressure, though not much (time or pressure). Then it was time for the unveiling. I should've taken a picture; it was so pretty. But as anyone who loves putting that first dent into the fresh jar of peanut butter knows, I couldn't resist getting a taste before the cheesecloth was even off. Wow. Rich creamy, and buttery. Really buttery. In fact, I shouldn't have done what I then did: stirred vigorously. While my intentions were good (make it smooth and creamy) I wasn't thinking that when you beat cream (as I did, essentially) you get butter.

I kept eating it, thinking, "This tastes kinda like butter." Hmm. Them I toasted some crumpets and applied generously, thinking, "This kinda melts like butter." I don't know, maybe I just made butter. Given that I don't know what "Swiss-style" cream cheese tastes like and I gave a good whipping to a batch of cultured cream, I think that's precisely what I made. Cultured butter, I decided.

Note to self: not only was the salt in the recipe undetectable, I would've liked more.

And what does one do with slightly sour, very rich, yummy butter? Why, bake, of course! I decided to play up that tang and make buttermilk scones. Now I don't pat myself on the back often, but hoo! These were (are) probably the the tastiest, most tender, moist, delicious scones I have ever made. They even had that slightly crispy outer crust holding in all that soft, steamy goodness. Add a slap of that cultured butter, and you've got something magical. And gone.

Buttermilk Scones
adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

3 cups AP flour
1/3 cup sugar
2½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
6 oz cultured butter, cold
1 cup buttermilk (approximately)

2 oz cultured butter, melted
¼ cup sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 425°

In a medium bowl, stir the dry ingredients together with a fork. Cut or break apart the cold butter into small pieces with a fork (or knife) and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients by pinching and flattening it together until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Don’t worry about a few stray pieces of butter larger than the others, this will add to the scones’ flakiness.

Pour in 1 cup of buttermilk and mix with a fork just until the ingredients are just moistened. Though dough will look rough and soft, but if it looks dry, add another tablespoon of buttermilk. Gather the dough together and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead gently (gently!) and briefly, only about a dozen times (or less, even). Divide the dough in half and pat the dough into a ½” thick circle, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar, and cut into triangles. Repeat with the other half. Place the scones on an ungreased baking sheet and bake until the tops are golden 10-12 minutes (if you follow the recipe, or longer if you weren’t paying attention like I wasn’t and patted the whole sum of dough into a 1” thick shape of some sort cut into triangles of various sizes that took much longer to bake but turned out beautifully just the same).

Serve warm. And if you must keep longer than one day (impossible!) freeze airtight and reheat on a baking sheet at 350° for 5 minutes.