German Quark

 
 

Please note: If you are planning to make yogurt with raw milk, please refer to our raw milk yogurt guide. We recommend activating your yogurt cultures with pasteurized milk. Ideally, You will also culture the next three batches with pasteurized milk; your cultures have been dormant, so it’s gentlest to give the little guys a chance to wake up and thrive.

NOTE: In some cases, your culture will be a bit sluggish when you first activate it. You’ll know this happened if it is too thin or runny, or if it has some lumps and some milk. Just keep keepin’ on, and it should be ducky by the the third batch. Don’t forget to check out our FAQ for answers to common issues!

 
 

 Activating The Mesophilic Quark Starter Culture

  1. Empty entire packet of starter culture into a clean jar.

  2. Pour 1/2 cup pasteurized milk over cultures stir well and let sit for a few minutes to re-hydrate. Alternatively, you can further crush the cultures prior to adding to the milk.

  3. Stir well again and cover with a tight weave, breathable cloth secured with a rubber band. (A coffee filter works well here.)

  4. Culture at room temperature between 70-78 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 48 hours. Once it thickens OR at the end of 48 hours (whichever comes first), place in refrigerator for 6 hours.

  5. It’s OK if it’s still liquid. Use the liquid to make your next batch. The consistency will improve over the next few batches.

  6. Please refer to the instructions below as they differ slightly after activation. You may want to ferment small batches for the first few rounds to make sure the culture is not overwhelmed while all the bacteria wake up.

Making Regular Batches Of German Quark

The ratio for mesophilic yogurt is 1 TBS of quark per cup of milk.

Optional, but highly recommended: Gently heat 4 cups of milk to 180 degrees Fahrenheit and cool to room temperature. (70-78 degrees Fahrenheit)

  1. Pour 4 cups of pasteurized milk into a clean glass jar.

  2. Next mix in 4 TBS of yogurt starter from your last batch. Make sure its not older than 7 days.

  3. Stir well and cover with a breathable cloth secured by a rubber band.

  4. Let ferment at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. Depending on the ambient temperature, it could take up to 24 hours for the quark to ferment fully.

  5. Pre-heat oven to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Once up to temperature, TURN OFF the oven. Place the quark on a baking sheet and place in the warm oven for 30-45 minutes.

  6. The quark is done when it is set and pulls away from the jar when slightly tilted.

  7. Place in the refrigerator for six hours to help further set the quark. You can strain some whey from the quark before or after refrigerating the quark.

  8. Be sure to reserve a few tablespoons of quark prior to eating for your next batch.

Tip And Tricks

Should you have any problems with your quark starter, please email us prior to throwing the starter away.

We can probably help you save it.

  • This type of culture can be used over and over again…indefinitely. This means that if you take care of your culture, you never have to buy quark again. To keep your culture viable and in optimal health, you must try to make your next batch of quark within 5-7 days. After that time frame, the culture will start to die off and may not be healthy enough to re-culture. This is particularly an issue if it happens often.

  • You can definitely add the culture as is to your milk or you can further crush the culture. If you decide to crush it even further, make sure to do this while the culture is still frozen from the freezer.

  • Letting the dried cultures come to room temperature prior to adding to milk helps them incorporate better.

  • Mesophilic quark thrives at room temperature between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything below 70 and the culture will be sluggish and anything higher than 80 will cause the yogurt to over ferment and separate into curds and whey. Both temperature extremes may weaken or kill the culture.

  • A note regarding the activation batch: The ferment time will differ from regular batches. The first batch is complete once it changes texture and thickens OR at the end of 48 hours. Do not let it go the 48 hours if it has thickened; doing so will cause it to separate. You can save a separated yogurt! Stir and refrigerate the quark for 6 hours and stir again. Use that to make your next batch and keep an eye on it. Once quark separates we find it will WANT to separate again. Catch the ferment before separation and you should be good.

  • Remember to keep a distance of 4-5 feet between ferments to avoid cross contamination.

  • Every once and a while (especially during seasonal changes) the quark may be runnier than usual or not fermenting like it should. That’s perfectly fine. As with people, seasonal changes can make ferments a bit fussy. Keep culturing until the quark stabilizes.

  • We like to ferment our quark in glass mason jars secured with a white plastic lid. You can find silicone sealing rings for the plastic lids on amazon. Quark cultures do not need oxygen like kombucha does, so using a lid helps keep the wild yeasts in the environment from infiltrating the quark cultures. A small fido jar works well too!