For my first cheesemaking experiment aboard, I started with Quark, a very simple soft cheese that is the oldest form of cheese in Europe. Most of the cheese recipes in “Home Cheese Making” by Ricki Carroll start with a gallon of milk. To make things easier on myself, I had purchased a bunch of 4 liter packets of Nido so I only had to measure 3600 ml of water into my pan and pour in the packet of milk powder. The first thing I discovered is that my go-to large saucepan is not large enough to hold a gallon of milk! So, I dragged out the stockpot that came with our cookwear set – the only pot on the boat that is rarely used.
Stirring the buttermilk starter into the warmed milk.
For Quark, I only had to heat the milk to 88 degrees, or about 10 degrees above the temperature at which the water comes out of the tap. That took just a couple of minutes in spite of the quantity of liquid. When it reached temperature, I immediately removed the stockpot from the heat, and stirred in a packet of direct-set buttermilk starter (available from Ricki the Cheese Queen). Then I put the cover on the pot and shoved it to the back of the stove and left it to culture for 24 hours.
The next day, the large stockpot was full of very soft curds. I was expecting more of a separation between the curds and whey, which would have reduced the volume I needed to drain. Luckily, I have two colanders aboard – one large and one medium-sized. I made my next mistake when I lined them with the butter muslin (very fine cheesecloth). I planned to use a double layer with a slight overhang of the colander rim. I quickly discovered that I needed more overhang so that I could form the butter muslin into a bag and tie off the neck to drain the curds. So, I scraped the curds back into the pot, unfolded the muslin and started again.
Curds of Quark formed as the milk rested overnight.
The directions called to drain the curds overnight in the fridge. Well, I can tell you right now: in a crowded boat fridge, that ain’t happenin’! The recipe suggested that you can speed up the draining process by putting a container of water atop the muslin bag of curds. So, that’s what I did, leaving the cheese to drain for several hours. By that time, the cheese had a nice consistency – enough body to hold its shape, but soft enough to mix in other ingredients. My total yield was a little less than two pounds, or about 5 cups. The recipe said that yield would be 1 – 1 ½ pounds, so I may not have drained it as much as the book calls for.
After draining, the Quark has a smooth and firm texture.
Quark is pretty bland on its own, so I divided it into smaller batches to try different combinations of additives to make spreads for crackers, toast, sandwiches, etc. We found that the Quark softened but did not melt when heated, making it good for fillings. Here are some of the things we tried:
Honey-Walnut Spread: we wanted a sweet spread to use on toast at breakfast, so I toasted and finely chopped some walnuts, and mixed it into the Quark with a little salt, some honey, and a bit of cinnamon. I didn’t try to measure; I just started with a glob of Quark and kept adding the ingredients a little at a time until I liked the taste. This one was definitely a keeper.
Herbed Quark: I took another glob of Quark and mixed it with salt and a good amount of herbs. You could use any herbs you like and have on hand. I wanted an Herbs de Provence kind of taste, so added basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, tarragon, and lavender. Okay, I’m kind of an herb and spice nut, so I have WAY more herbs than the usual cruising boat. We used this mixture both as a spread on crackers and as a filling for omelets. Very nice! And thanks to Nicki on S/V Seychelles for another use: she stuffed chicken breasts with the Herbed Quark, wrapped them in foil, and cooked them on the grill. Yum!
Quark with Black Olives and Walnuts: I toasted and chopped some walnuts, chopped some black olives, and mixed them into Quark with a bit of salt. This one was very popular as a spread on crackers at one of our Friday night raft-ups in Tenacatita.
Spicy Quark with Pickled Jalapenos and Onions: Some salt, and a bit of finely minced pickled jalapenos and pickled red onions made Quark into a spicy but tasty spread for crackers. Definitely a bit of a bite, but not over the top.
BOTTOM LINE: The Quark was a great experiment, and made a wonderful cheesy base to work with. Realistically, it’s probably more trouble that most cruisers will put up with. But if you’re the adventurous type, or just desperate for a new cruising appetizer, give it a try!
| Quark Making Illustrated | |
 Preparing to make Quark: thermopen,measuring cup, whisk, buttermilk starter, and Nido (milk powder). |
 Packet of Buttermilk starter from Ricki the Cheese Queen. |
 Quark resting overnight off heat. |
 A colander is lined with butter muslin to accept the curds. |
 Scooping the curds into a butter muslin lined colander. |
 The corners of the butter muslin are gathered and tied into a bag. |
 The bag of Quark is allowed to drain in a colander. |
 A container of water placed on the bag speeds drainage of the whey. |
 Quark mixed with various add-ins makes a great appetizer. |
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