Making Kefir Cheese aka Quark

Many people from Europe make and love quark which is a type of cheese they use in sweet or savory dishes. Johanna Budwig [from Germany] developer of the Budwig diet is where I first heard of quark. She recommends mixing flax seed oil with quark and eating it to cure different illnesses. Realizing Americans do not eat quark Budwig substituted cottage cheese for the quark in her diet.

After being on the Budwig diet for a while I wondered about making quark and what it would take to do so. Once I started making kefir I thought this would be a good substitute for the cottage cheese in the Budwig diet so I started doing some research and found others were making quark from kefir...imagine my excitement!

The great thing about kefir cheese/quark is that lactose intolerant people can eat it without any problems.

Once you start making more kefir than you can consume this is the perfect way to use it.

This is how I make kefir cheese aka quark.

Take about a quart [32 oz] of fermented kefir.
Pour it into a cotton cheese making bag or square of cotton muslin [placed in a strainer]
Close up the bag or tie up the ends of the muslin
Hang in the the refrigerator over a bowl to catch the whey
Let the whey drain off the kefir for 2 to 4 days depending on how soft you want the cheese
Once it's to the consistency you desire place the finished cheese in a covered bowl and refrigerate

You can use kefir cheese in place of cream cheese or sour cream. I mainly use it with the Budwig diet recipes of which there are many.

Another benefit of making kefir cheese is the very nutritious whey that you have left. You can add berry syrup and stevia to it for a drink or you can make smoothies, soups and breads with it. If you find you do not like whey then feed it to your plants or animals...they will love it!

Enjoy!