346 Chapter 13
Quark ManufactureThe basic production procedure for quark
cheese is similar to that of cottage cheese
except that quark manufacture includes a pre -
acidifi cation step, whereas cottage cheese
manufacture includes washing the curd. The
procedure includes skim milk preparation,
pasteurization, culturing and fermentation,
whey separation, and creaming of the quark
produced. Skimming of whole milk is aimed
to separate 40% of its butterfat leaving skim
milk containing less than 0.05% butterfat
(Winwood 1983 ). Pasteurization of the skim
milk at 72 ° C (162 ° F) for 15 seconds followed
by cooling to 22 ° C to 23 ° C (72 ° F to 73 ° F) is
particularly important because quark, like
cottage cheese, is a high - moisture soft, fresh
cheese.
The milk is inoculated with 1% to 2%
bulk starter culture consisting of lactic - acid -
producing bacteria, Str. lactis or Str. cremoris
(Winwood 1983 ). Flavor - producing starter
such as Str. diacetylactis is commonly used
for the release of fl avor (Walstra et al. 2006 ).
Incubation of the mix is carried out at 22 ° C
to 23 ° C (72 ° F to 73 ° F) for 16 to 18 hours
(Winwood 1983 ), although this process may
be conducted at a higher temperature (Walstra
et al. 2006 ) of 30 ° C (86 ° C) with 5% starter
inoculum to speed up the fermentation.
Rennet (approximately 0.5% to 2% of the
skim milk) usually is added 60 minutes after
inoculation with starter cultures (Winwood
1983 , Farkye 2007 ). Rennet enhances protein
destabilization by raising the pH at which a
fi rm coagulum is formed, usually from about
4.6 to between 4.7 and 4.8. It also facilitates
easy draining of whey, produces a fi rmer curd
and better fi nal product (Winwood 1983 ,
Walstra et al. 2006 ), and increases yield
(Sohal et al. 1988 ).
The whey is separated when the pH has
dropped to a value between 4.6 and 4.7. At
this pH and low temperature the curd exhibits
little syneresis. The addition of a high level
of rennet can cause premature syneresis,curry leaf, spinach, and aonla as sources
of antioxidants to make herbal sandesh, a
value - added health food (Bandyopadhyay
et al. 2007 ).
Quark
Quark is a natural fresh, soft cheese made
from skim milk with the specifi c organoleptic
characteristics of a milky white color, soft
body, smooth texture, good spreadability, no
appearance of water or whey on its surface,
and a clean but mild acidic fl avor. Because it
is made from skim milk, quark is a casein -
coagulated, low - fat fresh cheese with a high
moisture content (Winwood 1983 ). Quark,
also known as quarq, originated from bag
cheese, and it is still produced in that way
sometimes (Walstra et al. 2006 ). It originated
from central Europe and is prepared in bag
with different shapes such as the traditional
wedge shape of Polish twar ó g.
Quark Formulation
Pasteurized skim milk is the raw material in
the basic production of quark. Lactic - acid -
producing bacteria such as Str. lactis or Str.
cremoris are usually used. Flavor - producing
organisms such as Str. diacetylactis also can
be used (Winwood 1983 ). The starter is 1%
to 2% (Walstra et al. 2006 , Farkye 2007 );
however, 5% starter can be used to reduce the
fermentation time to about 5 to 6 hours
(Winwood 1983 ).
In recent decades other cultures have been
used, including yogurt, acidophilus and but-
termilk cultures. The yogurt culture consists
of Str. thermophilus and Lb. delbrueckii
subsp. bulagaricus isolated from commercial
yogurt. The acidophilus strain consists of Lb.
acidophilus , and the buttermilk culture con-
sists of Str. lactis , Str. cremoris , and Leuc.
cremoris (Shah et al. 1990 ). Rennet is some-
times added to produce a fi rmer product
(Walstra et al. 2006 ), although it may cause
bitterness (Sohal et al. 1988 ).