Crazy Sales Suggest Superfood Quark Could Be The Answer To Fat Free Baking

Sales of Quark have sky rocketed in the last year, which begs the questions - what exactly is it?

And is it really good for us?

Increasingly Popular

Over the last year, sales of quark have shot up by 40 per cent. We Britons have forked out a whopping £8.5 million in the last 12 months, a leap of £2.3 million from the year before.

This is possibly because, where previously the ingredient was only widely available in Germany, now more and more British retailers are offering it to their customers.

We imagine that it also has something to do with its reputation for being one of the healthiest baking ingredients on the market.

Let's take a look at quark in more depth...

What Is It?

Conducting a quick survey among the Lifestyle team here at Yahoo, most of us had assumed that quark was an engineered dairy alternative, a bit like tofu, designed to supply protein to vegetarians and vegans.

We were wrong.

Quark, despite sounding like something Mork might have brought back from the planet Ork, is actually a very simple, completely natural dairy product.

A form of cheese, essentially, but fresh, un-aged, and much lower in fat.

It is traditionally made by using pasteurised milk, and then adding a special blend of bacteria cultures.

It is light, white, creamy and, though similar, does not have the sour taste of many natural yogurts or cottage cheeses.

What Is The Difference Between Quark And Cream Cheese?

Quark is soft, white and un-aged, very similar to fromage frais and cream cheese, but it is not the same.

Typically, quark is made from pasteurised, skimmed milk and has nothing other than good bacteria added to it.

Often, cream cheeses are made from a base of whole milk, and have creams and salts added to them.

Is It Really A Healthy Alternative?

Well, it is still a dairy product, so for those of us with dairy intolerances, or for vegans, it is pretty useless.

BUT - if you are looking for healthy cooking ingredient, to use as an alternative to butters, creams and fatty cheeses, it really might be worth looking into quark!

In 100 grams, quark has one gram more protein than cottage cheese, but almost 10 grams more protein than natural yogurt.

The best thing about quark, though, is its comparatively low fat content.

In 100 grams, it has just 0.2 grams of fat.

So yes, in short, it is a healthier alternative to many cheeses and yogurts.

How Can I Use It?

Many people, concerned with getting more protein into their diets - either to aid muscle development post-workouts, or just throughout the day - choose cottage cheese as a healthy snack.

Quark can be used in exactly the same way - as it has a protein content to rival cottage cheese, but a lower fat content.

Otherwise, quark can be used in place of other dairy ingredients in many recipes, to provide healthier end results.

Here are a couple of ways of using quark:

Quark American Pancakes

Courtesy of the lovely people over at LakeDistrictQuark.co.uk.

• 2 eggs separated

• 1 tsp icing sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 50g The Lake District Dairy Co. Quark

• 80ml of milk

• 100g plus of plain flour (extra if needed)

• 1/4tsp baking powder

• Tray of blueberries

Whisk the egg whites separately from the other ingredients, to make them nice and fluffy.

Using quark instead of creme fraiche in this recipe results in 177 fewer calories!

Woot!

Lemon Quark Cheesecake

Again from Lake District Quark.

Biscuit base:

• 175g digestive biscuits, finely crushed

• 75g butter, melted

Cheesecake:

• 225g ripe strawberries, hulled and halved

• 5 small gelatine leaves, softened in cold water for 5 mins

• 500g The Lake District Dairy Co. Quark

• 100ml whipping cream

• 1 egg white (30g), optional but will give a lighter result

• 75g caster sugar

• Extra halved strawberries, to serve

Using quark instead of cream cheese in this recipe means 247 fewer calores!

Huzzah!

[Seven Healthy Supplements You Need To Take This Autumn]

[Nine of the Best Coffee Hacks To Perk Up Your Cuppa-Joe]

So, what's the verdict? Will you try quark instead of other, fattier ingredients? Let us know in the comments!