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What the Heck is Quark?
Quark is a thick, soured, high-protein dairy curd that resembles a French fromage blanc. It puts regular, store-bought Greek yogurt to shame and brings three metabolic weapons in one serving.
Why I Started Making Quark
I make lots of tasty treats like dips, etc., out of Super Quark these days, and you’ll find these here in the fermented section of the WRC, but the main reason I started making Quark is because I get hungry around 9:30 at night, especially on my heavier training session days. I needed something to eat before bed that would be highly fueling for my lean body mass but would be extremely FP. Oh, and it had to be creamy… because I love that! I can’t sleep as well when I go to bed hungry, and I also love another protein-fueling opportunity to get in before I sleep, especially one that is designed to thwart any breaking down of precious muscle tissue while I sleep. Super Quark is “super” rich in calcium, too, which helps the brain turn tryptophan into the sleep hormone melatonin.
I’m not suggesting you do as I do and shortly before bed if you are not already in the habit of it. If you have not yet built back your CLBM, that may not be a good idea for your particular body. My CLBM is robust, however, so I need another fueling before sleep. On the other hand, you can also look at it this way… even if you don’t have fully adequate CLBM, yet you find yourself snacking in the late evening… Super Quark is likely a far smarter option for your body in the evening than whatever else you may be snacking on. A ½ - 1 cup serving in the form of my Tricked Out Super Quark recipe could do your body amazingly good and perhaps help you reach your healthiest weight and body composition in a swifter fashion.
I don’t always have Super Quark made and ready for my late evenings, so for ease, I sometimes buy organic grass-fed casein protein powder to chug down before bed, but it is nowhere near as yummy, and it doesn’t have any probiotic benefits as my Quark does. Of course… after all my words about having it before bed… there are many other times in the day you can eat it. It makes a great snack or protein addition to any meal. It is also great for those who take a no-special-ingredients approach and who don’t want to use powders to up their protein intake.
The Happy Mistake Reason I switched to L. Reuteri Quark…
I began Quark making using kefir because I hadn’t even started making L. Reuteri yogurt back then… and you can find that kefir version in this section, too. But now I’ve switched to being mostly an L. Reuteri Quark kind of girl because it is quicker and easier. Last year, I began making L. Reuteri Yogurt for all of its mood, brain, and lean body mass benefits, but I made a mistake. I fed it a bit too much inulin, and my yogurt wanted to separate too much! At first, this annoyed me, but then I realized it enabled me to make instant Quark! I was still intent on getting perfect yogurt, though, so I contacted our friend Donna Schwenk over at Cultured Food Life, who is an expert in all things L. Reuteri to help me get my yogurt working properly again. She helped me figure things out. After some time, though, I realized I love the Quark version of L. Reuteri more than the yogurt itself. So, I went back to making my initial mistake, this time on purpose, and Super Quark L. Reuteri Style is my jive now. In this recipe, I’ll teach you how to make Quark via my happy mistake way or via the traditional way if that pleases you more.
As I mentioned, I have a recipe for Super Quark Kefir Style, too, so check that out if you’re not yet into making L Reuteri. These days, I find making Quark out of L. Reuteri yogurt far more often because of how it decisively separates during its 36-hour fermentation and how this separation is actually a blessing! It forms very decisive curds and whey layers (far more than my kefir does), so there is barely any waiting time to achieve thick and creamy Quark. I call this my “Quick Quark Method.” I’ll also outline the Traditional Quark Method if you want to make a well-working L. Reuteri Yogurt. Donna allowed us to share her recipe for that with you. I have added my notes to that recipe on how to make the same happy mistake I did so your L. Reuteri yogurt can be feisty like mine.
Note – Unlike my kefir-based Super Quark recipe where I suggest using a full gallon of kefir at a time, I only use a couple of quarts at a time for this yogurt version. I don’t throw the leftover whey away but use it as a drink or for other purposes. I loved adding TH ESSENTIAL to leftover whey for a healing, insulin-sensitizing, protein-boosting beverage that I call the Insulin Sensitizing Mocktail.
~ Serene
Quark is “super” rich in a slow-digesting protein called casein that keeps amino acids on drip into your bloodstream for hours. This version is made from L. Reuteri Yogurt and is fantastic for lowering blood sugar and feeding muscles over longer periods of not eating… such as the late evening and sleep hours. It is also a great option when you’re ready for something more substantial, such as taking TH ESSENTIAL after a workout. This keeps muscles fueled and happy for longer. This recipe is part of the Wisdom Recipe Collection.
Kitchen Utensils Needed (see our brand recommendations HERE)
Once chilled, the curd part of the yogurt will be firmer. You’ll be able to obtain quick Quark with no cheesecloth needed, but you must not stir the thick curds back together with the whey! Remove the jar from the fridge. Put the fine mesh sieve over a bowl. If you have some great separation going, get a slotted spoon and carefully help the curds into the fine mesh sieve, trying to keep most of the liquid whey in the jar. Allow the curds to sit in the sieve for a few minutes to really drain well. Don’t stir them with a spoon in the sieve as you do when harvesting kefir. Just allow them to sit for a small while without touching them.
Once any remaining whey has been fully strained out, what is left in your sieve will be thick and creamy Quark… it’s ready! Transfer this thick casein protein into a smaller glass jar to keep in your fridge for when you want to make a muscle-nurturing, blood sugar-stabilizing, gut-healing treat. (Just remember to keep 1 Tbs per jar of whey and 1 Tbs per jar of curds to combine back together and use to keep your yogurt remaking itself for the next time.)
You’ll still have whey in your jar, and it might have some leftover curds. Pour this into your sieve, let any thick white part sit for a time without touching it again—say 5-10 minutes—and then add it to your jar of Quark. Pour the remaining whey into another jar to be used for other purposes, such as the Insulin Sensitizing Mocktail.
Make some room in your fridge for this ensemble and let it sit in the refrigerator to let all the whey slowly drip through. It takes about a 12 – 24-hour period for this to fully occur. If things are not going fast enough for you, after several hours, you can fold the cheesecloth over the curds and place a couple of cans over the top to weigh things down more. At the end of the straining process, if the Quark in your cheesecloth still feels a little too wet and loose for your liking (it should be thick and creamy), you may have to gather the sides of the cheesecloth and give it a gentle squeeze to help things along. Just make sure you are not squeezing actual curds through. The liquid you squeeze through should only be thin whey.