Cheese Database

Cream cheese vs Quark

Cream cheese, field guide plate
Cream cheese, photographed

Cream cheese

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Fresh
Type
Fresh
Rind
No rind
Country
United States

Cream cheese is a fresh, rich cow's-milk cheese set with acid. It was developed in the United States in the late nineteenth century, and it is made to spread.

Quark, field guide plate
Quark, photographed

Quark

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Fresh
Type
Fresh
Rind
No rind
Country
Germany

Quark is a fresh acid-set cheese from Germany, made from cow's milk and eaten soon after the curd is drained. The body is smooth and spoonable, closer to a thick soft cheese than to a sliced wheel. Rennet is slight or absent, so the set comes from lactic acid rather than from a long press. German cooks keep it for savory spreads and for baking. It has no rind, and it is not aged into a hard cheese.