Cheese Database

Quark vs Tvorog

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.

Tvorog, field guide plate
Tvorog, photographed

Tvorog

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Fresh
Type
Fresh
Rind
No rind
Country
Russia

Tvorog is a fresh white curd cheese from Russia. Makers set cow's milk, drain the curd, and sell it without a rind or a long aging step. The paste may be creamy and spreadable or dry and crumbly, depending on how firmly it was pressed. People in Russia eat it plain, sweet, or savory, and they cook with it often. It belongs with quark and other fresh curds, not with hard wheels.