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Quark, The Perfect Sour Cream Substitute | Healthy Food of the Day

March 21, 2008 on 2:19 pm | By Matt | In Healthy Eating |

Quark cheese is a healthy substitute for sour cream that’s low in fat, high in protein and tastes great! 

Love sour cream heaped on baked potatoes, nachos or even in your favorite veggie dip but hate the high fat and high calories?

It’s time for you to discover the wonders of Quark, a thick yogurt-type cheese. Quark is a great, healthy substitute for sour cream in terms of both flavor and consistency, and blows it out of the water on the nutritional front. 

Okay, so it has a funny name. But once you get past that, Quark deserves a spot in the refrigerator of anyone who is interested in healthy eating.

So what is Quark and why should I make it a regular part of my daily diet?

Traditional Quark is a fresh cheese from Central Europe.  It can be solid (but soft), or thick and creamy (like sour cream.) Historically, it’s been made with whole milk, which of course means it has full-fat as well. However, a number of companies have recently introduced Quark made from low-fat or fat-free milk, which makes it a very healthy alternative to things like sour cream and even cream cheese.  It’s similar to yogurt cheese or Greek strained yogurt, but a bit thicker and richer in taste. This makes it perfect as a sour cream substitute.

The primary manufacturer of Quark for sale in grocery stores is Appel Farms in Ferndale, WA.  They offer it in three varieties: a full-fat version, low-fat version and fat-free version. The full-fat you’ll want to pass on, but the other two are outstanding additions to a healthy diet. If your local grocer doesn’t carry it, consider asking them to. It’s worth the trouble. Or you can buy it online at German Deli.

How Healthy Is It?

Aside from the fantastic taste and consistency, Quark is great, low-fat, high protein substitute for sour cream.  Let’s take a look at it from a nuritional standpoint. A cup of fat-free Appel Farms Quark has:

Calories: 70 calories
Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 70 mg
Carbs:  4 g
Protein: 13 g

Now let’s compare that to an equal amount of  low fat sour cream :

Calories: 128
Fat: 7.3 g
Cholesterol: 18 mg
Sodium: 73 mg
Carbs:  11 g
Protein: 3.7 g

I won’t even freak you out with a comparison to full-fat sour cream. Let’s just say that in all respects, the Quark beats sour cream and low-fat sour cream hands-down.

How Do You Use Quark? 

Quark can be used anywhere that you would normally use sour cream or cream cheese. You can spread it on whole-grain bagels;  pile it on top of baked potatoes or sweet potatoes; whip it up into Ranch-style or creamy dressings for salads or greens;  use it on tacos, burritos or taco salads;  and even make an amazing low-fat veggie dip.  It can also be used in baking to make healthier versions of dishes like lasagna and … yes … even cheesecake.

If you’ve ever tried substituting plain fat-free yogurt for sour cream but just found the flavor a bit off, you’ll want to try quark. It’s much closer in flavor and texture to sour cream than most yogurts (including greek-style yogurts.)

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Tags: Appel Farms, Diet, Dip, German Deli.com, Healthy Eating, Healthy Replacement for Sour Cream, Healthy Toppings for Potatoes, High-Protein Foods, Low Carb Food, Low Fat Sour Cream, Low Fat Topping, Quark, Sour Cream Substitute

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