Blue Cabbage (Blaukraut)

Ahh, another classic, my mom's sauteed red cabbage with a tart apple and cloves. Lately, she's been upping the ante with apple juice, red wine and red currant jam. A staple item for the holidays...

1/2 head of purple cabbage, finely shredded
1 TB clarified butter
1 small onion, finely diced
1 ts cloves (whole)
1 ts juniper berries (whole)
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper
1 small tart apple, finely diced
1/2 cp apple juice
splash of cabernet sauvignon
1 ts vegetable broth concentrate
1 ts brown sugar
1 ts red currant jam

Heat clarified butter in a large skillet. Add onion and apple, and saute slightly. Add the spices, salt, pepper, and stir; then add the cabbage. Sautee for 2-3 min until cabbage is slightly wilted. Add apple juice, and stir. Close with lid, and sautee on low heat for 15 min. Open lid, add brown sugar, jam and vegetable broth concentrate. Stir, leave warm and turn off the stove.

Serve with potato dumplings, baked goose or pork pot roast.

How I make my own Quark

To buy Quark is the US is possible, but prohibitively expensive. So, here is a fool-proof way to make it yourself.

1/2 gallon of cold organic 1% fat fresh milk (I use The Organic Cow of Vermont)
1 1/2 cups of cold fat-free buttermilk
1 large non-reactive bowl (stainless steel, or porcellain) with a lid
1 large sieve or strainer
1 old t-shirt, cut open to use as a kitchen linen for straining

Pour the milk into the container and mix in the buttermilk. Mix well with a very clean spatula. Close with the lid, and put in a warm place (77-90F) for ca. 24-36 hours (like close to an heated oven or outside in the summer). After that the milk should have a solid consistency, almost like a yogurt. At this point, place the sterilized t-shirt over the strainer, and pour in the thickened milk over the t-shirt into the strainer to drain the mixture. It will separate the whey (molke) from the solid part of the quark. Place the strainer over a large bowl, and wait for another 24h until the water/whey of the thickened 'sour' milk slowly drips out. Stir the draining milk mixture once in a while, and remove the liquid in the bottom of the bowl (*). After 24 h, the quark left in the cloth will have a thick yoghurt like creamy consistency, a very mild taste (see picture above), and can be used for sweet or savory dishes. It is similar to fromage blanc or thick greek yogurt.




Note: regular milk will likely not work because of pasteurization and homogenization it does not turn sour anymore.

(*) the drained whey is highly nutritious (and low calorie). You can collect it, chill it, and add some sugar; very refreshing. In Germany, you can actually buy whey as a drink (Molke).