How to store quark
Best place: the fridge. USDA gives quark a fridge time (7 to 10 days, from purchase) and no pantry time, so it belongs in the fridge as soon as you get home.
No guideline
7 to 10 days
from purchase
No guideline
How quark compares with other dairy products & eggs
USDA FoodKeeper gives quark one time: 7 to 10 days in the fridge from purchase, and no figure for the other places. A blank usually means the food is not stored that way, not that the data is missing. The foods USDA lists next to quark in dairy products & eggs show the range for the group:
| Food | Pantry | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk(first of 5 kinds) | no guideline | Use by the package date | 3 months |
| Nacho cheese | 2 years | no guideline | Not recommended |
| Pimento cheese | no guideline | Use by the package date | no guideline |
| Powdered milk | 3 to 5 years | no guideline | no guideline |
| Pudding | no guideline | Use by the package date | Not recommended |
| Rice milk | no guideline | Use by the package date | no guideline |
| Ricotta | no guideline | 2 weeks | Not recommended |
| Sour cream | no guideline | Use by the package date | Not recommended |
| Soy milk | no guideline | Use by the package date | no guideline |
| String Cheese | no guideline | 5 months | no guideline |
About dairy products & eggs. Milk, cheese, yogurt and eggs are among the most perishable items in the kitchen and depend on a steady, cold fridge to stay safe. Soft cheeses spoil faster than hard ones, and eggs, despite lasting for weeks, are worth checking before use. All dairy products & eggs.
How to tell quark has gone bad
General signs for dairy products & eggs, the group USDA lists quark under.
- Sour, sharp smell from milk or yogurt that was mild before
- Mould on cheese that is not part of the recipe
- Eggs that float in a bowl of water instead of sinking
- Slimy or watery texture on soft cheese or yogurt
- Yellowing or watery separation showing up in milk
More on dairy products & eggs. The times above are quality guidelines, not safety limits; food that shows these signs goes out regardless of the date.
Storage habits that make the difference
Keep dairy and eggs in the coldest part of the fridge, not the door, at 40 F (4 C) or below. Store eggs in their original carton to protect them and track the date. Reseal cheese tightly in wax paper or a container, and keep milk capped between pours.
How to store other dairy products & eggs
Source: USDA FSIS FoodKeeper dataset (public domain). How we decode the data.