►Heat oven to 170°F. Pour buttermilk into glass or ceramic dish and bake for 2 hours. Turn off oven and leave dish in oven for 12 to 15 hours. The milk will set and resemble yogurt.

►Run cheesecloth under cold water and then wring out. Line colander with 1 layer of cheesecloth. Place prepared colander inside a larger bowl (to catch the whey).

►Remove cultured buttermilk from oven. Cut the curd into a cross-hatch pattern with a paring knife. Gently ladle curds into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Once all the curd is in the cheesecloth, bring edges of cheesecloth up to create a bundle. Secure cheesecloth with elastic band or string.

►Hang cheesecloth bundle from a doorknob (or faucet if enough room) and allow whey to drip from cheesecloth into the bowl beneath the colander. This will take 1½ to 3 hours, depending on how firm you want your finished quark to be (more draining time means thicker quark).

►Once desired consistency is reached, discard (or reserve, see sidebar) whey and empty the contents of the cheesecloth into the bowl. If you are using your quark for sweet applications (see sidebar), the recipe is complete. For savory uses, sprinkle quark with salt and gently mix.