<P> Quark is similar to French fromage blanc, Indian paneer, and the queso fresco / queijo fresco made in the Iberian Peninsula and in some Latin American countries . It is distinct from Italian ricotta because ricotta (Italian "recooked") is made from scalded whey . Quark is somewhat similar to yogurt cheeses such as the South Asian chak (k) a, the Arabic labneh, and the Central Asian suzma or kashk, but while these products are obtained by straining yogurt (milk fermented with thermophile bacteria), quark is made from soured milk fermented with mesophile bacteria . </P> <P> Quark is possibly described by Tacitus in his book Germania as lac concretum ("thick milk"), eaten by Germanic peoples . However, this could also have meant soured milk or any other kind of fresh cheese or fermented milk product . </P> <P> Although quark is sometimes referred to loosely as a type of "cottage cheese", they can be distinguished from the different production aspects and textural quality, with the cottage cheese grains described as more chewy or meaty . </P> <P> The word Quark (Late Middle High German: quarc, twarc, zwarg; Lower Saxon: dwarg), with usage in German documented since the 14th century, is thought to derive from a West Slavic equivalent, such as Lower Sorbian twarog, Upper Sorbian twaroh, Polish twaróg, Czech and Slovak tvaroh, and is also cognate with Russian tvorog (творог), Bulgarian tvarog (тваро̀г) and Belarusian: tvarog (тварог). </P>

Is quark and cottage cheese the same thing