Quark! quark! from Travis

Dear Word Spy,

In the supermarket I saw in the cheese section something called Quark. 

My brother said, it sounds like a sick duck trying to go quack.

Quark quark

your fan  Travis


Dear Travis,

I was very glad to get your message because I have seen quark as well and wondered about it too...

It sounds funny in English, but it comes from an old German word for "curd". Curd is something  you get from milk when you turn it into cheese. First you make milk "curdle" with special ingredients, which means the milk becomes semi-solid. Then you let this semi-solid milk drain (usually in a cloth). The liquid that drains out is called "whey" and the solids that remain are called "curds" - ah, yes - quark!

Curds and whey, curds and whey - hmm, that reminds me of something.


yours, on a tuffet,

The Word Spy