Ever since I can remember, low-fat quark has been one of the most popular foods for athletes. Its high protein content, low carbohydrate content and very low fat content make it the ideal food for almost all types of diet. It doesn't matter whether it is low-carb, high-carb or medium-carb.
For some time now, a food called "skyr" has been trying to take quark's place on the podium of the most popular foods. Posts on social media with recipes are piling up and it seems to be on everyone's lips, so today it's time to make a critical comparison.
Skyr vs. quark - who wins?
Skyr - an import from Iceland
Skyr is a classic dairy product whose roots are thought to go back to the Vikings. Skyr traditionally comes from Iceland, where it is still produced and consumed in large quantities today.
Skyr has also been produced and sold in Germany since 2015. Since its introduction, there has been a real run on skyr, which is now advertised as a particularly healthy food. Consumers describe skyr as tasting slightly more sour than quark or normal yogurt.
The consistency is reminiscent of Greek yoghurt. Only skimmed milk is used in the production process. According to manufacturers, up to four times more milk is needed to produce skyr than conventional yoghurt. This naturally also has an effect on the ingredients, according to the advertising claims. Originally, rennet was used for the production of skyr. Today, however, you can read about production processes in which only a certain amount of finished skyr is added to pasteurized milk.
Excursus rennet
Rennet is a mixture of enzymes (pepsin and chymosin) that comes from the abomasum of young ruminants. Even a small dose is sufficient to coagulate milk. Although there are also alternatives to typical rennet, such as vegetable rennet ferments from rennet herbs and microbially or biotechnologically produced substitutes, rennet in its original form is still used in most cases today. For friends of veganism, products processed with rennet are certainly out of the question.
Conclusion
First of all, both skyr and quark are classic dairy products. We will now see exactly what the differences are.
Skyr vs. quark - the facts
Let's get to the obvious and compare the nutritional values of skyr and quark. I have to say that various analyses of both low-fat quark and skyr can be found on the internet, so depending on the manufacturer, there may be minor deviations from the data mentioned here.
Compared to skyr, low-fat quark provides a few extra calories per 100 g, which, as can be seen in the diagram, come from a slightly higher protein content. With 11 g and 13.5 g protein per 100 g, both foods are definitely among the protein sources.
Quark comes out of the race with a slight advantage in terms of protein content.
The fat content of both low-fat quark and skyr can be ignored, as it is well below 1 gram per 100 grams and therefore not even 10 kcal per 100 grams. The carbohydrate content of 4 g per 100 g is also in a range that does not have any significant effect on digestion or the body, even with a larger portion size of 250 g, for example. In plain language, this means that with 4 g per 100 g, neither blood sugar nor carbohydrate-related insulin levels will rise significantly. The emphasis here is on "carbohydrate-related", as the insulin index of skyr as a "yoghurt-like" food is very high at 115. Quark also has an insulin index that should not be underestimated, although it is not as high.
While the carbohydrate content and therefore the influence on blood sugar levels is relatively the same for skyr and quark, a slightly higher increase in insulin levels is to be expected from skyr.
People who are lactose intolerant should be careful with both skyr and quark. Depending on your tolerance, larger portions may well lead to intolerance reactions.
Skyr is widely hyped as an exceptional source of calcium. It should be noted that quark is in no way inferior to the Irish milk product in this respect, in fact it provides slightly higher amounts per 100 g (again, there are different figures, but there is not much difference).
Both skyr and quark provide high amounts of calcium.
Conclusion
Skyr the new miracle food? - Based on the macronutrients and calcium content, hardly. There is no significant difference to the well-known and proven low-fat quark.
| Skyr natural per 100 g | Low-fat quark per 100 g | |
| Calories | 62 kcal | 75 kcal |
| protein | 11 g | 13,5 g |
| Carbohydrates of which sugar (lactose ) | 4 g 4g | 4 g 4g |
| fat | 0,2 g | 0,2 g |
| Calcium | 84 mg | 120 mg |
| price | approx. 0.26 € / 100 g | approx. 0,15 € / 100 g |
Price advantage with Skyr?
Far from it, it will be difficult to ever beat the mass-market product low-fat quark. From a little research I was able to find a price of approx. 1.19 euros for 450 g of natural skyr. Half a kilo (500 g) of low-fat quark, on the other hand, only costs around 0.75 euros. Converted, this results in a price advantage of 9 cents per 100 g when buying low-fat quark. It doesn't sound like much, but even this "not much" will add up over the months and perhaps even years: "Little things make a lot of difference".
Conclusion
You have to open your wallet wider for Skyr than for quark. So far, it is not clear why you should do this.
Taste
"You can't argue about taste" - that's why I won't allow myself to judge whether skyr or low-fat quark tastes better. As skyr is compared to Greek yoghurt in terms of consistency, it is certainly a little easier to eat than low-fat quark. The little trick with home-made quark would be to stir a small dash of water into the portion and you have a similar creamy character to yoghurt with a better macronutrient balance.
Conclusion
If you need a variety of flavors or like a slightly sour taste, Skyr is the quark alternative for you.
Probiotics
Let's move on to the last supposed advantage of skyr compared to low-fat quark. Here we are talking about a possibly higher content of probiotics. What is there to say about this...
Probiotics are live bacteria (microorganisms) that are mainly found in lactic acid products and are generally advertised as "health-promoting". There is no clear opinion as to what probiotics can really do, yet they are integrated into a number of foods, food supplements and even medicines. It is difficult to prove that individual bacterial strains have a real effect. Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus or Lactobacillus helveticus, for example, are considered ineffective as they do not survive the gastrointestinal tract unscathed. However, there are also a number of representatives that can be assumed to be absorbed without damage. The areas of application, some of which have good data backing, include gastrointestinal inflammation, lactose breakdown and even high blood pressure. In its statement from 2012, the EFSA reports on pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains. Probiotics are used therapeutically for chronic constipation, various infections, tooth decay and diarrhea. This is mainly after antibiotic therapy or to prevent allergies or neurodermatitis. However, high-dose strains of bacteria are used here, which are not comparable or achievable with the quantities contained in yoghurt.
There is only partial agreement on the exact mechanism of action of probiotics. An increased immune defense is being discussed. This is due to an increased production of immunoglobulins A and an inhibition of the growth of bacterial strains with rather negative effects. If the probiotic contains at least 100 million or, even better, 1 billion living bacteria, the metabolism of carbohydrates can apparently be improved by probiotics. Studies clearly show that a daily intake is necessary for a real and lasting effect, as bacterial strains from probiotic foods do not permanently colonize the intestine.
If you really want to benefit from probiotics, you need to take them regularly.
Foods advertised as "probiotic" have the desired bacterial strains added after the actual production with the usual starter cultures. The extent to which these are more effective than the lactic acid bacteria contained in conventional products is unclear. According to some experts, it would be sufficient to consume two to three cups of plain yoghurt or another dairy product a day, as long as you make sure you buy a product that has not been heat-treated. At the University of Vienna, no significant difference was found in the comparison between normal yoghurt and Actimel. Only the cholesterol metabolism was more strongly influenced by Actimel (more HDL and less LDL at the same time). Another study also found slight advantages for probiotic yogurt with regard to the treatment of diarrhea.
Evidence suggests that probiotic foods with added bacterial strains can be expected to have at least slight benefits. But beware of added simple sugars! Probiotic foods are often no longer "suitable for athletes".
There is also evidence of specific effects of probiotics for athletes. One example is the study by Nichols, in which an indirect effect of probiotics on regeneration, improved immune function and a healthy digestive tract in athletes is considered probable. Kekonnen et al investigated the influence of probiotics on gastrointestinal symptoms and upper respiratory tract diseases in marathon runners. As a result, the number of illnesses could not be reduced by regular intake, but a reduction in episodes of gastrointestinal problems associated with marathon running was observed. Gleeson et al show a positive effect with the regular intake of probiotics with regard to the immune system in connection with 4 months of training in winter months. Cox et al, using Lactobacillus fermentum VRI-003, also showed a reduction in the incidence of upper respiratory tract disease over a 30-day test period in trained runners.
Probiotics appear to perform well in athletes. However, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the positive effects of the regular intake of Quak or Skyr at this point, as studies are carried out with very specific bacterial strains in high doses.
Neither skyr nor ordinary low-fat quark are foods with specially added bacterial strains. It is known that the probiotic properties of skyr are very similar to those of Greek yoghurt, which is why the proportion of probiotic bacteria is likely to be somewhat higher than in quark due to the manufacturing process. To what extent this is an advantage or not cannot be conclusively determined. As we have read, a regular intake of moderate quantities is mandatory in order to have any effect at all. Strong heating is seen as a disadvantage for the number of living bacteria, which is another point of criticism for the probiotics contained in Skyr (see production via pasteurization). So here is another shaky point arising from the production of skyr.
Conclusion
Compared to quark, Skyr is likely to contain higher amounts of probiotic bacteria. Anyone who sees this as a reason for switching from quark to skyr must, conversely, take the path of regular, daily intake of moderate amounts in any case, as otherwise any supposedly positive effect will be lost.
Summary
A somewhat disappointing conclusion for all those who expected Skyr to revolutionize the range of dairy products. Compared to quark, Skyr provides at most comparable values for protein and calcium. The carbohydrate and fat content is identical. Skyr costs more than conventional quark. If you want to take advantage of the effect of probiotics, you can hope for a little more from skyr compared to quark, provided you are willing to consume moderate amounts of it every day from now on. However, probiotic-enriched foods would be even better suited for this purpose, provided that a form without artificial added sugar can be found. The bottom line is that the only real argument in favor of skyr is the difference in taste. Fans of the "slightly sour" taste now have an alternative to quark in the chiller cabinet.
For my part, I will certainly be testing Skyr, but Skyr will not be able to replace good old quark in my diet.
Sporty greetings
Holger Gugg
www.body-coaches.de
Sources:
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