You can find almost anything in New York City and I’m generally very content in my adopted hometown but there are a few things I’ve missed from growing up in Berlin. Topping the list are thick white asparagus in late spring, hazelnuts rather than peanuts in chocolate-based treats and an unsalted, ultra-fresh cheese variety called quark. Quark is a bit thicker and crumblier than yogurt and not quite as acidic. It’s fantastic with fruit such as cherries and all manner of berries and is a favorite in German cheesecake recipes. It’s great in savory dishes too, such as in this Kräuterquark or ‘quark with herbs’, a springtime sandwich spread, which is often part of a typical German breakfast featuring crusty bread rolls, soft boiled eggs, butter, jam and other cheeses.

I’ve occasionally found products labeled quark in NYC grocery stores but they were all unrecognizable copies of the original and a waste of money. The Hawthorne Valley Farm stand at the Union Square farmers market sells a fantastic quark though, and since discovering it I’ve had to scratch quark off my list of expatriate complaints. If you can find French-style fromage blanc, it makes a good quark substitute.

Raw ramps pack a punch not dissimilar to garlic. Since it's intended for breakfast, I go easy on the ramps in this recipe. If this isn’t your thing at all though and you hate the raw garlic in tzatziki for example, then you’d be better off sticking to cooked ramps recipes.