Squeaky cheese curds are quite possibly the best lunch snack ever. For kids, these mild-flavored curds that literally squeak between your teeth are irresistible. And I'm here to say that they're pretty irresistible for grown-ups, too. You can buy them fresh from dairies, or thanks to this tutorial from Culture Cheese Magazine, we can make them at home.
The one tricky ingredient necessary for this cheese-tastic project is rennet. This is needed to make the milk separate into curds and whey, and then additionally, to make it stretchy and squeaky. You can sometimes find both regular rennet and vegetarian rennet in the baking section at grocery stores (check near the gelatin and pectin). Rennet is also easily found online from places like the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company and Amazon. (As is the calcium chloride, which is an optional ingredient to make the cheese more firm.)
After this, making squeaky cheese seems to be a relatively straightforward matter of heating the milk (and later, the cheese) and pressing out the excess whey. If you've ever made mozzarella, the process is very similar but without the kneading step.
This would be such a fun project for a weekend afternoon, especially since you get to snack on the results all week long. The temperatures during the cooking process are all fairly low, so go ahead and get the kids involved!
• Homemade Squeaky Cheese Curds from Culture Cheese Magazine • Cheese Rennets from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company • Calcium Chloride from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
Do you love squeaky cheese? Ever tried making it at home?
Related: Making Cheese at Home: A Round-Up of Cheese-Making Kits
(Image: Flickr member grongar licensed under Creative Commons)
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Hehe I didn't know americans knew what was curb cheese (I had to try describe it to some of my californian friends few years ago). I love the sound it makes when you eat it.
Here in Quebec (Canada), it's all over the place; you can find it everywhere, even in a convenience store! It's also good with fries (google Poutine). :)
Oh my god, I've been looking for these to make poutine but have not been able to find them in the boston area. I am so doing this.
It's hard enough to find curds fresh enough that they squeak here in Ontario. This is one of my favourite foods ever.
Yes, curd cheese is great! I haven't done it yet but I look forward to making it at home. Thanks for sharing!
@MELBEE85 - poutine is the best! It was my introduction to curd cheese and I have it every summer when I visit the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (head to Quebec, then turn right before you reach the border). :)
Cheese curds are the must eat for every time I visit my Dad's family in Wisconsin. The squeaking was so fun as a kid. Now I won't have to wait for my next trip!
My dad is a cheese curd salesman/deliveryman for a small company in Wisconsin, and every few months he ships us pounds (many pounds ... TOO many pounds) of them both breaded and fresh. We've gotten our friends addicted and attendance at parties is way up because people know we'll always be serving cheese curds. (Or maybe we've become cooler? It's unclear.) They make such a great snack!
If you are lazy, Trader Joe's sells cheese curds. I looked high and low--as my poutine craving grew. So when I finally found them, it was a revelation. I thought I'd share, for those of us who just want poutine RIGHT NOW!
Ha--whenever we make the journey from Chicago to Milwaukee or Madison, cheese curds are a MUST. And for anybody on the fence, just go ahead and buy the rennet--you can always make more cheese. In fact, we must all be on the same cheesy wavelength, because I posted my own recipe for Farmhouse Cheddar (ready after only a month of aging) on my blog last week:
Homemade Farmhouse Cheddar, or, I May Have a Cheese Product Related Contact High
The curds are sometimes a little too fresh for me (I'm lactose intolerant), but aged cheeses are pretty digestible.
Bad Mama Genny
There are days when I love living in Quebec, amongst which are those days when I craved fresh cheese curds. I think there's only the pharmacies that don't carry the stuff 'round here.
I just saw renne while out sourcing beeswax for a wood butter recipe....yay!
mmmmm poutine
Oh Em Gee!! You can almost NEVER find cheese curds in Alberta!! Now I can make real poutine!!!!!