What's been largely a dairy belt phenomenon is now steadily making its way to a wider audience of eager eaters. The humble cheese curd is gaining in popularity, with culinary applications that go way beyond the deep fryer.
Never had them? Now's a good a time as any, especially considering their price...
Maybe you've seen them around, looking much like the picture above, perhaps at street fairs or amusement parks. But they're also sold in packages, plain, for those in need of an at-home fix.
A cheese curd is a snapshot of the very first stage of cheesemaking, that is, the acidification of milk and its separation into solid (curd) and liquid (whey). After cultures are added to a vat of milk, the mixture is then heated to encourage souring and then sits for about three and a half hours. Then, as curds form, they're drained from the whey and packaged in their natural, irregularly shaped pieces.
If at this point the curds were then piled into molds, pressed to release them of extra whey, and aged, they'd become aged cheese. But cheese curds are genius: since they don't need to age, the turnaround time for profit is much quicker, and there's more product to sell upfront.
Cheese curds are equally creamy and tart: they take on both characteristics of that newly acidified milk. But what's most addictive is the squeak from biting down on them! Eat cheese curds plain-- they're great as a high-protein snack. To melt, it's easiest to grate the curds on a box grater. When heated, the cheese elasticizes, becoming ribbony and smooth, adding a unique textural component to mashed potatoes (it's the not-so-secret ingredient for the mashed potatoes at Keith McNally's newest restaurant, Minetta Tavern), purees, scrambled eggs, and grilled cheese.
Ellsworth Creamery in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, has been making cheese for nearly 100 years. They're perhaps the best-known and most widely distributed maker of cheese curds, and theirs are cheddar cheese curds, which means that the starter bacteria and culture used to acidify the milk are designed specifically for the making of cheddar.
This year, they'll make 3.6 million pounds of cheese curds. Sounds like just about enough to get beyond the boundaries of the dairy belt... and then some.
Ellsworth Creamery Cheese Curds are available by mailorder at Murray's Cheese for $3.49/half pound package.
Related: The Cheesemonger: Cheddar
Image: Flickr member Dalboz17 and smcgee licensed under Creative Commons.
© 2010 Apartment Therapy
Ah cheese curds...an essential item when making poutine!
view little_melly's profile
I grew up in Cuba, N.Y., which has a long history of cheese-making (there's even a cheese museum there). They still manufacture cheese in town, and at the Cuba Cheese Shoppe, the cheese curd is my favorite and it very squeaky!
view katdono's profile
I second little_melly ... it's astounding that a post on cheese curds fails to mention one of the most famous uses for cheese curds. Real poutine uses fresh cheddar cheese curds... so squeaky and yummy!
view angorian's profile
Yummmm...my dad was a cheesemaker, and growing up we had curd all the time. He'd bring home huge bags of it, still warm from the vat. We were spoiled.
view Hellcat13's profile
I had these plain when visiting Wisconsin. So good. And the squeak is just hillarious!!
view dabble's profile
Cheese curds are a popular snack in Quebec, where they are readily available in grocery stores and convenience stores.
(and poutine cannot be made without them)
view mschatelaine's profile
Are those deep fried cheese curds? There is no way that could be bad...
view konar's profile
That picture has me craving fried cheese curds in a ferocious way. I hadn't realized, when moving from Minnesota to Boston that one of the things I'd be giving up was the yearly State Fair deep fried cheese curds. Oh heavens, there's just nothing like them. HOW have these not permeated the country?
view Mara's profile
Mara - are these simply breaded and deep-fried? I didn't know about this being an east-coaster, and it has peeked my curiosity. It sounds like Wednesday's dinner experiment has been lined up for me
view konar's profile
When and how do they squeek?
view Kate (NC)'s profile
Another poutine fan! Mmmm...it has been too long.
view Hanna's profile
They squeak when you bite into them Kate, although I don't know why. Something about the pressure of your teeth on their slightly waxy surface? I'm from dairy country and I miss these. The deep-fried ones are just lightly breaded - I think its an egg-then-flour thing - konar. They're killer, both in taste and for your cholesterol levels.
view cedargr0's profile
Poutine rocks! I concur with angorian, there should've been an honourable mention of poutine in the post. Mmmm, I'm off to have poutine-ridden daydreams!
view morphomercedes's profile
I didn't know you could buy cheese curds that WEREN'T deep fried until I was well into my 20s. They are the essential State Fair food in Minnesota. We get them every year at the fair and sometimes at the handful of places around town that serve them.
But, I just discovered Poutine, so I will be eating fresh ones semi-regularly now.
view Kassie's profile
Trader Joe's has been carrying them. My husband grew up in upstate New York dairy country and loves them.
view feathers's profile
Poutine, the right way, is made with curds and not shredded cheese *shivers thiking on shredded cheese on poutine*
There is also a big debate in Québec: how do you call them? 'Curds' or 'Crottes de fromage' (which litteraly translate to 'cheese poop' (sorry!)). There is also a Curd Festival in Quebec, in the summer. Just tought I should mention it.
I like curds in salads too.
It squeeks only when fresh!
...deep fried curds? Ô.o
view Marie-Eve's profile
POUTINE.
view Kathryn Hill's profile
I grew up obsessed w/ the curds from the Tillamook Cheese Factory in my home state of Oregon. I have to say the Trader Joe's ones are a bit of a let-down--not quite squeaky in my opinion. Maybe I should give them another try.
view katef's profile
living close to the IL/WI border we get these a lot in our trips to wi. my grandma used to stock up on bags of them and i loved them! and i just now discovered culvers had deepfried cheesecurds.
view erinpearce's profile
WoW! You were right when you mentioned Ellsworth Creamery. However, their sales are now at 7.7 million for 2008. Their cheese curds are by far the best ever! And Murray's Cheese Shop in NYC has them! They believe in making a Quality cheese curd and they believe that begins with Quality milk - which is rBST free!
Remember to microwave for just 15 seconds and you will experience the Fresh SQUEAK! They have recipes on their web site. www.ellsworthcheesecurds.com
view cheesehead's profile
For the AT folks in Québec, la Fromagerie Saint-Albert is zee place. They squeek-a-plenty!
view Marie-Eve's profile
Kate(NC) - Cheese curds only squeak when freshest, as most of the liquid has been squeezed out of the curd. The longer a curd sits, the more moisture gets reabsorbed into the curd and thus it loses its squeak. When I lived in WI and tried to buy the curds from the supermarket, they were never very squeaky, so it goes pretty quickly.
Konar - I've seen deep fried curds mostly battered and fried, once or twice I've seen them breaded. The fried curds are a staple at the state fair as well as a great bar appetizer.
view kasiav's profile
I demand a poutine post!
view bixology's profile