On my last trip to the Midwest, I made my way to Wisconsin for the very first time. I made a list of everything I wanted to eat, see, and do to fully "experience Wisconsin." Beer, bratwurst, Brett, and cheese. Okay, so I didn't get a chance to meet up with Brett Favre, but I did get to the other three. Nothing extraordinary - we have beer in California, thanks to Johnsonville we also have brats, and we all know that happy cows in California make happy cheese..
What was extraordinary was my very first taste of a cheese curd. In the cheese-making process, when the enzyme rennin (found in calf stomachs - *ew*) is added to milk, the milk coagulates and separates into a watery liquid called whey and semi-solids. The semi-solids are curds, which eventually get drained of the whey and are pressed together to become cheese.
Basically, cheese curds are the precious little pre-cursors to cheese, so the flavor is similar to a mild Cheddar cheese, but the texture is different. It’s hard to describe, but cheese curds are bouncier. If you squeeze a piece of cheese, for the most part, it will give in to the pressure and take on a new squozen shape. If you squeeze a cheese curd, it maintains its original shape, springing back from a little pressure. Unlike beer, bratwurst, and cheese, cheese curds are not widely available outside Wisconsin because they have to be eaten very shortly after they are produced, otherwise they lose their "curdness." Thank God, otherwise, I would sit down with a bag of cheese curds and grow to a very (un)healthy nine billion pounds. As a side note, I can never go to Wisconsin in the summer because at fairs and carnivals, a popular snack is beer-battered and deep-fried cheese curds. Oh, for the love of my arteries. Deep fried cheese curds.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-03-2005 @ 1:15PM
M-L said...
Cheese curds and smoked string cheese came home with me from my summer visit to the homeland and a venture behind the cheddar curtain, too.
Fresh curds really squeek when chewed, the trick being: bring em to room temperature first...yeah, who can wait that long?!
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12-03-2005 @ 2:23PM
Gnat! said...
I'm a Wisconsin-ite now living in California. Local residents here always like to give me their "happy cow" argument for why the west-coast wins, but until I find a local source of Cheese Curds, it won't be on even fighting ground.
Part of the problem (I mean, beyond the fresh salty squeaky chewing sensation) is that they're already bite-sized, no knife required, in that "easy cheese" kind of way. They're like candy.
The deep fried curds are a staple of fairs and bowling alleys. So good, so dangerous!
Wisconsin also has other oddity cheeses which are fun to try too: chocolate cheese (which has the flavor of fudge but the texture of cheese... screws with your head like popcorn flavored Jelly Belly), cranberry white cheddar, jalapeno blueberry jack, horseradish cheddar, and one of my all-time favorites: co-jack (colby and jack marbled together) is a lot easier to find.
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12-03-2005 @ 2:24PM
JK O'Key said...
You certainly don't have to go to Wisconsin for cheese curds. Those happy cows in California are producing them, too. I found them at one of the local farmer's markets in Placer Co. marketed by a Sonoma dairy. Yummy flavors especially the lemon Jack.
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12-03-2005 @ 2:49PM
ang said...
Visit Canada and try some poutine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine "french fries topped with fresh cheese curds and covered with hot gravy" Talk about a killer on your waistline! Poutine is great if you go skiing/snowboarding in the Canadian snow and need a hot, ooey-gooey snack.
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12-03-2005 @ 3:28PM
sam said...
have you tried Burrata, sarah? I think it is made in LA
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12-03-2005 @ 7:55PM
Peace said...
I've been eating them for years in California, I get mine at our local Co-op (Arcata, CA). We have several local cheese companies so I think it maybe a local thing.
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12-04-2005 @ 6:40AM
sarah gilbert said...
I fell in love with cheese curds at the Tillamook cheese factory on the Oregon coast. ummm, yumm... now they sell them in all the farmer's markets in Portland. my personal fave: chipotle pepper cheese curds. my teeth are squeaking just thinking about it!
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