"cheese curds" news and stories

Lactose intolerants should skip Milwaukee: this is a city where milk and milky treats dominate local palates and menus. And with good reason, according to Theresa Nemetz of Milwaukee Food Tours. "Originally, the farms in Wisconsin focused on wheat production – the German immigrants had originally come to grow that," she explains, "But then there was a famine because insects ruined that crop, and they turned to dairy because it was a much safer product. " The rich, fertile land was a boon for cattle-rearing, too, adds Wisconsinfoodie.com's Arthur Ircink. "The glaciers had come through here, we're on this natural lake, we have this crazy seasonal cycle – all that makes the dairy thrive."

The milk mountain around Milwaukee led to twin local obsessions: cheese and fudgey chocolate. The Germans who settled in Wisconsin's reassuringly familiar terrain revived their old world artisanal churning skills. "Cheese runs through our veins," Ircink adds, "People here would eat cheese curds with milk for breakfast in the morning. In taste tests, some cheesemakers in Wisconsin beat the whole countries of England or France." For many newcomers, it's a shock how pungent and flavor-packed cheese from Milwaukee might be compared with supermarket brands. "Often when we do tours with students, they're so used to Kraft cheese that when you introduce them to an aged cheddar, they don't even like it," Nemetz warns.

The German dairy farmers supplied cream to a slew of local bakeries, too, and with one on almost any corner, those bakers became experts at turning out sweet treats like fudge and chocolate. Nemetz confesses a guilty fondness for a local delicacy that combines both Milwaukee's dairy-based staples: Chocolate Fudge Cheese – cream cheese with a ribbon of fudge through it. "It has that sweet tooth and wonderful rich, rich cheese that people love."

Read about Milwaukee's cheese, chocolate and more, after the jump.

I know some people love it and others think it sounds pretty horrible, but personally I've always been a big fan of regular Poutine - crispy french fries smothered in gravy with cheese curds throughout. But this? Well, I have no idea what to even categorize this under exactly - food porn, perhaps? Maybe food oddities? Regardless, this is definitely something that you just don't see everyday.

Rob at Hungry In Hogtown has created his own version of Foie Gras Poutine with Horse Fat Fries, based on a recipe from Montreal-based restaurant Au Pied de Cochon, which features a veal demi-glace, artisanal sheep's milk cheese for his fresh cheese curds, seared foie gras, and his (soon to be infamous?) horse fat fries. Rich and decadent? Definitely. Controversial? Absolutely. But it certainly ranks as the most unique recipe I have seen on the web all week. Maybe even all month.

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