Ask Evan: What Are Cheese Curds?

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Every week I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s came from Jesus:

During my recent honeymoon trip in Montreal we had this wonderfully delicious potato dish called putine that had these wonderful curds. Where can you get these and are there any other uses for them ?

Ahhh Poutine.  Ahhh Cheese curds.  The little bundles of bite sized cheesy goodness are usually found near places where cheese is made.  They are the curds formed after milk is inoculated for cheesemaking, yet before the curds are skimmed and weighted to form a solid cheese like cheddar or jack.  Because they haven’t been pressed there is still air in the curds which is why when they are very fresh, they will squeak when you chew on them. Curds are famously served atop gravy soaked french fries for the Quebecquois Poutine.  They are also good deep fried (of course) or on a toothpick with a bit of salame or pickle.
You can find cheese curds online, but they won’t be squeaky.  They have to be very fresh to squeak. Here is all you want to know about cheese curds brought to you by Wisconson Cheese.