cheese curds. What's the deal?

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Brad W

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reading the latest Airventure forum and the talk about some cheese curd-taco something or another

ok, to you Badger state folks...what's the deal with cheese curds?

We get them now here in FL at Culvers....deep fried
and of course I've had fried cheese curds like that at tons of other places too
One in a while we'll get a package of them that has been refrigerated, from Aldi I think, and probably lots of other places. You can even buy them that way up there in the airports on the way home... but no need to travel to Wi any more....

But it seems to me that the fresh curd is the point, no???
...when you bite in you get a squeek between your teeth
Other than that, what's so special? I don't get it....

Ok, way back that was sort of a special thing I suppose, back when you basically had to go to Wisconsin to get them so it was a bragging right when talking to folks that have never been there
but honestly to me they just taste like mild cheddar or something

and once the are refrigerated the squeek goes away.... so you're left with a small piece of very mild cheddar

what am I missing?
 
They have them in Maine as well. They looked like tater-tot-sized mozzarella sticks. I assume this is an influence operation from our northern adversary.
 
IMO, yes, it's all about the freshness. Try them fresh from a real dairy, that's where it's at. Not the mass produced **** that the big stores sell.
You can tell the difference naked or fried.
 
Fresh, unaged, cheese... could be any of variety.
 
Y'all fixin' to make a mess of poutine? Sounds good, but I usually make it in the cooler months. Or are you going to do something else with them?

I made a pulled pork poutine once, it was really good, would be a good thing to serve at a football watching party.
 
Brad W said:
reading the latest Airventure forum and the talk about some cheese curd-taco something or another
Click to expand...
It took me a while to go to the Cheese Curd Taco place(s) at OSH. I think they appeared around 2022-23, but I just finally went last year, and discovered they're not as crazy as they sound, quite tasty in fact.

Brad W said:
ok, to you Badger state folks...what's the deal with cheese curds?
Click to expand...
It's a Wisconsin thing. Like brats, beer, and all the other tasty stuff.

Brad W said:
We get them now here in FL at Culvers....deep fried
Click to expand...
Culver's curds are... Okay. And it pains me to say that, because Culver's is another very Wisconsin thing that has expanded well beyond our borders and I want to be prouder of them. They do have lots of good food, and are great for a fast-casual burger joint, but their curds are just okay.

Brad W said:
and of course I've had fried cheese curds like that at tons of other places too
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And a lot of them are similarly average to mediocre.

Brad W said:
But it seems to me that the fresh curd is the point, no???
...when you bite in you get a squeek between your teeth
Click to expand...
Exactly!!! Those are the good ones! I've had some better than others, but if they don't squeak, they're not fresh and they're just un-shaped cheese chunks.

Brad W said:
Other than that, what's so special? I don't get it....
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There's a lot of places selling un-special cheese curds now. It's the ensh!ttification of everything. Sourdough and Gouda cheese are both practically flavorless in most places now too, and I've noticed some other products that have lost what made them great. Sadly, cheese curds are a victim of their own popularity and in an effort to spread them far and wide as cheaply as possible, they've mostly gotten pretty mediocre.

The worst part of it all is that a lot of you come to OSH expecting to find good cheese curds, and you get - Well, A&W. And those aren't even cheese curds, they're cheese cubes! Boooo.

For fresh cheese curds, find thyself a cheesemaker, a cheese store (MouseHouse Cheesehaus near Madison is owned by a pilot...), or someplace that gets them. Our local Meijer store has a wooden barrel upon which they place fresh cheese curds each day that are quite good if you get to them fast enough.

For fried cheese curds, the best I've found are at the Hot House Tavern in Menomonee Falls, WI (a few miles up Appleton Ave from KMWC). Worth the trip.

But yeah, well over 90% of the cheese curds I've had in the past decade have been just okay. Sigh.
 
FormerHangie said:
Y'all fixin' to make a mess of poutine? Sounds good, but I usually make it in the cooler months. Or are you going to do something else with them?

I made a pulled pork poutine once, it was really good, would be a good thing to serve at a football watching party.
Click to expand...
Restaurant by me used to have pot roast poutine for an appetizer. Delicious
 
In Utah's Cache Valley it's called "squeaky cheese." Had it the few times I was in the area. Never impressed. Lacks flavor. I think it's a brilliant marketing ploy. If you can get customers to pay a premium price for "squeaky cheese" you save all the costs of blocking and aging etc.
 
but once they're fried... even if they're fresh, the squeak goes away, right? So now at that point its just hot very mild cheese with fried bread outside.

Seems to me that it's all about the novelty of the squeek...and that you can only get it there (or at least that's what seems to have built the mysique)
and now that you can get bad ones nearly anywhere, why does that mystique continue to live on? They're just cheesticks in another shape.

what am I missing?
 
Enh. If you want squeaky cheese, grill some halloumi.
 
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