It’s that time of year again, yes its spring, but better then that…It’s Time For Peak Season Grass-Fed Milk to Turn into Our Squeaky Curds!!

I know this is all very exciting, but the questions lie ahead.

What Are Curds? Why Do They Squeak? And What Do I Do With Curds? This blog post should help us all rest easy at night knowing that the squeaky cheese in our fridge might be our first steps into at home cheesemaking and also a healthy way to snack, or a new warm fun meal.

 

Curds & Whey

Ode To Curds:

While working here at Cherry Grove Farm I have learned a boat load about cheese and my favorite part is sharing the knowledge I learn here from our Farm Manager/Herdsman Kelly Harding (30+ Years Of Dairy Exp.) and Samuel Kennedy Our Head Cheesemaker (CIA Graduate + 4 Years Of Making/Studying Cheese) to all of you (our wonderful fans & customers).

What Are Curds?

I like to refer to them as a fresh snacking cheese still squeaky if snacked on the first five days after being made and then after the fifth day I personally like to melt them down on pizza, in omelets, or even paying tribute to the Canadian dish Poutine.

These cut curds are ready to be molded into cheese wheels.

The More Technical answer would be that they are the first steps in cheese making.

Why Do They Squeak?

This is a great question to ask! My response is a bit simple. I always tell people it’s because there is still air trapped in between the curds (that’s the curds within the curds, kind of confusing) and after four or five days the air is gone and they lose their squeak (or air).

I turned to the experts in cheese writing and pulled this from Culture Magazine (winter 11):

“Curds squeak because the long protein network that forms during the process rubs against your teeth when you chew. As cheese ages, the protein breaks into shorter forms, which makes them taste good, but they lose that distinctive and oddly appealing sound.” – Article written by: Gianalis Caldwell

What Do I Do With Curds?

I snack on them until they hit day five or six and then after that I start melting/cooking with the curds like I would Mozzarella. Even better then that I use what I teach in our Mozzarella Making Class and melt them down, bind them, and then stretch them to make a fresh sweeter flavored mozzarella at home.

Come visit our farm store or one of our farmers market stands to taste them and see what different seasoned flavor curds Sam has come up with this time (they change by each batch he makes). Show your kids that cheese can be a healthy fun snack and then take them home and create a fun dish that every Canadian loves, Poutine (see our recipe below)!

Local Poutine (Made at home, enjoyed by all!)

Ingredients:

5 Medium local potatoes (found at a farmers market or home garden)

Olive oil (for pan frying)

2 Cups of our fresh Cheese Curds (found right here at Cherry Grove Farm)

1 (10 oz.) Jar of chicken, beef, or vegetarian gravy (for the best recipe make a simple brown gravy from scratch!)

Salt & Pepper (to your taste)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash & cut your fresh and local farmer’s market potatoes (or maybe they came from your own garden), into fries.

Bake your lightly oiled and seasoned potato fries in the oven for about 20 minutes (you can skip the frying step and just bake your fries till crisp, typically 45 minutes, turning frequently)

In a large deep set skillet heat up your (frying) olive oil to a nice medium temperature ( 300 – 325 degrees).

Place your lightly baked fries in your skillet to fry your fries to perfection (a golden brown, about 3-5 minutes).

Take your Cherry Grove Farm Cheese Curds out of the fridge and set them aside to reach room temperature.

Place your homemade fries out on a brown paper bag or paper towel to help absorb any extra oil.

In a small sauce pan start creating from scratch your favorite thanksgiving gravy (or any type of yummy gravy) – This is where you can heat up a jar of gravy at a low to medium temperature.

Cut some of the larger curds down into 1 inch cubes.

Lay your homemade fries out on a platter and top with fresh Cherry Grove Farm Cheese Curds.

Top your fries and curds with your hot gravy and serve immediately (and enjoy this fun dish with friends and family).

If you want extra melted curds place your newly created Poutine on an oven safe plate and broil for 2 minutes (be careful the plate will be hot!)

This Is Just A Few Reasons Why We Love Our Curds Plus A Recipe To Stir Your Culinary Creativity!