(NATIONAL) — Just like potato chips, once you start eating cheese curds, it’s difficult to stop. As the youngest version of cheese, they have a very mild flavor and a uniquely bouncy texture that can be addicting to munch on. Though any day is perfect for a cheese curd snack, National Cheese Curd Day is on Oct. 15, giving an extra excuse to grab a bag and chow down.
Cheese curds are created during the early stages of many cheeses, but cheddar cheese curds are the variety that are most often specifically made to be sold.
To understand what cheese curds are, it helps to know a little about the cheese-making process.
First, whole milk is heated in a vat, and a culture is added to give the flavor. Later, an enzyme, such as rennet, is added to thicken and coagulate the dairy. During this part of the cheese-making process, the milk solids, or curds, separate from the liquids, or whey. The whey is drained off, leaving only the curds. However, to create the cheddar curd snacks, a few more steps are required.
Cheddar curds are pressed to drain off as much whey as possible, and the curds, which are now solid enough to stick together better, are cut into slabs and stacked several times to drain out more of the whey, in a process called “cheddaring.” The slabs are then cut into small chunks and salted, creating the curds that everyone knows and loves.
Those who live near a cheddar factory know that curds fresh out of the vat have a distinctive “squeak” when chewed, as the cheese rubs against the teeth.
“Cheese curds are more diverse than most people realize,” said Keith Hintz, co-owner of Springside Cheese. “Beyond deep frying, fresh cheese curds make great snacks on their own. They can be flavored like potato chips, used with French fries and gravy to make poutine, and are creative options for grilled cheese sandwiches and cheeseburgers.”
Hintz sells a variety of flavors of cheese curds at the shop in Pueblo, shipped in from the Springside Cheese factory he co-owns with his brother and father. Guests can buy the plain cheddar curds or curds with added flavors, such as jalapeño, green chile, Cajun, or dill and garlic.
Curds are also delicious, battered and fried, or served on hot dishes. Because of their unique texture, they soften but keep their form, making them perfect for dishes like poutine, where they are served on top of hot fries and covered in gravy.
Culver’s, a Wisconsin-based fast food restaurant, founded National Cheese Curd Day in 2015 to celebrate the delicious treat.
They offer battered and fried cheese curds as a side year-round, but to celebrate the occasion, the restaurant released a special limited-time Jalapeño Cheese Curds nationwide on Wednesday, Oct. 15, while supplies last. The special treat features the battered and fried curds with bits of jalapeño inside, bringing the right amount of heat.
However you celebrate National Cheese Curd Day, be sure to get enough curds to satisfy your craving, and maybe enough to share, as well.
