205 Curd is the Word

Cheesy and Fondue celebrate National Cheese Curd Day! We learn the history of curds, what they are and why they squeak. We talk types of curd, ways to eat curd, how to make curd at home and some dedicated curd festivals. And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!

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Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp! 

Show Notes 

https://nationaltoday.com/national-cheese-curd-day/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_curd

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-is-curds-and-whey/

https://www.wisconsincheese.com/the-cheese-life/article/147/why-do-cheese-curds-squeak

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46957/little-miss-muffet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(dairy_product)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stretch-curd_cheeses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

https://www.wisconsincheese.com/the-cheese-life/article/129/cheese-curds

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/266825/homemade-cheese-curds/

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Ingredients-Calcium-Chloride-Making/dp/B07532VLYX?

https://cheesemaking.com/products/cheese-curds-recipe?srsltid=AfmBOoplx-xk1TLAZsmRPRBvA7mVE-dKWENSz4Y0NUK7WQd1BcgpZinO

https://www.cheesecurdfestival.com

https://www.westernmassnews.com/video/2024/07/19/annual-cheese-curd-toss-event-sunday-colby-cheese-days/#:~:text=Published:%20Jul.,Shared%20Video

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Just Cheesy the podcastpresented by Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'recelebrating National Cheese Curd
Day. We're talking history ofcurds, what they are and why they
squeak. We're going to talkabout types of curd, way to eat curd,

(00:22):
how to make curd, and somededicated curd festivals. And of
course, we're going to tell avery cheesy joke.
I love a joke.
Stay tuned for episode 105.Curd is the word on Just Cheesy the
podcast. According tonationaltoday.com National Cheese
Curd Day was on October 15th.
We missed it.
Yes. But I did have some yesterday.

(00:43):
What is cheese curd?
That's a great question. A lotof us have heard about curds way
back when we were little kids.In fact, the nursery rhyme we all
know as Little Miss Muffet waspublished back in 1805. You know
the one? Little Miss Muffetsat on a tuffet eating her curds
and whey. The description of acurd is kind of gross.

(01:04):
Yeah. Wikipedia says thatcheese curds are moist pieces of
curdled milk. According toallrecipes.com and I quote, curds
are a byproduct of coagulatingmilk process, also known as curdling.
They say coagulation happenswhen you add an acid like lemon juice
or vinegar to dairy. And whatsounds gross is actually the building

(01:24):
block of a lot of differentcheese production. Curds get made,
they're pressed and drainedand then added with different things
depending on the type ofcheese being made. But when these
little clumps of cheese arenot used as a building block for
things like cheddar, they'reoften eaten as a snack.
Really?
And in my opinion, the tasteis so good, they often have a mild

(01:45):
flavor. They range in colorfrom white to yellow and orange.
Wikipedia describes it as firmand dense with a springy texture.
And I don't know if you knowthis, but fresh curds actually squeak
in your mouth against yourteeth. That's why it's sometimes
referred to as squeaky cheese.
But why? According toWisconsin cheese.com they say that
you have to look at thebuilding blocks of cheese, which

(02:07):
is protein. They say on amicroscopic level, cheese curd is
made up of proteins that arebound together with calcium. So when
you bite into the curd, theprotein and calcium rubs against
the enamel on your teeth,making a squeaking sound. The peak
squeak, squeak. Is for thefirst few days of a curd's life.
They say after a few days, thecalcium protein bonds that cause

(02:29):
the squeakiness begin tobreak. This doesn't mean it's gone
bad. It doesn't. In fact, Iwas today years old when I found
out you can actually make yourcheese curds squeak again. You can
put your cheese curds in themicrowave for three to five seconds.
They say this rebonds thecalcium and protein structures, amping
up the squeak factor.
Wow.
They call this resqueakification. But don't microwave

(02:51):
it for too long. You'llactually melt the curds. Not all
curds are cute and squeaky.
They're not.
Some of them are like cottagecheese or farmer's cheese. Another
one is called Quark.
Quark.
Quark is soft, white, unaged,and usually has no salt added. Sometimes
cheese curd goes beyond thoselittle nuggets of goodness. They
sometimes get kneaded andtransformed into what's called stretched

(03:14):
curd cheeses. And they're alsoknown as pulled curd or plastic curd.
And I know what you'rethinking. That doesn't sound very
good either.
Nope.
This also sounds kind ofgross. The cheeses manufactured from
this technique undergo aplasticizing and needing treatment
of the fresh curd in hotwater, which gives it a fibrous structure.
Now, you think it soundsgross, but I guarantee you've had

(03:36):
it and you love it.
I don't know.
Ever heard of mozzarella?
Yeah.

(04:31):
Mozzarella is made using atechnique called pasta filata. It
starts off like a lot of othercheeses. It gets cut into pieces,
the whey is drained off, butit rests for a few hours, and then
the curds are steeped for afew hours in a bath of very hot water
or whey. Once the balls ofcheese begin to float, the liquid's
removed, the curd is mixed andkneaded, and then it becomes soft,

(04:53):
elastic and stringy intexture. Other types of pulled cheese
things like string cheese,provolone, Oaxaca cheese, and halloumi.
The makers of mozzarellacheese are not sponsors, but if they
were, their ad would go right.Here. I have two favorite standout
curd cheese dishes. The firstone, of course, is poutine. Canadians.

(05:16):
This one is for you. This is adelicious dish of french fries cheese
curds topped with a hot browngr. Yummy. This dish hit Quebec back
in the 1950s, and it's onlybeen growing in popularity since.
We talked about this deliciousdish in episode 73 and 178. Check
them out.

(05:36):
Yeah, we did.
Americans have probably eatenthis in the form of fried cheese
curds. WisconsinCheese.comtalks about making them at home.
They say the batter is light,flavorful and crisp. And their secret
to achieving this is usinglager beer. They say it adds a multi
rich flavor and thecarbonation helps to keep the batter
area. But let's say you wantto make cheese curd at home. Well,

(05:58):
you can. According toallrecipes.com that is. Okay, I'm
sorry, allrecipes, but thisone kind of cracks me up a little
bit because it talks about notliving close to some place you can
get cheese curds. Okay. ButI'd venture to say some of the ingredients
in this are hard to obtain.They talk about whole milk, easy
water, salt. Great. Then theytalk about liquid Renick mesophilic

(06:19):
culture and calcium chloridecrystals. Come on. For the items
you can't get at the grocery,we've got a link in our show notes
to our Amazon list. There's awebsite called cheesemaking.com.
this is a company in NewEngland for cheese making. Now, making
it yourself is not going to becheap. It's about $31 on their website,
but boy, would it be fun. Didyou know that there is a cheese curd

(06:43):
festival?
What?
Well, in 2026, on June 26thand 27th, in Ellsworth, Wisconsin,
according to cheese curdfestival.com, they're gonna have
6,000 pounds of cheese curds.
Holy cow
30 craft beers, hard ciders,local wines, 20 plus cheese curd
food, dishes,
Holy cow,
Live music, a car show. Itsounds like a delight.

(07:06):
Yum.
According to WesternMassNews.com back in 2024, there
was a cheese curd toss at theColby Cheese days. They say the premise
is simple. You take a chunk ofcheese, you loosen up your shoulder
and you give it a throw. Andthe throws are unlimited. They cost
$2 each. And they. The city ofColby. Nice. They say it's one of

(07:28):
the only times you'll everhave a chance to become a world champion.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. Why doesn't cheese curdplay hide and seek?
I don't know.
Because it always lets out alittle squeak.
Oh, and get it.
And let's add a little squeak.
Yeah, that was funny.
Oh, I love this one. And itwas a little bit cheesy. Thanks for

(07:52):
listening to Just Cheesy, thepodcast, episode 105, curd is the
word. We're active on all thesocials. Please feel free to reach
out to us. If you've got anidea for an episode you'd like us
to cover.
and stay cheesy, everybody.