What’s the Difference Between Cheese Curds and Cheese?
Cheddar curds are just cheddar before it’s been aged and formed, with a little extra salt added to make them snackable like potato chips. If you take those same curds, press them into a wheel or block, and age them for anywhere from sixty days to ten years, they become the magnificent cheese that you buy at your cheese counter. Buying this cheese as a curd is not only fun, it helps cheddar producers survive by bringing in a little money for all their cheesemaking expenses without them having to wait years to get paid!
Special thanks to Gordon Edgar, cheesemonger at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco and author of Cheddar: A Journey to the Heart of America’s Most Iconic Cheese.
Check out these cheese curd recipes:
Cheesemonger Gordon "Gordonzola" Edgar
Gordon Edgar is an author and cheesemonger at Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in San Francisco.
