Talk:Cheese curds

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[edit] Tasty, tasty, tasty

I removed this:

Curds are tasty, tasty, tasty. All Wisconsinites develop a lifelong craving for them at an early age.

I think it's a little too subjective. If it could be sourced (if a similar statement could be attributed to a writer, newspaper columnist, famous person, etc.) it could go back. Not that they aren't tasty. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:16, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] A&W status?

User:FunkyChicken! recently added:

In the United States, cheese curds are available at A&W Restaurants nationwide. [1]

I am slightly skeptical. I don't know of any A&W's nearby but will be on the lookout.

Has FunkyChicken! seen them in an A&W outside WIsconsin? Has anyone actually tried them?

I am troubled by these things:

  • Despite the announcement, they are not listed anywhere in the Menus section that I can find; for example, not at sides.
  • I would like clarification of whether these are cheese curds, or fried cheese curds. (I suspect the latter).
  • And, I would like someone who has actually tried them to report on whether or not they have any true cheese curd characteristics (e.g. squeak), as I do not see how A&W could possibly have solved the shipping problems. They do not mention any special techniques used. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:48, 30 July 2005 (UTC)
  • I have had the cheese curds outside of Wisconsin at A&W's in California, Maryland, Virginia, New York and New Jersey. The press release said they were a nationwide addition. [2]
    • They are fried cheese curds, and I changed that in the article.
    • They are as close as you can get to fried cheese curds outside of Wisconsin and do have a bit of the squeak. They are white cheddar, unlike what I am used to in Wisconsin, they are also a bit smaller. My guess is they are flash frozen and shipped akin methods used for mozzarella sticks.
    • If you want to find an A&W near you, check their store locator. [3] FunkyChicken! 19:50, July 31, 2005 (UTC)
      • Thanks for the personal confirmation. Dpbsmith (talk) 23:59, 31 July 2005 (UTC)
        • Not a problem, and several other displaced Cheeseheads I know have reported to me that they have found them at A&Ws in their neck of the woods and they are not bad for that craving in a pinch! FunkyChicken! 04:43, August 1, 2005 (UTC)
          • I just made a six-mile pilgrimage to Stoughton, Massachusetts on a quest for an A&W. I have never had fried cheese curds so cannot say how they compare to fried cheese curds in Wisconsin. But I was greatly disappointed. Frankly, you could have told me they were mozzarella sticks and apart from the shape I wouldn't have known the difference. As you note, the cheese is white, which surprised me as all the (fresh) cheese curds I've had in Wisconsin were orange. The shape was ball-like, rather than peanut-like. And the taste was just that of mild, grocery-store cheddar cheese; no "fresh cheese curd" character that I could detect at all. Oh, and they cost a small fortune: $2.99 for a package about the size of small McDonald's fries. Maybe yours squeaked; mine certainly did not. But at any rate I can confirm that it does indeed seem to be a nationalwide menu item. (I bet: not for long.) Dpbsmith (talk) 21:58, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
            • Fried cheese curds don't squeak... but the best cheese curds are in Dyckesville, WI.

[edit] They are NOT a Wisconsin-only food

Contrary to the apparent belief of its residents, cheese actually is manufactured in (U.S.) places other than Wisconsin. (Gasp!) I know, I know, what a horrid thing to say--but it's true. Sunnyside, Washington, for one. Every time I'm passing through the area (a couple times a year, maybe), I stop by the Darigold factory and pick up some fresh cheese curds. Yellow, squeaky, and insanely good. Because of my city's proximity to Sunnyside, we can actually buy curds at a couple of spots in town. (They're not quite as good as the ones purchased at the source, but still decent.)

Long story made short (too late!), the article is getting a factual makeover. Matt Yeager 23:15, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

Ridiculous. Next you'll be claiming that New York produces more dairy products than Wisconsin, or some such absurdity... Dpbsmith (talk) 23:33, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

I assumed everybody knew how good cheese curds were. But then last year a friend from Iowa said he never even heard of them, and he was a chef by trade. So at the age of 30 I started to think cheese curds were like the word "bubbler", in use only in state (In actuality this concept is incorrect also, as it is actually in usage in either New Hampshire or Vermont). OH, cheese. I thought you said "cheese curds". Duh, Wisconsin people don't believe cheese is only here. It is also in Vermont. 67.53.78.15 16:18, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Notable locations of cheese curds?

So, I grew up in WI, and yea, cheese curds are great. Whenever I go up there, or relatives come down here, they bring cheese curds along with them at my request lol. So, where are some cheese factories that distribute cheese curds? Any reasoning why they aren't "big" in other parts of the U.S.?

  • They have to be fresh and that means they are really only available at cheese factories. That probably accounts for the geographical distribution. I tried some fried cheese curds at the local A&W in Canton, Massachusetts and you couldn't tell the difference between them and mozzarella sticks. Tasteless. And they were very pricey, $3.95 for a little container the size of a small order French fries. Dpbsmith (talk) 03:31, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

Is the St-Albert (Ontario) yearly Curd Festival notable? You can find info on it at CurdFestival.com [4] - it's next weekend (August 17-18-19) and multiple different flavours and types of cheese curds are available for trial, as well as a wine-and-cheese-curds shindig. I'm obviously going to try it out this year, but I'm wondering if it's really encyclopedic... redlion 01:22, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

It's not notable unless you can find reliable secondary sources for it. Otherwise it's just advertizing for a small, local festival, which isn't encyclopedic.--Boffob 04:33, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
That's what I thought... although I don't know of any other celebration of The Cheese Curd, anywhere - so, if only for that, it might deserve a mention. Anyways, I'm definitely going this year (for the first time) and I'll take a bunch of pictures. At least then we could have decent pics of white cheese curds, and my 6h-round-trip there won't have been for naught. 74.56.173.49 12:53, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] pix

I got a coupla shots of cheese curds and finally uploaded them... I put one of them in the article, but it's not the highest quality image ever made. I'll try to do better next time I gots curd. These are the images:

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Tomertalk 03:11, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Those photos are, simply, unacceptable. They're poorly lit, blurry, and the make cheese curds look VERY unappetizing. mrcool1122 04:56, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
Kind of like the current pic on the page 67.53.78.15 16:36, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Um. what *are* they?

Ok, the article explains where you can get them, what they're like, and what you can do with them. But what the heck *are* they? How are they made? Are they a byproduct of cheese? Are they a stage in the production of cheese? What are cheese curds? spikey 23:51, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

Cheese is made up of curds and whey. There's a header atop the page explaining that for an explanation of what curds are, you should go to the curd article. (But because you asked... they're basically solidified milk proteins.) Matt Yeager ♫ (Talk?) 23:14, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dipping them???

Some places have marinara sauce to dip them in... particularly in Illinois. I don't see the need to dip them myself, but some people like it that way, and some places with cheap knockoffs for cheese curds (i.e. Monical's Pizza, a central illinois chain serve "cheddar nuggets" with red sauce).--69.21.146.227 02:34, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Some places also have cheap knock-offs called "mozzarella sticks" 67.53.78.15 16:22, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other states

I added Minnesota and Iowa as locations you often find deep fried cheese curds at carnivals and fairs, as well as "occasionally" finding them in restaurants, etc. I lived in the midwest my whole life, and I nearly always seem them at a fair, but not very often in a restaurant (which is probably a good thing because I dont think I'd be able to resist them).

[edit] Misinformation

The article currently claims that "cheese curds are the fresh curds of cheddar cheese." But, cheese curds are a part of the production process for all types of cheese. Also, if you freeze them, they retain their squeak indefinitely. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.152.153.240 (talk) 18:36, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

You're probably looking for the curd article. The cheese curds article is exclusively about the cheedar cheese curds that are sold and eaten as such, which is essentially a North American phenomenon, and not about the n-th step in the process of making of any cheese. Also, your second statement is dubious without a reliable source.--Boffob 21:09, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I've had cheese curds that were not from cheddar in Upstate New York. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.68.48.133 (talk) 05:02, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Non-cheddar cheese curds are probably quite common in all areas in which the fresh curds are generally common. If you go to the weekly Farmer's Market in Madison, WI, you will see dozens of cheese stands selling curds (the fresh kind, not the breaded kind), only half of what they sell is orange. I've had Mozzarella, Swiss, and Montery Jack. I've also had "flavored" cheese curds, with things like dill, or sundried tomatoes, even chicken stock added to them for flavorings, the same sorts of things you see these days in the gourmet cheese sections. Almost any kind of semi-hard, non-aged cheese could probably have a cheese curd equivalent. 69.95.236.61 (talk) 22:37, 25 December 2007 (UTC)