Curd

Curd is the solid mass that forms when milk coagulates, whether through rennet, cultures or an edible acid such as lemon juice or vinegar. It can be eaten as it is or serve as the first stage in making cheese, and it appears in cuisines across the world.

History

Curd forms when milk coagulates. As acidity rises, the milk proteins, mainly casein, bind together into solid masses, leaving whey, the liquid that keeps the whey proteins. Milk left to sour naturally also curdles on its own, and some sour-milk cheeses developed from this principle.

In cheesemaking, the curds are pressed and drained to different degrees depending on the style, and secondary agents such as moulds for blue cheeses are added before ageing. As a finished product, curd is used in baking or eaten as a snack. Its spread has followed dairy farming and the домestic techniques of each region.

Culture

In Quebec, other French-speaking areas of Canada and Atlantic Canada, fresh cheese curds are sold in small packs and regarded as a typically Canadian food. Across the rest of Canada they top french fries and gravy in the popular poutine. They also feature in communities of German descent, such as historic Waterloo County in Ontario, and in parts of the Midwestern United States, especially Wisconsin, where they are eaten fresh or breaded and fried.

Varieties change from country to country, including cottage cheese, queso blanco, paneer and farmer cheese. In Hungary, túró is an ingredient in national dishes such as túrós palacsinta. In 2019 rögös túró received EU Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status. In Turkey it is called keş and served on fried bread. In Sri Lanka it is eaten as a dessert, especially buffalo curd cured in clay pots and served with kitul treacle. In Nepal it is made from pasteurised milk soured with natural micro-flora in wooden containers. In Mexico, chongos zamoranos is a dessert of milk curdled with sugar and cinnamon.