Do you know what a fried cheese curd is?

[Pbartender]

Yeah, ok. I guess I kinda asked for that. Background: when my oldest brother was getting his masters degree at UW-LaCrosse he found somewhere to get chunks of cheese that ranged from marble-sized to 2-3 inches.

IIRC, they were some by-product of the manufacture of cheese. Thing is, when you bit into them, they made this faint squeaking noise due to the firmness/internal structure of the cheese. They were quite tasty, and odd to eat.

The more I think about it, I am pretty sure they were called cheese curds, but not fried. Perhaps they were a specific kind of cheese. Oh Well.

Yep... Those are cheese curds. They look like little bite-sized chunks of cheese, and range in color from pale yellow to deep orange. Curds are essentially 'raw' cheese. It's the curds that get pressed into a mold and are allowed to 'ripen' into cheese.

Cheese curds will squeak when bitten into. The fresher they are, the better they squeak.

Remember Miss Muffet and her curds and whey? Think of cottage cheese. The chunks in the cottage cheese are curds, and the runny stuff is whey.

 

[thalmin]

Fried Cheese Curds. Food of the gods!
First introduced to them when I worked at a scout camp in central Wisconsin. I get them whenever I go back up north. We called them Cheese Curds, Cheese Nuggets, Nuggies, and Squeakers. Yes, the best did squeak.
The proper ones are made with the real cheddar curds, that is to say the curds that if aged would have become cheddar.



Its (past) time for another trip north. ROAD TRIP!!!

 

[Bloodstone Press]

When I lived in upstate NY there was fried cheese curds. We used them as snacks durring games a lot.... I don't remember cheese balls though. However, in TN, I haven't seen cheese curds anywhere, but they do have cheese balls here, which I like.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

fried cheese curd

The name of it sounds like something nasty, but I'd sure like to try one anyway. Are they common in Indianapolis?

 

[Pbartender]

The name of it sounds like something nasty, but I'd sure like to try one anyway. Are they common in Indianapolis?

Culver's is a Midwest-centered, Wisconsin-based hamburger/frozen custard chain that has fried cheese curds on their menu. There's at least a couple of them somewhere around Indianapolis.

 

[thalmin]

Culver's is a Midwest-centered, Wisconsin-based hamburger/frozen custard chain that has fried cheese curds on their menu. There's at least a couple of them somewhere around Indianapolis.

Road trip shortened! Culver's just a few miles from here. (How did I miss those on the menu?)

 

[Pbartender]

Road trip shortened! Culver's just a few miles from here. (How did I miss those on the menu?)

Many A&W restaurants also have cheese curds on their menus. In fact, if you go to their website right now, they have an on-line cheese curd coupon good until the end of the month.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Many A&W restaurants also have cheese curds on their menus. In fact, if you go to their website right now, they have an on-line cheese curd coupon good until the end of the month.

Something about A&W cheese balls is inferior to others (such as Culvers, which are absolutely fabulous)... their breading is not so good...

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Darn right! There's a place in Greenfield, Missouri called Red's and another called Dairy Isle, both of which carry the wonderful little heart cloggers that you refer to. We get some any time we go to visit my dad, and my wife, who is native to South Carolina and had never had them before I took her up there, brings them up every few weeks or so, wishing we could have some. The closest thing around here is jalapeno poppers. But of course, those have jalapeno in them. :\

Jalepenos are good..... just in moderation.

The only "cheese balls" I've been around are those nice sized ones you slice a chunk off to put on a cracker....

I like Red Lobster's "Cheese Biscuits". They're yummy!

 

[Bryan898]

Mmm fried foods always make me think of the state fair. Pound corn dogs, fried twinkies, snickers, ice cream, cheese balls... I think just about anything can be fried and it turns out good.

On a side note, Maid Rite makes pretty good cheese balls, at least the last one I went to did.