# "Cheese curd" cheese



## fols (Nov 5, 2008)

Hi,
I don't post often, but read here alot. Yesterday I made cheese curd cheese by taking a cheddar recipe and cutting it short by not doing the final pressing. It worked out beautifully! I rolled the curds in a vegetable dill dip afterwards to give it some great flavor. I used just 1/2 gallon milk since this was an experiment, but will do more next time. 
It was quite time consuming, but the end product was well worth it. I was canning green beans at the same time, so it just added to the kitchen havoc!

Let me know if anyone wants the recipe since I had trouble finding anything on the internet and just took a gamble on what I did.

Thanks,
Diane


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

I do! Ive been looking forever for a recipe for cheese curds!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I have done this, too. Also, using pasteurized goat milk, make the cheddar recipe, but don't age it.

Saves lots of time!


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## fols (Nov 5, 2008)

Hi all,
Here's the recipe I used for cheese curds. Good luck!
2 gallons whole milk (I used fresh goat)
1 packet direct-set mesophilic starter (from Ricki Carroll) Not sure how much starter is in a packet. Maybe 1/2 teaspoon?
1 teaspoon liquid rennet or 1/4 tablet rennet diluted in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water
2 tablespoons cheese salt

1. Heat the milk to 86Â°F in your sink/double boiler. Add the starter and stir well. Cover and allow the milk to ripen for 45 minutes.
2. Make sure the milk's temperature is 86Â°F. Add the diluted rennet and stir gently with an up-and-down motion for 1 minute. If you're using farm-fresh cow's milk, top-stir for several minutes longer. Cover and let set, undisturbed, for 45 minutes.
3. Cut the curd into 1/4-inch cubes. Allow the curds to set for 10 minutes undisturbed.
4. Heat the curds to 100Â°F in sink/double boiler, increasing the temperature no more than two degrees every 5 minutes. This should take about 30 minutes. Stir gently every 10 minutes to keep the cubes from matting.
5. Once the curds reach 100Â°F, maintain that temperature and continue stirring for 30 minutes longer.
6. Allow the curds to set for 20 minutes.
7. Pour the curds and whey into a cloth lined colander. Place the colander of curds back into the pot and let set for 15 minutes. Gently squeeze the cloth so your curds form a ball. You should have a small amount of whey in the bottom of the pan.
8. Remove the colander from the pot and place ball of curds on a cutting board. Cut the curd into 3-inch slices. Put the pot into a sink full of 100Â°F water. Place the slices in the pot, salt them and cover the pot. Maintain the curds at 100Â°F, turning them every 15 minutes, for 1 hour.
9. The curd slices should now be tough and have a texture similar to that of chicken meat. 
10. Put the curd slices back on your cutting board and cut into bite-sized cubes. Season them with dill or whatever you prefer.
11. Store cheese curds in refrigerator.

Diane


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## Carolyn (Jan 5, 2008)

we lived across the street from what the kids called the milk plant-but it was where they took the milk after being picked up at the farms in smaller trucks, then went into semi's to be hauled to a cheese factory. Where ever it went made cheese curds and they would bring and sell smaller containers of cheese curds in the little office in a refrigerator--they must have had at least 15 different varieties--mozzeralla, cheddar, garlic, ranch, sun dried tomato, pepper jack were a few. The extra ingredients were mixed in the curds. Although we drink the milk raw--YDD and DS prefer pasterized for their young children, does this make a differnce? I have more goats now for cheese and they are going to freshen in about 5 weeks. I am so going to try this.  Thank you


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## fols (Nov 5, 2008)

It shouldn't really matter whether the milk is paturized or not - just make sure if you buy any that it is not ultra-pasturized since this messes up cheese. I love having my own goat milk so I can experiment with different cheeses and not really feel like I've wasted any money if it doesn't work or I don't like the end product.


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## Carolyn (Jan 5, 2008)

no--not gonna try it until our girls have freshened--then I think we wait for a couple 2 or 3 weeks sooo it will probably be the end of Sept.  I am getting impatient waiting for those girls to kid LOL.


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