Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Wisconsin and the US Midwest

Cheese curdsfromage en grains

Cheese curds are Cheddar curd sold before it is pressed into blocks. Milk is cultured, set with rennet, cut and cooked; the curd is matted, cut into slabs, milled into pieces and salted. The pieces are sold right after making and kept at room temperature for a day for the best texture. Made in 6 steps over 4 days – 8 days. The longest step, chill, takes 3–7 days (St-Gelais D 2009) and runs at 4 °C (St-Gelais D 2009). Streptococcus thermophilus, dominant during making and Lactococcus cremoris do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–7 daysReported[stgelais2009]Chill
Temperature4 °CReported[stgelais2009]Chill

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe Cheddar standard fixes the steps but gives no recipe amounts.
Cow milk[cfr133-113]
Lactic acid-producing culture · A thermophilic-based starter in one Canadian study[cfr133-113][stgelais2009]
Rennet or another clotting enzyme[cfr133-113]
Salt[cfr133-113]
Starter: lactic culture; thermophilic-based in one study, with Lactococcus cremoris

Total time across the recorded steps: 4 days – 8 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countS. thermophilusLactococcus cremoris

What changes: Culture and rennet go into the milk and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Culture and set the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
S. thermophilus
Lactococcus cremoris

Output: set curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactic culture starts the acid; rennet sets the milk

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Curds follow the Cheddar make up to milling and salting, then skip pressing and ripening. They are sold fresh and last only days.

Milk
Cow milk
Ripening
None; sold the same day and kept about a day at room temperature
Shelf life
Generally 3 days at 4 °C

Related ferments

Variants

  • Flavoured curdsMade with a diacetyl-producing Lactococcus strain for a buttery flavour and slower souring.

Safety

The study cited held curds at room temperature for only 24 h, then at 4 °C.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [cfr133-113] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 133.113 Cheddar cheese (via Cornell LII)gov
  2. [stgelais2009] St-Gelais D., Lessard J., Champagne C.P., Vuillemard J.C. 2009, Production of fresh Cheddar cheese curds with controlled postacidification and enhanced flavor, Journal of Dairy Science 92:1856–1863paper