Cheese

Your local Sendiks Food Market offers many choices when it comes to cheese curds. Among those many  cheese makers is the Malcore Cheese curds both fresh and refrigerated.  So what is the difference?   Here in our Germantown Sendiks we receive Malcore’s fresh curds on Tuesday, Friday and Saturdays. Often when the delivery truck arrives they are even still warm…..delivered directly from the cheese factory.

I am not a native to Wisconsin so when I moved here from Michigan I had no idea of what a cheese curd was.  Soon when I got to try my first curd I wasn’t too impressed.  But then I got to try fresh curds and learned about the importance of the squeakiness, which is the sure indicator of it’s freshness.

Wisconsin is the only state which has laws on the books regulating the sale of fresh curds.  When we receive the curds they are coming directly from the cheese factory.  These one pound bags are brought to the cheese department and are kept at a demo station. According to Wisconsin law we are not permitted to refrigerate the fresh curds!  Each bag of curds are dated with the current date and labeled as “Fresh” on the front of the bag.  We are only permitted to sell those curds for twenty-four hours.  At the end of the twenty-four hours any remaining curds are set aside and returned to Malcore.   And just so you know I had to ask what Malcore’s do with the returned curds.  I was really glad to find out that they become a special treat for a local pig farm.

Malcore’s also provides us with refrigerated curds.  These curds are kept in the cheese coolers.  They are the same exact curd but  must be kept refrigerated as indicated by Wisconsin law.  There is also a date on these bags, but this date indicates the expiration date.    These curds have the same quality as the “fresh” curds the only difference being that they are kept refrigerated.  Often if you let refrigerated curds set out at room temperature they will become squeaky, but you will not experience the tell tail sign of squeakiness of fresh curds with a cold curd.

After living in Wisconsin now for the last 12 years, I have grown to love curds as much as any native Cheese Head.  And since  introducing them to my family I am welcomed back home…..only I must bring with me fresh curds!