By Kristine Hansen | Photo courtesy of Travel Wisconsin
Cheese curds are unequivocally unique to Wisconsin. With very few exceptions, you won’t find these salty, bite-sized fresh pieces of cheddar cheese produced in other U.S. states, although the closest version geographically is in a classic Canadian dish called poutine: fries topped with curds and slathered in gravy.
At their best when the unaged curds are so fresh they squeak when you take a bite, because they were made within the last 48 hours, this is the last stage in the cheese-making process before being molded into bricks or blocks. As long as cheese has been produced for commercial reasons in Wisconsin, so have curds. Initially this was a factory byproduct, but now it’s considered an artisan cheese on par with other varieties, such as cheddar, gouda and mozzarella. Since 2022 cheese curds have had their own category for judging at the World Championship Cheese Contest, but even earlier than this, in 1984, Ellsworth, Wisconsin, was named the Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin, an honor bestowed upon the city by then-Wisconsin Gov. Tony Earl.
Whether you enjoy cheese curds fresh (bought at cheese shops and grocery stores, and also gas stations) or deep-fried (easy to order at restaurants and bars), there isn’t a corner of the state where you can’t find these.
Most cheese shops, grocery stores and, yes, even gas stations around the state carry these. The best place to satisfy a craving for deep-fried cheese curds is often at a craft brewery’s taproom, because a key ingredient to nailing the recipe is battering and frying the curds in not only oil but also beer. Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee even calls their version “Our Famous Cheese Curds” and they are served with a side of ranch dressing, just like at Baraboo’s Tumbled Rock Brewery & Kitchen. Similarly, Potosi Brewery in Potosi (in southwestern Wisconsin) pairs its beer-battered white-cheddar cheese curds with ranch. At J. Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard inside American Family Field, which is home field for the Milwaukee Brewers, beer-battered cheese curds come with pickled peppers as well as sour cream onion aioli for a fun fusion of flavors. Wisconsin’s capital city of Madison is home to quite a few craft breweries. One of those, Stark Weather Brewing, includes deep-fried cheese curds on its food menu. These hail from Decatur Dairy in Brodhead, which has been making curds since the 1940s and has the unique distinction of being home to the only certified master cheesemaker in the world, owner Steve Stettler, specializing in cheese curds.
Where to Find Great Cheese Curds
- BLOODY MARY: North Country Cheese, StoneRidge and Weyauwega Star Dairy
- CAJUN/HOT PEPPER: Cheese Brothers, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, Gibbsville Cheese, Henning’s, Nasonville Diary, North Country Cheese, Renard’s Cheese, Scray’s Cheese, Vern’s Cheese and Weyauwega Star Dairy
- DILL PICKLE: Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, Gardners Wisconsin Cheese and StoneRidge
- GARDEN SALSA: Gardners Wisconsin Cheese
- GARLIC AND DILL: Cheese Brothers, Gardners Wisconsin Cheese, Gibbsville Cheese, Henning’s, Nasonville Dairy, North Country Cheese, Renard’s Cheese, Scray’s Cheese, StoneRidge, Vern’s Cheese and Weyauwega Star Dairy
- JAMAICAN JERK: North Country Cheese
- PIZZA: Weyauwega Star Dairy
- TACO: Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, Gardners Wisconsin Cheese, Kraemer Wisconsin Cheese and Nasonville Dairy
- TOMATO BASIL: Cheese Brothers, North Country Cheese and Vern’s Cheese
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