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Homemade Squeaky Cheese Curds

Squeaky cheese curds are cooked cheddar-style cheese that hasn’t been fully pressed and aged. They are delicious as a snack, and are perfect as a melting cheese for pizza or poutine! (How can you tell that I’m Canadian?)

How to make snacking cheese curds - a simple cooked curd cheese

How to serve cheese curds

We love cheese curds. The curds you buy in the store are NOTHING like homemade curds. Fresh curds have a unique soft and squeaky texture. Then they firm up within a few hours.

Wondering what you can do with your curds?

  • Snacks: They are easy to take along on picnics, walks, or when traveling.
  • Poutine: This traditional Canadian dish features fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. It is unbelievably delicious.
  • Chili cheese fries: I guess it’s a “healthier” version of poutine? Regardless, swapping chili for gravy certainly turns fries into a meal.
  • Melting: Curds can be used as a melting cheese for pizza and other dishes.
  • Salads: Fresh and delicious curds can be crumbled onto salads.

Learning to Make Cheese

Squeaky cheese curds are a good place to start for anyone wanting to experiment with making hard cheese. It involves all the same steps as cheddar, without the aging process. So you don’t need a proper cheese press, nor a place to age the cheese.

However, this isn’t a beginner-friendly recipe. The recipe assumes that you have basic knowledge of cheesemaking, the necessary ingredients, and how to sanitize. If it’s your first time making cheese, please read through the step-by-step guide to cheesemaking.

If you want to make a simple aged cheese, then try farmhouse cheese, which is a simplified version of cheddar.

Print

Cheese Curds

Homemade cheese curds have a unique squeaky texture that is delicious
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Cheese curds are fresh cheddar cheese that isn’t pressed or aged. As a cooked curd cheese, they are perfect as a snacking cheese or for melting. See the section above for serving options.

  • Author: Emillie
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 cups 1x
  • Category: Cheese
  • Method: Fermented
  • Cuisine: Canadian
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 liters of milk
  • 1/2 package of mesophilic culture (see notes)
  • 1/4 tsp of liquid rennet in 2 Tbsp filtered water
  • 1/4 tsp of calcium chloride in 2 Tbsp filtered water (if using pasteurized milk)
  • 1 Tbsp salt (non-iodized)

Instructions

  1. Heat milk to 90F (32C). Stir in the culture and maintain the temperature for 90 minutes.
  2. Stir in calcium chloride, then the rennet, mixing thoroughly.
  3. Maintain the heat at 90F and let the milk rest for 45 min to set the curd.
  4. When the curds show a clean break, cut the curds into 1/2-inch cubes.
  5. Cook the curd by gently stirring every 5 minutes for the next 1/2 hour, while slowly raising the temperature to 110F (43C).
  6. Once you have reached 110 F, maintain the temperature and continue stirring every 5 minutes for another 30 minutes. The curds will have cooked for a total of 1 hour.
  7. Line a strainer with butter muslin and pour the curds and whey into it.
  8. Hang the curd in the butter muslin and allow it to drain for 30 minutes.
  9. Twist the muslin tight then press the cheese with 8 lbs of weight for 2-3 hours.
  10. At that point, the curds will have knit into one solid mass. Break them up with your fingers and sprinkle on the salt.
  11. The curds will be “squeaky” for the first few hours. Otherwise, you can store them in the refrigerator and use them within 4 weeks.

Notes

  • The best milk for cheesemaking is non-homogenized. If you’re using homogenized milk then add the calcium chloride.
  • You can replace the mesophilic culture with a 1/4 cup of milk kefir or a 1/4 cup of cultured buttermilk. The flavor will be slightly different, but it will acidify the milk. If using homemade culture you may want to test the acidity of the cheese before setting the rennet.

Keywords: diy, homemade, poutine, curds, cheddar, cheesemaking, fall, winter

Filed Under: Cheese

Previous Post: « Traditional Sweet Whey Ricotta
Next Post: Amazing Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread »

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Comments

  1. Jamie

    February 20, 2020 at 11:49 am

    What size package of culture do you have cause I have a huge one and don’t think putting.half of that will fly

    Reply
    • Emillie

      February 21, 2020 at 10:47 am

      I have only ever used individual packages or tablets. The package ought to say how much to use for 1 gallon (approx. 4 liters) of milk. If it doesn’t provide instructions, then try 1/16 of a tsp. Good luck!

      Reply
      • Cperch

        January 17, 2022 at 8:35 pm

        do you mean 1 gallon is 16 cups of milk? I believe a quart is 4 cups and a gallon is 4 quarts.

        Reply
        • Emillie

          January 18, 2022 at 8:14 am

          Oops! A typo in the comment. I meant 1 gallon (4 Liters). 🙂

          Reply
  2. Nicole Lamothe-Blades

    April 17, 2021 at 4:52 pm

    Would consider adding a Pinterest logo so that your recipes/blogs can be “pinned”??

    Reply
    • Emillie

      April 19, 2021 at 10:12 am

      Hum… I actually use a fairly expensive plug in that provides both a sidebar Pinterest icon as well as one on the actual photos. I just checked and it appears to be working on my computer. I wonder why it isn’t working on your computer? The floating sidebar is on the left, and the icon on the photos is in the top left corner. Cheers, Emillie

      Reply
  3. Melanie Audet

    September 20, 2021 at 2:42 pm

    I have a question- are you able to use raw milk in the squeaky cheese curd recipe? If i’m reading things correctly, I DON”T have to add the mesophilic culture if i use raw milk? Or do i still need to add the culture? My parents are from Quebec, and we get cheese curds every time we visit. If i can make them here, that would be GREAT!!

    Reply
    • Emillie

      September 21, 2021 at 11:03 am

      Unfortunately, I don’t have access to raw milk, so I always add culture (or use milk kefir). However, my understanding is (based on a stack of cheesemaking books) that raw milk naturally contains mesophilic cultures. The trick is that the exact cultures in raw milk will change based on the seasons, what the cows are eating, etc. Since the cheese is also set with rennet, you can use the natural culture. The biggest difference will be in the flavor of the cheese. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Chris kugler

    April 24, 2022 at 9:04 am

    I have been making cheese for a couple of weeks now. What really confuses me is how to measure the weight in the Press. I have tried finding it on you tube and Google and can’t find the answer

    Reply
    • Emillie Parrish

      April 25, 2022 at 10:18 am

      If you have a particular press that uses tension for the weight, then you will need to read the directions for your pressG to determine the various weights. Otherwise, the weights are actual physical weights. For example, pressing at 20 lbs. literally means 20 lbs. of weight. Cheers!

      Reply
  5. Daniel

    May 11, 2022 at 9:19 am

    Hi!

    You mention testing the pH when using a homemade culture, but what’s the target range to go for? I can’t find it anywhere =/

    I’m so excited to try this recipe! Been wanting to try poutine for years but never had access to curds, so decided it’s time to make my own now 🙂

    Reply
    • Emillie Parrish

      May 11, 2022 at 9:31 am

      I don’t test for pH, as it’s not really necessary for home use. 🙂 However, you want the pH to be between 5.5 and 5.1. If you’re outside of that range your cheese won’t melt properly. Poutine is delicious. Good luck!

      Reply
      • Daniel

        May 12, 2022 at 12:09 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
  6. Ryan

    August 23, 2022 at 10:38 am

    Homemade poutine! This is great!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  7. Emillie Parrish

    January 5, 2023 at 10:49 am

    I’m sorry you struggled. Curds are a bit more complicated. It depends on the quality of your milk, the culture, and rennet. Maintaining the right temperature for the right length of time. If you’re keen on making cheese, try something a bit easier like cream cheese or cottage cheese. Cheers!

    Reply
  8. Emily Noelle

    January 8, 2023 at 8:44 pm

    I’ve made this recipe maybe close to 100 times over the past couple years and I’ll continue to make it as long as I continue cheesemaking. This is my number one go to curd recipe and I’ve tried tons till I found this. I keep my own goats and milk them and make these curds the most out of any other cheese. They even store well for months in the fridge as long as they are packed with food saver. I use 1/16 tsp mesophyllic culture instead of a 1/2 pack but this is because I use bulk culture and raw goats milk.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emillie Parrish

      January 9, 2023 at 11:30 am

      Ooh… I haven’t tried goat’s milk! Glad the recipe works for you! 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Emillie, an island-dwelling fermentation enthusiast. Fermenting For Foodies features healthy recipes designed to feed your microbiome.
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