Cheese Curds. Snack of Win.

Cheese Curds. Mmmm..... Consult the wiki, according to it they are especially known and available in "USA's Upstate New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, and Canada's provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick where they can be found in many grocery stores." I always just used to buy them at Stewart's. I guess I always took it for granted that cheese curds might be a pseudo-regional food, they have always been a kind of staple snack in my world.

In Albany, I would say that we are at the extreme southern extent of the poutine belt, which is probably the ultimate expression of the cooked/melted curd (see here for some New York curd poutine). But I always fancied them raw, out of the bag, maybe with a little saltine or white bread. The brand that is most common around our parts is Heluva Good formerly out of Sodus, NY, but now owned by Crowley. Funny thing, for the longest time I never got the pun. I thought "Heluva Good" was Scandinavian or something, I never got the "Hell of a Good" thing. I am a simple man.

As I stated before, these are widely available in the dairy case at most Stewart's. I pick them up sometimes when I am on the move and need a quick and nutritious bag of goodness to carry me through the day. The mellow sharpness of un-aged cheddar coupled with the toothsome texture of the un-pressed curd is delicious to my sensibilities. Only a couple bucks to boot! Try them out should you be in the mood.