Basic Steps of Making Cheese Curd

Today we will walk you through the process we use to make your favorite delicious fresh cheese curd! 

Enjoy learning about the careful steps involved in this process. Let’s begin!

1. Milk is brought from the farm and put into the tank. Milk is treated with minimum pasteurization.

2. Milk is then put into the vat and cooled and live cheese cultures are added.

3. Milk sets in the vat for a certain amount of time. Rennet and calcium are added. (This coagulates the milk. In other words, sets up the whole tank of milk like a body of yogurt.)

4. When the time is right, this body of milk is ready to cut, stir, and cook. Time and temperature are very crucial. They determine the texture and the moisture of the curd.

5.Then mixture is pumped into the draining table.

6. In this step, the whey drains away from the cheese and this table of cheese becomes one big chunk of cheese.

7. A knife is used to cut squares from the body of the cheese.

8. Squares of cheese are rotated multiple times. These steps of rotating and stacking the cheese as it drains more of the whey are called the cheddaring process.

9. We now wait until the cheese tells us when it’s ready to mill (cut the cheese into the actual curd shape).

10. In this step, the cheese is milled.

11. Cheese is salted as it comes out of the miller.

12. The curd is stirred as it’s being salted and stirred multiple times as it cools down. 

13. Now, seasonings are added to give the curd its flavor.

14. Curd is stirred by hand to spread out the seasonings.

15.Curd is weighed and packaged. 

16. And you’re finished!

The delightful taste and texture of fresh warm squeaky curd is an experience like none other. Stop by the plant Monday-Wednesday after 2pm to try it for yourself!

Thank you for taking the time to learn about the careful process that makes our cheese curd a favorite for so many people!