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Curd was the Word on #NationalCheeseCurdDay

The Cheesiest Holiday Around

October 15th was #NationalCheeseCurdDay – and like many of you, we previously didn’t know this holiday was…well, a holiday. But, oh what a holiday it turned out to be. Brie-live us when we say, with these little cheese curds on your side, life doesn’t get any cheddar than this.

To celebrate this tremen’swiss occasion, we joined our friends over at Wisconsin Cheese for their live Facebook event to celebrate all things curd. Read our recap below for highlights on this cheese-filled magic hour that left us all perpetually saying, “talk curdy to me.”

Bow Down to the Curd Queen and Mayor of Cheeselandia

Just like a spicy monteray jack cheese, the night started with a kick – featuring curd royalty Tara Rushmer. Apparently, Tara has wanted to be a curd maker since she was a child. It sure beats our less than feasible childhood dream of becoming Batman.

 

Wisconsin Cheese CMO and Mayor of Cheeselandia, Suzanne Fanning, jumped on next to talk about the thriving community of cheese lovers, known as Cheeselandia, and how all of us dairy lovers could give back to the community through the initiative “The Great American Milk Drive” which donates milk to local families in need in your community.

Cooking with Curds

Luke Zahm – celebrity chef, one heck of a poet, and the host of Wisconsinfoodie was up next to cook up some jokes and tasty fried curds. Both of his parents are dairy farmers – so he was sort of “bread” for this life.

 

Luke kicked off his session with some background research he did for the big day, which apparently did not just consist of eating curds (that’s how we prepared). He started with some passionate poems about curds, which we are stealing for Valentine’s Day, and then asked some cheese lovers a series of questions in which he received some…interesting answers – which are below.

What’s the word with your curd? (Love Poems)

  • A poet’s hope to be, like some valley cheese, local but prized elsewhere – W.H. Auden
  • Squeaky cheese curds you’re the one, you make eating so much fun – a cheese lover and a little bit of Ernie from Sesame Street.

What would you do to win cheese curds for a year?

  • Get a cheese tattoo
  • Steal candy from a small child

Describe a cheese curd.

  • A little nugget from heaven
  • A little rubbery but not in a bad way
After this immersive and useful research, Luke made some beer-battered cheese curds on camera. This is an amazing recipe that we’d love to make but can’t because we’re all out of cheese curds are below.

Don’t forget the dipping sauces for those fried curds.

We also learned about the most important curd, the test curd – because it determines how the rest will turn out. The curd’nary in the coalmine, if you will.

The Weirder the Cheesemaker the Better the Cheese

Next, Luke interview Ryan LaGrander – who’s company LaGrander’s Hillside Dairy, Inc., produces over 20 million lbs of curds every year. Which should feed exactly one team of Overdrivers, by our calculations.
We learned that Ryan grew up on top of a cheese factory and that the legendary heart-shaped curds are definitely not made by swimming in a milk vat.

Parting Thoughts Before We Part Wheys

Luke answered some final parting questions before riding off into a cheese yellow sunset, which we found important to share with you as well.

Q. What beer goes best with curds?

A. For drink  – Wisconsin darling – the Spotted Cow. For the batter, nothing beats a PBR.

Q. What whiskey goes with curds?

A. All of them – but if you’re looking for something specific Luke did mention
High Rye Light Whiskey from La Crosse Distilling Co.

Q. What makes curds squeaky?

A. Love. Love is what makes curds squeaky.

Q. Who decided to call them curds?

A. Luke did not know but speculated it was mostly Ms. Muffet.

Q. And last, as this was a waist-up Zoom, was Luke wearing pants?

A. Yes, as this is not OnlyFans – Luke said.

Team Overdrive Celebrates Curds

And that is a wrap! Thanks to Wisconsin Cheese for hosting such a curdy event – and for supplying our team with free curds, coffee mugs, and the cutest little cooler ever. Some of our team enjoyed fresh from the bag while others used air fryers to enjoy their curds.

Members of the Overdrive social team enjoying their cheese curds.

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