Curd
For the film starring Angela Jones and William Baldwin, see Curdled (film); for the dessert sauce, see Lemon curd.Curd is a
dairy product obtained by
curdling (coagulating)
milk with
rennet or an edible
acidic substance such as
lemon juice or
vinegar and then draining off the liquid portion (called
whey). The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (
casein) to tangle into solid masses, or "curds". The word can also refer to a non-dairy substance of similar appearance or consistency, though in these cases a modifier or the word
curdled is almost always used (e.g.
bean curd,
lemon curd, or curdled eggs).Curd products vary by region and include
cottage cheese,
quark and
paneer (the latter by definition being curdled with lemon juice, thus qualifying by some definitions as a
vegetarian food).
In
Asia, curd is essentially a vegetarian preparation using yeast to ferment the milk. In the
Indian subcontinent,
buffalo milk is used for curd due to its higher fat content making a thicker curd. The quality of curd depends on the starter used. The time taken to curdle also varies with the seasons taking less than 6 hours in hot weather and up to 16 hours in cold weather. However in
India, the word 'curd' is used to mean
yoghurt. In
South India, it is common practice to finish any meal with few cups of 'curd rice', made by mixing rice and yoghurt. It is generally accepted to cool the body in
tropical climates and is nutritious.
Cheese curds are popular in some
French-speaking regions of Canada such as
Quebec and parts of
Ontario as well as in the
Midwest of the
United States. They are freshly made morsels of
cheddar cheese before being pressed and aged. In Quebec, they are popularly served with
french fries and
gravy as
poutine. In the U.S., they are breaded and fried or are eaten straight. There are also many varieties besides cheddar that are popular, such as white cheeses and flavored cheeses (
pepper,
garlic,
butter,
lemon, etc). The cheeses themselves are not flavored but rather lightly coated with a powdered flavor, natural or not, similar to
potato chips.
*
Yogurt, a dairy product of Turkish origin
*
Paskha (meal), a Russian
Easter dessert made of curd or quark.
