Every cheesemaker we follow.
From four-generation Wisconsin cooperatives to one-person operations in the Pacific Northwest — the producers we trust, profiled.
Featured brands, alphabetical.
Beecher's Handmade Cheese
The West Coast outlier that takes itself seriously. Flagship curd is the standout.
Cady Cheese
The gas-station surprise that earned a spot in our regular rotation.
Ellsworth Co-op
The original "Cheese Curd Capital." 116 years of unmatched salt balance.
Gardner's Wisconsin
Tight squeak, clean salt, the most consistent we test. The widest flavored lineup in the category.
Henning's Cheese
Four generations, one building. The most widely available high-quality curd.
Mullins Cheese
Wisconsin's largest family-owned cheese factory. 5 generations, 500 farms, Ghost Chili Gouda.
Nasonville Dairy
140 years. 4 Master Cheesemakers. 10 curd varieties. The flavored-curd lab nobody knows about.
Pine River Dairy
Specialty curd house with a deep flavored catalog. Not all hits, but the hits are big.
Renard's
The publication's top pick. No marketing, no social, fourteen-hour squeak.
St-Albert Fromagerie
Ontario co-op that's been making curds since 1894. Built for poutine.
Widmer's Cheese Cellars
Third-generation brick-cheese specialists who also turn out a quiet, excellent curd.
Yancey's Fancy
The New York entry. A deep flavored-curd catalog; doesn't match the Wisconsin top tier.
The rest of the publication.
Every curd, scored.
Squeak, texture, salt, flavor, shipping, value. Roundups and single-brand verdicts.
How a curd works.
What a curd actually is, why it squeaks, how to fry it, how to keep it alive.
Every flavor, mapped.
Ghost pepper to hot honey. Heat levels, best brands, and who doesn't make one.
What to cook.
Beer batter, poutine, and what to do with a bag you can't finish.