Every curd we've put on a kitchen scale.
Independent reviews of every cheese curd brand we can get our hands on — mail-order, grocery, regional, fancy, weird. Scored on squeak, texture, salt balance, and shelf life. No affiliate-driven ranking.
Every curd we've tested, scored.
The best mail-order cheese curds.
Renard's, Gardner's, and Ellsworth tested on squeak, shipping, and value.
The best curds for poutine.
Tested in gravy: which curds hold shape and melt right under hot gravy.
The best flavored cheese curds.
Garlic & dill, maple bacon, ghost pepper and more, ranked by how well the flavor works.
Gardner's Garlic & Dill, reviewed.
Our highest-scoring flavored curd. Fresh dill at vat stage, roasted garlic, intact squeak.
Renard's Yellow, reviewed.
Award-winning Door County curds. Our top plain pick, best-in-class squeak.
Gardner's Plain, reviewed.
Top-tier squeak, the most reliable shipping, the everyday value pick.
Ellsworth Natural, reviewed.
The most available great curd in America, with a 9-month shelf life.
Gardner's Maple Bacon, reviewed.
The best sweet-savory curd we've tested. Restrained maple, smoky backbone.
Gardner's Sour Cream & Onion, reviewed.
Chips-and-dip nostalgia in curd form. A limited-edition snacking pick.
Beecher's Plain Cheese Curds, reviewed.
2025 ACS 1st Place. Four-ingredient label. Pike Place Market.
Hickory Hollow Smoked, reviewed.
Top pick for smoked curds. Real hickory cold-smoke. National via Amazon.
Yancey's Roasted Garlic, reviewed.
New York's House of Flavor. Yellow cheddar base. rBST-free milk.
Henning's Garlic & Dill, reviewed.
110-year-old Kiel plant. Master Cheesemaker. Best value in the category.
The rest of the publication.
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.
Who makes them.
Producer profiles. Who ships, who doesn't, and who's worth the drive.
What to cook.
Beer batter, poutine, and what to do with a bag you can't finish.