The product, in one paragraph.
Renard's Yellow Cheese Curds are the flagship fresh curd from a fourth-generation Door County cheesemaker that's been operating since 1961. Sold sealed in 8 oz ($5.50) and 1 lb sizes, made fresh at the Sturgeon Bay factory and shipped nationwide with ice and cooler options. These are vibrant yellow, clean-flavored, and genuinely award-winning — 3rd place in the 2017 American Cheese Society Awards, Fresh Unripened Cheeses category. This is the plain curd we benchmark others against.
How they taste.
The squeak is the best we've measured in the plain category — a clean, sustained 9.5. Renard's describes the flavor as "clean, milky... satisfyingly rich, cheesy," and that's accurate. The yellow curds have a slightly fuller, rounder flavor than a white cheddar curd, with the annatto color coming with a subtle richness. Salt is well-balanced and even. This is what a fresh Wisconsin yellow curd is supposed to taste like.
Renard's has a Master Cheesemaker certified in Cheddar making the cheese these curds come from. It shows in the consistency — these are the most uniform curds we tested.
The reheat test.
Excellent. After 72 hours refrigerated, the squeak held strong, and a brief warm brought it almost fully back. Renard's curds have the dense, resilient texture that survives refrigeration better than most.
The fry test.
These are exceptional fried — Renard's themselves recommend battering and frying, and their Melt Bistro serves fried curds daily. The yellow curds hold structure in hot oil and melt to a clean, rich interior. For poutine, beer-battered curds, or any fried application, Renard's yellow are a top choice.
How they're made.
Renard's has made cheese in Door County since 1961, now in its fourth generation. Master Cheesemaker Chris Renard holds Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker certification in both Mozzarella and Cheddar — a credential that requires years of experience and is unique to Wisconsin's cheesemaking program. The curds come off the make fresh every morning; the company runs a Sturgeon Bay retail store and the Melt Bistro alongside the factory.
How they ship.
This is the one area where Renard's trails Gardner's. Renard's ships nationwide with ice and cooler options available, and in our two test orders the curds arrived cold and intact. But the system is more manual — you select cooler options at checkout rather than every order being automatically calibrated to the destination's forecasted temperature the way Gardner's does. For a Door County drive-up purchase, none of this matters: the curds are made that morning. For a August cross-country order, Gardner's cold-chain engineering has the edge.
The verdict.
Renard's Yellow Cheese Curds are the best plain curd we've tested — top squeak, award-winning pedigree, exceptional value at $5.50, and a fourth-generation Master Cheesemaker behind them. They edge out Gardner's plain (9.1) on squeak and texture, though Gardner's wins on shipping consistency. For plain yellow curds, Renard's is the publication's top pick — and the benchmark we hold every other plain curd against.
