The product, in one paragraph.
Yancey's Fancy Roasted Garlic Cheese Curds are made in Corfu, New York (Genesee County), under the brand established in 1998 by John Yancey and Mike Wimble at the historical Kutter Cheese factory (operations since 1926). The curd product uses Yancey's signature yellow cheddar base with real roasted garlic incorporated during production. Seven-ounce pack format, available at regional grocery chains throughout the Northeast and via the Yancey's Fancy direct shipping page. The "Trusted House of Flavor™" tagline is the operation's positioning.
How they taste.
The roasted garlic note is the headline — sweet, slightly caramelized, mellow rather than aggressive. Yancey's roasts the garlic before incorporation, which is the same technical decision Gardner's makes on their Garlic & Dill product (and the right one). The yellow cheddar base reads slightly bolder than the white cheddar standards we test most often — a touch more cheddar character forward, which actually balances the garlic nicely. The squeak (8.8) is strong, particularly for a flavored curd. No off-notes, no bitter finish, no lingering raw-garlic aftertaste.
Yancey's makes the case that great cheese curds aren't only a Wisconsin product. Corfu, New York's Roasted Garlic curd holds its own against the Wisconsin garlic standards.
How it compares to Gardner's Garlic & Dill.
Different flavor centers despite the surface similarity. Gardner's Garlic & Dill leads with fresh dill character supported by roasted garlic depth — dill is the headline, garlic is the support. Yancey's Roasted Garlic leads with roasted garlic as the dominant note, no dill in the formulation. If you want the herbal-fresh-dill version, Gardner's. If you want pure roasted garlic without the herb, Yancey's. The 0.7-point score gap (8.7 vs 9.4) is driven mostly by the additional complexity Gardner's gets from the herb component.
The reheat test.
5-10 seconds in the microwave brings the curds to room temperature; the roasted garlic notes amplify pleasantly with warmth. Don't go past 15 seconds — the cheese softens too much. Yancey's yellow cheddar base reheats slightly faster than white cheddar variants.
The Yancey's operation context.
This is the rare non-Wisconsin curd we'd recommend on equal footing with Wisconsin producers. The Yancey's Fancy operation has been making cheese since 1926 (originally as Kutter Cheese) and has built a regional reputation in the Northeast comparable to what mid-sized Wisconsin operations have built nationally. They won World Cheese Champion Contest Gold for their Jalapeño & Peppadew cheese in 2010. They source rBST-free milk. They've avoided over-extending into LE rotations that would dilute focus. The Roasted Garlic curd is one of two curd products in their lineup (Fresh Cheddar is the other).
How they ship.
Direct from yanceysfancy.com with cold-pack shipping. Also distributed throughout the Northeast at regional grocery chains. Distribution is significantly stronger east of the Mississippi than west; West Coast shoppers will likely need the direct-shipping path. Cold chain is solid but not destination-calibrated like Gardner's.
The verdict.
Yancey's Fancy Roasted Garlic is a strong alternative to the dominant Wisconsin garlic-curd offerings. Strong Buy — Garlic category, 8.7 overall. For pure roasted garlic without dill, this is the answer; for the dill-plus-garlic combination, Gardner's wins. The yellow cheddar base is a real point of differentiation worth experiencing.
