Cheese Curds (Fresh Cheese)

First of all, the name. Fresh cheese is cheese curds. We decided to name it this way because it communicates better to our Japanese customers. And it is a fresh cheese. It's basically Cheddar that hasn't been matured.

The milk is pasteurised, culture and vegetable rennet are added. The whey is drained and the curds wrapped in slabs in cheese cloth. These are stacked and restacked and kept in a warm place for a couple of hours to develop the characteristic sharpness of a Cheddar.

If you are looking for an all purpose, general use cheese at a very reasonable price, this might be what you are looking for.

Here are some serving suggestions:

1. Straight out of the packet

Just open the pack and eat the cheese.

2. Use in a salad

Cut the Fresh Cheese into smaller pieces and add to a salad.

3. "Caprese" salad

Slice the Fresh Cheese, place between slices of fresh tomato and shisso leaf and top it with a simple dressing - vinegar/lemon juice and olive oil. I suggest shisso leaf because basil isn't often available and even if it is, it's often very "tired-looking." Shisso is available in any supermarket and keeps better than basil.

4. Melts

Fresh cheese melts really easily. Melt onto meat or vegetables.

5. Gratin

Make a cheese sauce by melting some butter in a frying pan, add flour, mix well and add milk little by little, stirring to mix the ingredients, add fresh cheese and flavour with salt and pepper. Put boiled potatoes, cauliflower, or macaroni into an oven dish, top with more fresh cheese and grill.

6. Omelette

As with any cheese omelette, the cheese belongs at the bottom, not the top. Mix the eggs, season with salt and pepper and put aside. Put a little olive oil into a frying pan, roughly chop some fresh cheese and add it. Heat for a while until the cheese starts melting. Add the eggs and top with chopped chives, spring onions, to taste. If you cook this over a medium heat, the cheese will caramelise and taste amazing. Be careful not to overcook.

7. Pressed sandwich

This is one of our personal favourites and a common breakfast in the Davis home. You will need a "pressed sandwich maker." These are like two square mini frying pans joined with a hinge. They are in any hardware store, even in Daiso! You need to lightly oil the two surfaces of the sandwich maker, then place a slice of bread on one surface, cover with fresh cheese, a slice of ham, bacon or sausages, more cheese and another slice of bread. Squeeze the two sides of the sandwich maker together, lock and place on the gas for about one minute per side.

8. Soba

Cut the fresh cheese into rather thin slices and place on top of hot, ready to eat Okinawa soba. In seconds, the cheese will melt. Amazing!

9. Aburage

This is another fusion dish and one that works really well! Aburage is deep fried tofu. You can find this in any supermarket in small, thin squares. Cut off the top and you have a perfect little pocket. Put a slice of fresh cheese into the pocket and close it with a toothpick. Fry it in sesame oil and eat with a splash of ponzu. We love Yuzu Ponzu.

10. Deep fry

This is not good for the waist line, so it's not often on the Davis menu, yet it is absolutely delicious, which is why it's being included here. Cut the larger pieces of curd into bite size portions and place in the freezer for a few hours. Then deep fry while the curds are still frozen. You can also fry the curds in breadcrumbs.

11. Poutine

And last but not least, the most famous Cheese Curd recipe, known as the national dish of Canada, is poutine.

You will need:

Fried potatoes (Hokkaido potatoes if you can find them!)

Cheese Curds

Gravy

GRAVY RECIPE

DISSOLVE:

15 grams cornstarch in 15 ml water in a small bowl (thickener)

1 chicken and 2 beef bouillon cubes in 300 ml of water (broth)

RECIPE

Melt 50 grams of unsalted butter in a saucepan, add 20 grams of flour, stir and cook for 5 minutes until it is golden brown. Add chopped garlic, then add the broth, stir and boil. Add the thickener and simmer until the sauce is thick. Season with pepper.

POUTINE

Put fried potatoes and cheese curds in a dish. Pour the gravy over. The heat of the gravy and fried potatoes will melt the cheese.

WHAT CUSTOMERS SAY ABOUT OUR CHEESE CURDS:

***********************************

Got some cheese curds for Canada Day poutine. Super tasty!

***********************************

Thanks for the cheeses. They arrived today. Super quick. I already finished the basil cheese. Very nice and creamy.

***********************************

Was at the event last night, and the cheese was right on!

***********************************

John Davis merci John pour ce magnifique fromage qui a dépassé toutes les attentes ! Vous maniez votre art avec grande dextérité et grâce à vous, le Québec a pu reproduire sa fameuse poutine ici, au Japon !

***********************************

The cheese curds.... WOW. What can I even say... they were PERFECT!! As a Canadian, I, of course, turned them into poutine and it was a taste of home that I haven't had in about 8 years... Thank you so much for letting me savor the taste of real poutine again. The squeak and pull were amazing.

***********************************

I have also already tried the cheese curds - they were phenomenal! I tore into that package like a kid on Christmas!

***********************************

Everything was incredible!!! The cheese curds were so yummy, but my favorite was the yogurt!!!! so amazing and creamy!! I'm so excited to have found your shop. I would love to set up a delivery!

***********************************

Received it yesterday! They’re great! Had a few squeakies then battered and deep fried a few. Excellent quality. Thanks!

***********************************

Cheeses all arrived safely yesterday. I plan to make some poutine with the curds, but tried one just to see, and it was really good.

***********************************

Got me cheese and it’s sooo deeelicious! (curds)

***********************************

The curds arrived today….delicious!! And my three-year-old daughter and wife also gave them two thumbs up.

***********************************

I will now get the gravy ingredients and serve them poutine!

***********************************

The Cheese Guy In Okinawa has started making cheddar curds so it’s poutine for dinner tonight. They’re fresh, they squeak, and if I close my eyes it’s 3am in Montreal - they’re that good.

***********************************

John, your cheese curds are amazing! Thanks for keeping the tradition alive!

***********************************

Well, I just tried out some of your cheddar cheese curds and made poutine. It was excellent! And the cheese curds had the squeakiness! Tastes like real poutine back in Canada!

***********************************

Hey John, I really enjoyed the Curds and the cheese you made and I want more

***********************************

The cheese and curds are great! Very delicious! Here's a pic of a poutine I did, yesterday. It was delicious!

***********************************

Like most, I haven't been able to travel back home (I'm from Canada) in a while, so getting actual curds for this dish was really nice, especially during the holiday season

***********************************

Thanks so much for meeting with me today! The curds are GLORIOUS!

***********************************