Unheralded

TERRY DULLUM: The Dullum File — Cheese Curds Anyone?

Some were even harsher. “YOUAREDEADTOME!” “You some kinda Commie?” “No, but definitely one of those Socialists!” You’d think I had voted for Hillary, or something.

What’s the cause of all this? What did I do to deserve such criticism? I wrote one simple Facebook post. Never have I ever eaten a cheese curd.

This strange but true thought popped into my head for some reason the other night while I was watching Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick/security guard doing a bit on Texas barbecue in Dallas.

Rhetorical sidebar question: Do the vast majority of fast-food restaurant commercials have to run at 11 o’clock at night?

Anyway.

I’ve eaten french fries with gravy in Winnipeg. I’ve even tasted steak tartar in Paris. Once. I’ve been to Wisconsin, too. And the Minnesota State Fair.

But for reasons I myself don’t understand, I’ve never had cheese curds. I can’t explain it. Please don’t tell Marilyn!

And don’t get me wrong. I love cheese. Cheese pizza, cheeseburgers, beer cheese soup, cheese sandwiches, cheese and crackers, cheese puffs, cheese quiche, cheese bread, cheese sticks, cheese lavosh, cheese souffle, mac ‘n’ cheese, cheese biscuits, cheese popcorn. Just plain cheese. I love it!

But I’ve never had cheese curds. Not even one.

If you’ve never been to the Midwest or Canada, and without getting too technical or cheesy, cheese curds are moist pieces of curdled milk, often but not always they are Cheddar. Fresh curds squeak against the teeth when bitten into.

I didn’t let those bits of information stop me from a quest to try them. After all, judging from their comments, some people feel without having had cheese curds, I simply haven’t lived. Besides, National Cheese Curd Day is coming up Monday. I’m not making that up.

The easiest way to remedy my cheese curd dilemma was to get myself to Culver’s. I’m told they have good ones. Plus, it’s within walking distance of our house. So, I drove.

A quote from the timeless Peggy Lee seems in order here. Is that all there is? I mean, cheese curds are fine, although mine didn’t squeak. At any rate, give me a bucket of fries and a barrel of ketchup any time.

Still I wonder, what pairs well with cheese curds? A nice chardonnay?





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