Cheese Curd

When I was a child we'd often visit my maternal grandparents in Sonoma, California. One of my favorite things to do, when I wasn't roaming the back forty on one of my grandpa's horses, was to go down to Vella Cheese Company and get a bag of fresh cheese curd. If memory serves correctly they only had it on specific days. And I was there at the door, money in hand, ready for my "squeaky cheese," as we called it.
If you've never had cheese curd let me tell you about this little treat. It's the fresh, young random-shaped curd from cheddar cheese before it's processed into blocks to age. Cheddar cheese usually ages from at least 60 days to many years. Curd, on the other hand, needs to be eaten fresh and unrefrigerated (within about 12 hours) otherwise it turns dry and salty. You know good, fresh curd when it squeaks between your teeth.

Unfortunately, Vella's doesn't sell cheese curd anymore. I have begged them over the years, to no avail (insert soft weeping here). But, their other cheeses are simply divine in their own right. I still go there every time I'm in Sonoma, money in hand.