Trader Joe's Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds

I was born and raised in the Northeast, and since then I've lived in the South, on the West Coast, and in the Midwest. So I can tell you from experience that cheese curds are very much part of midwestern culture in a way that folks from other regions might not understand. For example, many midwestern fast food joints and mom and pop's restaurants offer your choice of French fries or cheese curds to go with your hamburger.

The cheese in most curds that I've tried is stiffer than what you'd find in a typical mozzarella stick. It's "squeaky" cheese. Like mozz sticks, however, they tend to be a little greasy and covered in a thin breading. Cheese curds are served hot, and they come to you nice and soft with a few little cheese bubbles on the outside of the breading, but they're rarely melting and oozing the way mozzarella sticks do. They're part of the comfort food culture here in the Upper Midwest and Sonia and I have taken quite a liking to them, particularly when served in tomato soup.

We used the air fryer heating method which involved pre-heating for about 5 minutes and cooking for an additional 5. The curds came out crispy and lightly brown on the outside and soft and squishy inside. They might have been a little softer than your average midwestern cheese curd, but the flavor was delightful—a robust burst of rich cheddar in every bite.

Folks round these parts tend to eat their cheese curds with ranch or gravy, but I prefer marinara sauce when it comes to dipping these delicious do-dads. Trader Joe's Cheese Curds don't really need any condiments, but they pair nicely with tomato sauce or ranch. I also made a spicy, exotic international dip that worked well by mixing ranch with sriracha and gochujang. The artwork on the packaging appears to depict a serving suggestion that involves dipping cheddar cheese curds into...more cheddar? That seems inappropriate...perhaps even vulgar.

But I'm not one to judge. Folks from Wisconsin would probably say it's blasphemous to eat cheese curds with spaghetti sauce but that's still my favorite topping for these noshable niblets. Sonia likes them sans sauces. Whatever tickles your pickle, as they say.

$4.99 for the 5 serving bag. Would buy again. Four stars a piece from the beautiful wifey and me for Trader Joe's Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.