The cheese is nothing special, it’s basically cheddar in non-brick form. If poutine was popular in the states there could be a booming curd market in no time
It’s not that it’s not in a brick form, it’s also “not finished”… Around here there’s a small cheese maker that even sells it one step earlier in the preparation, so it’s like having just the small grains from cottage cheese, they serve it in its whey, still warm, people eat it with chips and it’s even more squeaky than the curds used for poutine!
It turns out I was wrong. The problem with Quebec curd cheese outside of Quebec is not that it is un pasteurized. It is that it does not have a holding period long enough to meet the food safety regs.
It is unpasteurized “raw” cheese. Which is why it is different. It is actually illegal to sell in many places due to not having been pasteurized.
I’m always happy to admit when I’m wrong and this time I am.
It is not the lack of pasteurization that makes Quebec cheese curds problematic in Alberta. It is the fact that it was not held for the 60 days required by their food safety laws.
[Edit: This one is helpful for understanding why I was confused. As a quebecer who lived in alberta for many years it always struck me as odd that the local cheese factory said they could not sell us curd because it was illegal. And the timeline of me learning that is right around when this law was changed.
The cheese is nothing special, it’s basically cheddar in non-brick form. If poutine was popular in the states there could be a booming curd market in no time
It’s not that it’s not in a brick form, it’s also “not finished”… Around here there’s a small cheese maker that even sells it one step earlier in the preparation, so it’s like having just the small grains from cottage cheese, they serve it in its whey, still warm, people eat it with chips and it’s even more squeaky than the curds used for poutine!
It turns out I was wrong. The problem with Quebec curd cheese outside of Quebec is not that it is un pasteurized. It is that it does not have a holding period long enough to meet the food safety regs.
It is unpasteurized “raw” cheese. Which is why it is different. It is actually illegal to sell in many places due to not having been pasteurized.It’s made from fresh pasteurized milk so I have no idea what you’re talking about buddy.
I’m always happy to admit when I’m wrong and this time I am.
It is not the lack of pasteurization that makes Quebec cheese curds problematic in Alberta. It is the fact that it was not held for the 60 days required by their food safety laws.
Where did you find that fact?
Can you link it because I’d enjoy reading it.
https://albertamilk.com/ask-dairy-farmer/rules-around-cheese-made-raw-milk-alberta-can-sold-stores-can-served-restaurants/
[Edit: This one is helpful for understanding why I was confused. As a quebecer who lived in alberta for many years it always struck me as odd that the local cheese factory said they could not sell us curd because it was illegal. And the timeline of me learning that is right around when this law was changed.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-to-allow-raw-milk-cheeses/article1058318/ ]
That’s from cheese made using raw milk.
Cheese curds are not made from raw milk, it’s been pasteurized.