Post the Fifth: Curd

Last night I decided to make some cupcakes because my fridge contained an exorbitant amount of lemon curd in it (in a cup; not just laying around on the shelves). When I bit into the first warm gooey cupcake I remembered that I don't like lemon curd. In fact, I find the aftertaste of lemon curd to be pretty repulsive. And then I got thinking about the word 'curd'.


Curd.


It is one of my least favourite words ever. Not only does the word rhyme with a synonym for fecal matter but it doesn't even have anything pleasant in its definition.


The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines 'curd' as follows:

¹curd

noun \ˈkərd\

Definition of CURD

1

: the thick casein-rich part of coagulated milk

2

: something suggesting the curd of milk 

GROSS! Curd is the thick part of the coagulated lactation of some animal or other and that is just about as foul as it gets. Curds are all chunky and gnarly and often surrounded by liquid. Yuck! In almost every scenario I can think of curds are not my friend. But I am Canadian, and so there is one exception I think of in which curds become my beloved.

Here it is:

Image found at http://www.motifake.com/109720

Isn't it beautiful? 

Poutine is a French-Canadian dish that is concocted by making a bunch of really hot fries, piling on a heap-ton of cheese curd, and slathering it all with searing hot gravy. The heat of the fries and the gravy melts the cheese curds so the whole thing is a gooey heart-clogging heaven. Some people use shredded cheese, but real poutine is made with curds. If you too hate curds maybe it's time you came for a little visit in Canada (namely Quebec) and got yourself a big ol' tasty plate of conversion.