View cut the curds
Category:Techniques and Terminology
You cut the curds after the milk has coagulated to begin the process of drying them and draining away the whey. Be sure to follow the recipe regarding the size of the curds in order to get the right amount of moisture and the right consistency in the cheese.
The curd is a protein structure that holds the milk fat. The larger the curds, the smoother and moister the cheese will be.
I use a long bread knife that I’ve sterilized. I insert the knife down one edge of the pot of curds until it touches the bottom. I then slowly pull the knife through the curds making a clean cut. I repeat this at the interval specified in the recipe. I then turn the pot 90° and repeat this process. I now have columns of curd cut to the correct dimension. I then tilt the knife about 45° and repeat the proces cutting at an angle. This is imprecise, but the only way I know to cut the columns into “squares” of curd. Again, try to get them the size specified in the recipe.
For some recipes that call for a very small cut, I use a large whisk at this point to gently stir the curds and further cut them into rice-sized chunks.