Meaning & use
curds
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Meanings
nounusually plural
The thick, soft lumps that form when milk turns sour or is mixed with an acid or rennet, used to make cheese.
Grammar: Used mostly in the plural: the curds separate from the whey.
Patterns
- curds and whey
- curds of something
When you add lemon juice to hot milk, the curds quickly separate from the liquid.
The cheesemaker cut the curds into small cubes with a long knife.
Fresh curds taste mild and slightly tangy.
nounusually plural
A soft, spoonable food made from milk solids or other thick material, such as a sweet fruit spread or a bean-based block.
Grammar: Often appears in a compound: lemon curds are less common than lemon curd in everyday speech.
Patterns
- something curds
She spread lemon curds on warm scones.
The stew includes fried bean curds for extra protein.
In some dishes, soft curds are mixed with spices and served with rice.
Word forms
| singular | curd |
|---|
Common combinations
- curds and whey
- Little by little the milk split into curds and whey.
- cottage cheese curds
- The cottage cheese curds were large and creamy.
- cheese curds
- We bought squeaky cheese curds at the farmers' market.
- separate into curds
- If the milk gets too hot, it can separate into curds.
- drain the curds
- Drain the curds in muslin cloth for an hour.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clots
- Clots is a looser word for any lumps that form in a liquid and is not specific to dairy.
- lumps
- Lumps can describe any solid chunk, while curds are specifically the soft solids formed from milk.
- cheese
- Cheese is the finished, pressed and usually aged food, whereas curds are an early, softer stage of it.
Opposites
Word family
- curd noun
- the singular form, also used for a general substance
- curdle verb
- to form into curds, or to go sour
- curdled adjective
- turned sour and lumpy
- curdling noun
- the process of separating into curds
Commonly confused: curds or whey? curds or cards?
curds vs whey
Whey is the thin liquid left after the curds form, while curds are the solid part.
curds vs cards
Cards sounds similar in some accents but has nothing to do with milk.
Practice
After the milk soured, it separated into soft ___ and a thin yellowish liquid.
Choose one answer.
Curds are the soft solids that form when milk sours. Rinds and crusts belong to the outside of a cheese, which is why they do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “curds”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.