I’ve often wondered what, exactly, Little Miss Muffet was eating when she sat on her tuffet.
Curds and whey are what milk becomes when you heat it to a boil and add acid. This causes the milk to separate into coagulated chunks of curd surrounded by watery liquid known as whey. The splitting of milk into curds and whey is the first step in cheesemaking and the point of departure to many wonderful places. But it’s hardly a destination.
I made my first batch of curds and whey by accident. I was enjoying a cup of tea with milk and decided to add a squeeze of lemon. Immediately, my cup filled with cheese curds. I guess I’m no Little Miss Muffet, because I made another cup of tea rather than sip my way through that lumpy mess….