English Reference
Noun

curd

n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈkɝd/ UK /kˈɜːd/ curd UK spelling curding, curds

n.a thick, white substance that forms when milk is heated or left to sit. It is the base for making cheese and yogurt.

n.a thickened, semi-solid mass of milk protein that results from the acidification of milk or the addition of rennet. It is the primary precursor to various dairy products such as cheese and yogurt.


SIMPLE

The milk turned into curd after we added the lemon juice.

CONTEXTUAL

The farmer used a traditional method to turn fresh milk into curd before pressing it into blocks of cheese.

COMPLEX

The process of cheese-making begins with the careful coagulation of milk into curd, which is then cut and heated to release the liquid whey before being aged.


From Middle English curd, a metathetic variant of crud, crudde (“coagulated substance”). Doublet of crud.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Middle English curd
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated