How Wisconsin Cheese Curds Earned the Title, “Best Cheese Curds in Minnesota”

In the ultimate blind taste test, Wisconsin’s best Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s cheese curds are now also the best in Minnesota! How could that be? Well, it’s the thing legends are made of. Here’s our story…

In June Minnesota’s CBS station, WCCO-TV, put out the call to Facebook followers and viewers to help them find the best cheese curds in Minnesota. The suggestions came rolling in and many of our fans threw our name into the hat (thanks, folks!). Since the contest was to find the “Best in Minnesota” I’m sure those votes were disqualified from the start. That’s okay, WCCO; we get it.

Sorting through all the comments must have been a job, but the WCCO team did it and came up with 5 finalists. Competition was tight. The voting began and a winner was declared. Now here’s where the story gets really good…

The Mouth Trap, a deep fried cheese curd booth familiar to Minnesota State Fair goers, took the title. Dave Cavallaro, Mouth Trap’s Big Cheese, says the secret to the best cheese curds starts with the curds. And where does Dave find cheese curds to meet his high standards? Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, of course!

We’ve been working with Dave for years, and he puts out a great product! In total, 60 tons of our delicious all natural cheddar cheese curds go to the Minnesota State Fair each year and every last curd (and crumble) is devoured during the 12 days of the event. So while those other crazy foods on a stick seem to get all the attention, when the novelty wears off it’s the deep-fried cheese curds from Ellsworth, Wisconsin that are still everyone’s favorite.

If it’s any consolation to our friends in Minnesota, it takes milk of the highest quality to make the best cheese curds; and thankfully high-quality milk can be found on both sides of the Mississippi. Our owners also happen to be the dedicated farm families behind our main ingredient. Their farms from both Wisconsin and Minnesota provide the milk used to produce our delicious squeaky cheese! Without them, there wouldn’t be these delicious cheesy nuggets to celebrate!

Dave Cavallaro invited Amelia Santanielo, WCCO News, to Ellsworth to show her first-hand why he chooses Ellsworth’s curds for his booth. They toured the facility and put the highlights of their visit into a segment that aired on WCCO earlier this month (click video image below).

And there you have it; the story to hand down to your kids. Although, better yet… don’t just tell your kids about the legend, let them taste it for themselves. The Great Minnesota Get Together, the Minnesota State Fair, will be held August 24 through September 4, 2017. Take the kids and pay the Mouth Trap booth a visit. You’ll have to wait in line, but it’s worth it! Tell Dave Cavallaro the folks in Ellsworth sent you.

To fulfill your fresh curd cravings, visit our Ellsworth Cooperative Retail Store any day of the week from 9am to 6pm. For the fresh curds of the day, you’ll want to arrive after 11am. We look forward to seeing you!