From desert travelers to ancient Romans, learn about the evolution of Wisconsin's signature snack.

National Cheese Curd Day, celebrated annually on Oct. 15, was created in 2015 by the fast-food chain Culver's to recognize Wisconsin's signature treat. But the history of cheese curds goes back thousands of years earlier.

Some time during the Neolithic period, roughly 12,000 years ago, the earliest humans discovered that heating milk produced curds and whey, the former of which could be turned into cheese and eaten. These prehistoric, preprocessed curds were a far cry from their modern counterpart, and it's unclear as to when exactly they first began to be considered as a snack and eaten right away. Many point to one of two instances from the ancient world.

In one story, a traveler was crossing a desert in the Middle East. When he tried to drink the milk he had brought with him, he discovered that the heat had transformed it into a bunch of cheese curds in an unexpected -- but delicious -- turn of events. But it's unclear where this story came from, as there's no written confirmation for the tale.

However, there is evidence of cheese curds being eaten by another ancient group: the Romans. Not only are they often credited as the first group to eat cheese curds as their own dish, but the ancient Romans were also the first recorded group to eat them fried. In Cato the Elder's farming manual "De Agricultura," the oldest surviving work of Latin prose, he explains the recipe for globos, where cheese curds are fried and then covered in honey and poppy seeds.

Cheese curds' status as a snack staple didn't solidify until after Wisconsin and other midwestern states became dairy-producing powerhouses in the middle of the 19th century. While there isn't a single moment to point to as the birth of the modern cheese curd, legend has it they became popular as Wisconsin cheesemakers would bring handfuls of the curds home to their children after work.

During the mid-20th century, variations on the cheese curd emerged as their popularity grew. The dish made its way north to Canada and were included alongside fries and gravy as the popular dish poutine. At the same time, the deep-fried cheese curd reemerged at state fairs. Urban legends cite Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery as the first to fry the squeaky morsels, although the creamery itself says that none of the stories can be proven true.

The popularity of cheese curds continued to grow, spreading further outside the Midwest thanks to eateries like Culver's, who offer the dish in locations as far as Florida, Texas, Arizona and Idaho. At home in Madison, cheese curds can be enjoyed fresh from restaurants like The Old Fashioned, Craftsman Table & Tap, and Ope Haus Pub, who were voted as having the best fried cheese curds in Madison Magazine's 2024 Best of Madison.

But regardless of how they're enjoyed, the snack has certainly come a long way from its ancient Roman days -- and with new variations on Wisconsin's iconic treat (such as the Curderburger), who can say where the cheese curd will head next?

Michael McDonough is an editorial intern at Madison Magazine.

COPYRIGHT 2024 BY MADISON MAGAZINE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.