Curd

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/curd

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Curd?Likely discovered accidentally through milk storage in animal stomachs containing natural enzymes
2. What is the primary protein?Casein micelles are the primary structural units that coagulate to form curd
3. What is the cheesemaking intermediate?Curd is the essential first stage in cheesemaking, separated from whey
4. What is curd and how does it form from milk?Curd is a tasty snack that comes when milk proteins, mainly casein, clump together. This happens when the milk gets more acidic or when special enzymes called rennet break the proteins.
5. Why do ancient people make curd from milk?They discovered that milk would stay fresh longer when it turned into curd. By letting the milk sit in animal bladders, the natural enzymes and acids made it harden, so it could be carried and eaten safely.

Micelles: Colloidal structures of casein proteins in milk, stabilized by calcium phosphate.
Chymosin: The primary enzyme in rennet responsible for cleaving kappa-casein and initiating enzymatic curdling.
pH: A scale measuring the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, critical for curd formation.
Whey Proteins: Proteins remaining in the liquid (whey) after casein has coagulated into curd.