Cheese curds are the fresh, unpressed, unaged curds of cheddar — pale ivory or annatto-orange knobs and nuggets of young cheese, eaten within days of being made. Springy and moist, they are prized above all for their squeak: a rubbery, bouncy resistance against the teeth that fades as the curds age. A dairy-belt snack of Wisconsin and Quebec, they are the defining ingredient of Canadian poutine and, battered and fried, of the American state-fair classic "fried cheese curds."