The crunch gets your attention. The warm cheese keeps it.

Cold pilsner, a light batter and MouCo cheese curds make a very persuasive argument for staying near the kitchen. Add smoky seasoning and a cool bowl of pimento ranch, and suddenly the first batch has disappeared before the second one is ready.

This dish comes from The Café menu at Ginger and Baker in Fort Collins, where our curds arrive in Zwei pilsner beer batter with G&B Brick Red Spice Blend and pimento ranch. We’ve kept that combination at the center of a home preparation made for passing around—if you can persuade anyone to pass the bowl.

Home preparation by MouCo; quantities, batter and ranch method developed from the restaurant’s menu description.

🧂 Ingredients

Serves 4 as an appetizer
Prep: about 15 minutes · Frying: about 10 minutes in batches · Total: about 30 minutes

Pimento ranch

• • ⅓ cup (75 g) mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) buttermilk, plus a little more if needed
  • 2 tablespoons (25 g) jarred diced pimentos, well drained and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh chives
  • ½ teaspoon dried dill
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Curds and pilsner batter

• • 1 package MouCo Cheddar Cheese Curds, 10 oz (283 g), refrigerated
  • ¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour, plus ¼ cup (30 g) for dusting
  • ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons Ginger and Baker Brick Red Blend, divided, or a mild smoky chili seasoning blend
  • ¾ cup (180 ml) very cold Zwei pilsner or another crisp pilsner, plus a little more as needed
  • Neutral oil, such as canola, for deep-frying

👣 Instructions

1. 1. Give the ranch a head start. Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, pimentos, chives, dill, garlic powder and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add another splash of buttermilk if you prefer a looser dip, then refrigerate while you prepare the curds.
   2. Keep the curds cold and dry. Separate any curds that are stuck together and pat them thoroughly dry. Put the dusting flour in a shallow bowl. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet for draining.
   3. Bring the oil up to temperature. Pour about 2 inches (5 cm) of oil into a deep, heavy pot, keeping the pot no more than half full. Heat to 350°F (175°C), checking with a frying thermometer.
   4. Mix the batter at the last minute. Whisk the ¾ cup flour, cornstarch, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of the seasoning together. Gently whisk in the cold pilsner just until combined. The batter should coat a curd in a thin, continuous layer; add a little more beer if it is thick and heavy.
   5. Coat and fry in small batches. Toss a handful of curds in the dusting flour and shake off the excess. Dip them in batter, let excess drip off and carefully lower them individually into the oil, using a fork or tongs. Fry for about 1½–2½ minutes, turning as needed, until golden and crisp. Remove promptly if cheese starts escaping.
   6. Drain, season, repeat. Lift the curds out with a slotted spoon and drain on the rack. Sprinkle lightly with some of the remaining seasoning. Let the oil return to 350°F before starting the next batch, keeping the remaining curds refrigerated and the batter cold.
   7. Bring them to the table warm. Give the hot centers a brief moment to cool, then serve with the pimento ranch. These are at their best fresh from the fryer, with the dip ready and everyone within reach.

🎯 Notes & Pairings

• • The real seasoning is available. Ginger and Baker sells its Brick Red Blend, made with Fort Collins’ Old Town Spice Shop. It includes chili powder with chipotle, garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper and salt. The pantry substitution above is our option; it won’t reproduce their exact blend.
  • Watch the oil, not just the clock. Curds vary in size. Try a few first, then adjust the frying time to get a crisp shell before the cheese leaks. Small batches help the oil recover quickly.
  • Plan around the crunch. Make the ranch a day ahead and keep it refrigerated. Mix the batter just before frying and serve the curds in waves instead of holding a big batch.
  • Pour alongside. A cold pilsner echoes the beer in the batter. Sparkling water with lime makes a bright, simple alternative.

From grain sacks to gathering around

Ginger and Baker’s historic building began in 1910 as the Poudre Elevator Company, beside the railroad at Linden and Willow. It later became Northern Colorado Feeders Supply—a place to buy grain, talk weather and catch up with neighbors. Jack and Ginger Graham bought the property in 2015, and Ginger and Baker opened in 2017.

The grain sacks have made way for café tables, a bakery and a teaching kitchen, but the invitation to gather still feels right. A bowl of warm MouCo curds is a fine way to settle in.

Menu reference: Ginger and Baker’s online Café lunch and dinner menu, October 22, 2026.

Visit Ginger and Baker  |  See the original menu  |  Read the building’s story

Hero artwork: an AI-assisted geometric illustration in MouCo label colors based on a reference photograph of Ginger and Baker and The Cache in Fort Collins.