Some people will call this “ranchero style cheese” because this type of cheeses are more common to be found at the markets being sold by people that come to sell them from the nearby ranches or farms. What you will find at the city supermarkets will be the ones produced in massive quantities by large cheese factories, but lack the flavor and sometimes organic characteristics of these cheeses that will vary on taste and shapes depending on the regions of México.
Fresh Mexican Cheese
The Spaniards introduced cows, sheep, and goats to the Mexican culture, and soon after, they started making cheese, but the arrival of Germans, French and Swiss immigrants gave the process of making cheese in Mexico a different twist. Like the Aged cheese “(Queso Añejo)”, Manchego cheese (melting cheese) and the Mennonite Cheese from the Mexican state of Chihuahua, similar to Muenster cheese in the United States.
All these cheeses have a close and tasteful resemblance of the European-made cheeses from which we inherited them more than 300 years ago. Of course, there is the famous Queso Oaxaca, also known as the Mexican Fresh Mozzarella. But one of my favorites is aged and crumbling cheese from Tabasco and Chiapas in a brick-like a shape-preserved with a cover of wax. This cheese has a creamy-crumble texture ideal for empanadas and enchiladas.
There is a lot of history behind our cheese to tell in just one post, my hope is that you enjoy just a little bit of it as much as I do.
Now to the recipe.
How to make Fresh Mexican Cheese
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat the milk to about 110F, if you do not have a candy thermometer you can test the milk by placing a small drop in your hand, the milk is ready when you can barely stand the heat of it. Please do not burn yourself. Be cautious. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- While the milk is heating, dissolve the rennet tablet with the 2 tablespoons of water.
- Once the milk is at the temperature needed add the rennet stir thoroughly for about 5 seconds and let the mixture rest for about 1 hour or less depending on the type of rennet used. The curds will start to form. It could form a solid mass that won’t stick to your fingers and will be separated from the way.
- Used a knife to cut the curds into small pieces.
- Place the curds in a cheesecloth over a large bowl or container to catch the drips. Take the 4 corners of the cheesecloth and form a bag with it.
- Put some pressure in the cheesecloth to drain as much liquid as possible. Open the bag add the salt. Stir the curds with your hands or if you prefer to place it in your food processor to form a fine and crumbly mixture.
Optional: At this time you could add finely chopped Epazote Herb leaves, jalapeño pepper or Red Bell pepper to give the cheese a different flavor. 
- Place it back in the cheesecloth and hang until the cheese is firm and slightly drained like in the picture. About 1 and 1/2 hour. Unwrap and let it rest for one more hour. Refrigerate it after this time.
- You can also place the curds into round molds and leave them to drain. Leave them at the same time as above and turn over when completely drained. Here they are draining in the top of the broiling tray. That is the only thing that came to my mind where they could drain without making a mess.
“Homemade ricotta over homemade bread”
- With the leftover whey, you could make “Requeson”, ricotta cheese. Just heat the drained whey over a low heat and let it simmer until a new set of firm curds forms and drain using the cheesecloth.
Mexican Cheese
HOW TO MAKE FRESH MEXICAN CHEESE
Ingredients
- 1 gallon of raw milk * I often used milk from the store and it works fine
- 1 rennet tablet **
- 2 tablespoons of water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the milk to about 110F , if you do not have a candy thermometer you can test the milk by placing a small drop in your hand, the milk is ready when you can barely stand the heat of it. Please do not burn yourself. Be cautious.
- While the milk is heating, dissolve the rennet tablet with the 2 tablespoon of water.
- Once the milk is at the temperature needed add the rennet stir thoroughly for about 5 seconds and let the mixture rest for about 1 hour or less depending of the type of rennet used. The curds will start to form. It could form a solid mass that won’t stick to your fingers and will be separated from the whey. Used a knife to cut the curds in small pieces.
- Place the curds in a cheese cloth over a large bowl or container to catch the drips. Take the 4 corners of the cheese cloth and form a bag with it.
- Put some pressure in the cheese cloth to drain as much liquid as possible. Open the bag add the salt. Stir the curds with your hands or if you prefer place it in your food processor to form a fine and crumbly mixture.
- Optional: At this time you could add finely chopped Epazote Herb leaves, jalapeño pepper or Red Bell pepper to give the cheese a different flavor.
- Place it back in the cheese cloth and hang until the cheese if firm and slightly drained like in the picture. About 1 and 1/2 hour. Unwrap and let it rest for one more hour. Refrigerate it after this time.
- You can also place the curds into round molds and leave them to drain. Leave them for the same time as above and turn over when completely drained. Here they are draining in top of the broiling tray. That is the only thing that came to my mind where they could drain without making a mess.
- With the leftover whey, you could make “Requeson” , ricotta cheese. Just heat the drained whey over a low heat and let it simmer until a new set of firm curds forms and drain using the cheese cloth.
Notes
Did you like the recipe? Please let me know in the comments section, do you have questions, or share the link with your friends. I hope you have an incredible time cooking!
Provecho!
Mely Martinez, the cook at Mexico in my Kitchen!
More recipes:
Sopa Seca de Fideo, Mexican Noodles
Basic Michelada Cocktail Recipe
doggybloggy
I absolutely love this cheese and you have reminded me that it is time to make some again – yours looks beautifully perfect.
Silvia
Mely, te luciste de nuevo! Que belleza de queso y ya lo puedo imaginar, riquisimo!
Crees que esta receta funcione asi de simple con queso de cabra? Estamos pensando seriamente en comprar unas cabritas lecheras.
Un abrazo querida! Que bueno es tenerte de vuelta!
Mely (mimk)
Hi there! Doggybloggy, would love to see them. I hope you post about it.
Hola Silvia,
Claro que si funciona igual con leche de cabra. Nosotros compramos leche bronca de vaca pero estoy pensando en comprar de cabra para hacer quesos. Tambien piensas en tener gallinas? Ese seria uno de mis sueños.
Silvia
Si claro! Gallinas tambien. Espero se nos haga pronto. Ya te platicare…
Mely (mimk)
Que envidia Silvia, por supuesto que quiero que me platiques, a mi todo lo que sea organico, y hecho en casa me encanta.
Saludos!
Byte64
Hola Mely,
gracias por este interesante articulo, ojalá me anime a hacer queso fresco como en mi ciudad afortunadamente tengo la posibilidad de ir a unas granjas y conseguir leche entera no pasteurizada y el queso debería salir bien rico.
A ver si un día logro hacerlo.
Ciao!
Tlaz
mira
ola! wow.. this is great.. been a while since i visited! making yer own cheese! yummie!
alwayswinner786
You taught me a very simple way to make cheese.
Thanks.
Keep sharing.
Jessie
fantastic! sorry to hear about your computer problems, welcome back 🙂
NORA
MELY, Qué entrada mas maravillosa sobre el queso fresco hecho en casa! Te felicito como siempre. El primer quesito por la forma, supongo que lo sacaste de la manta de cielo sin moldearlo verdad? Está tan bonito y maravilloso!
Mely (mimk)
Hola Tlaz, Ojala te animes a hacer el queso aunque me imagino que por alla has tener una variedad increible de quesos.
Hello Alwaysawinner786,
Hope to could make it soon. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Jessie,
Thanks, it is nice to be back. Thanks for being patience.
Hola Nora,
Si es quesito de arriba lo deje en la tela y asi se quedo la forma,me gusto como quedo. Saludos!
♥peachkins♥
There's nothing better than homemade cheese..
Anonymous
when you say store milk, do you mean the store we get at fry's, like the kroger brand thats been pasturized and homogenized, or the organic like Horizon, thats been pasturized ony?
Mely (mimk)
Hello,
Yes, that kind of milk the one you go and buy at your local supermarket, it could be kroger, Publix, Walmart supercenter,etc., as long as it is whole milk. I do not always used organic milk to make the cheese. Now a days I do because I get it from a farm.
Thanks a lot for visiting my blog. If you have more questions I will be happy to answer them.
kriket
Hello syvia,
I tried making cheese exactly the way you instructed in your recipe and I used whole store milk(pasturized,homogenized)and it did not curd it. what gives? I was planning to use it for enchiladas. Also how soon can you use it?
kriket
hello mely,
Thank you so much for answering me back, I really love queso fresco and you are right the one at the store does not taste like the one we buy when we go to Mexico. I did not throw the milk away, what I did is warm it back up on the stove after leaving it over night at room temp. because it did not curdle over night, and it did start to curdle and I squeezed the whey, added salt and put it back in cheesecloth, it has the texture of cream cheese though, and not queso fresco. I can see your first picture, the round queso, looks very beautiful. Hopefully I can make one like yours very soon.
Thanks for all your help and I'll keep trying.
Oh and I really love the Nopales recipe you wrote about. DELICOUS!!!
kriket
Hi Mely,
I'ts me again, you wanted to know what rennet I was using. I bought some junket rennet at fry's market. I was looking for the expiration date and it didn't have one. Is there a better brand of rennet I can use? or would lemon or vinegar work better?
Can't wait to hear from you again!
Mely (mimk)
Hello Kriket,
Maybe you will need to let the milk sit longer to get it to curd. It will also work to bring it back to the stove and warm it up again just before boiling point. Then let it rest for an hour again. I do hope you did not throw away your milk. At the biginning of my cheese making experiences it did happen to me once and I just bring it back to the stove as mentioned above. I would like to know what kind of rennet do you use. There are many ways to make the milk curd like adding some drops of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk. I usually use it the same day that I make it. Just give it a couple of hours to settle. As mentioned above the cheese in the top picture was made using whole pasteurized and homogenized milk and the one at the bottom with organic milk.
Please do give it another try and let me know.
Happy cooking!
Mely (mimk)
Glad to know you didn't throw away the milk. I hadn't make cheese with Junket rennet tablets, I know you can make soft cheeses with them but maybe I am wrong. I use rennet tablets from Central America since I can buy them here for 50 cents at a local Hispanic Store. I would love to send you some to try out. Someone from another state started making her own cheeses right away with these tablets that I mailed to her.
Please let a comment with your email address to contact you directly. The comment won't get publish I will just take a note of the email to contact you.
Have a great day!
Angelica
Hola Mely cada que entro como se me antoja ese queso solo tengo una duda se puede hacer con leche de gallon leche entera? porque es bien dificil conseguir leche bronca ojala que si se pueda tu blog me gusto mucho esta de 100 no que de 100 esta de 1000 te aventaste con este blog
Mely (mimk)
Hola Angelica,
Si se puede hacer con leche entera de preferencia la organica. Como lo comente anteriormente el queso que esta en la foto de arriba lo hice con leche entera homogenizada de la que venden en el super. Y los dos que estan abajo los hice con leche bronca.
Si te animas a hacerlo luego me comentas los resultados,
Saludos!
Anonymous
Hoal, me encantaria hacer estar receta pero aqui en Corea del Sur es dificil de encontrar las tabletas de rennet. Me gustaria saber si el vinagre le deja un mal olor o sabor al queso? me encantan tus recetas hoy voy a tratar de hacer "homemade chorizo"!
gracias,
Oyuki
Mely (mimk)
Hola Oyuki,
El sabor del vinagre o limon cuando se usan para cuajar la leche casi no se sienten. Mis primeros quesos los hice con vinagre o en ocasiones con una mezcla de los dos.
Ojala te queden deliciosos.
Gracias por visitar el blog, este fin semana lo estare actualizando.
Muchos saludos!
Anonymous
Hola Mely,
Soy yo otra vez. Bueno, dejame decirte que intente hacer esta receta pero lo unico que me salio bien fue el requeson. La hize con leche del super y vinagre pero el queso me salio super aguado! Any idea on what went wrong? I followed all the instructions step by step and I don't know what went wrong 🙁
thanks,
Oyuki
Anonymous
muchas gracias,y por supuesto que lo voy a intentar otra vez! Ya ordene (rennet) entonces cuando me llegue lo voy a intentar. Gracias otravez por las sugerencias.
bye,
Oyuki
Mely (mimk)
Hola Oyuki,
Que pena que no te funciono con la leche del super. Muchas veces depende de la leche o del tiempo en que uno lo tenga en la lumbre. No creas que a mi me salio a la primera. Ya sabes que como dice el dicho "A veces hechando a perder se aprende". Trata otra vez con menos leche y un poco de crema dejando la leche hervir un poquito mas y dejando reposar algo mas de tiempo despues de eso. A que se forme el queso. No se que tan dificil sea que te llegan paquetes a Korea pero con todo gusto e envio rennet (cuajo) para que lo hagas.
Me avisas!
Anonymous
Hola, me puedes explicar para que se le pone buttermilk? Hay otras recetas que lo pide. Ya llevo 2 meses haciendo quesos en casa, y realmente no tengo tanto el tiempo para experimentar. Yo hecho con vinagre y salio como requeson, y con cuajo pues salio mas duro y salio mas autentico.
Gracias,
Adrian
Mely (mimk)
Hola Adrian,
No habia escuchado que le pusieran "buttermilk", por necesidad los he hecho con limon o vinagre pero como tu prefiero el cuajo. Salen los quesos mas solidos. Y te entiendo hoy en dia nadie tiene tiempo para estar experimentando. Mejor seguir con lo que nos funciona. O tu receta aparte incluye buttermilk aparte del cuajo?
Saludos y gracias por visitarnos.
Cover
I am making this right now. I adore the salty and crumbly nature of queso fresco and am ridiculously excited to be making it in my kitchen.
girlichef
Beautiful, Mely! I love your version, as well. I added a link to it on my Queso Fresco post. 🙂 Have a great day!
Ziho
Qué rico Mely, oye pero es 1 pastilla solamente?
Y si no tengo las pastillas de cuajo, hay otra manera de prepararlo?
Gracias de antemano!
Salu2
Mexico in my kitchen
Hola Ziho,
Puedes usar una cucharada de vinagre balnco o jugo de limon. Pero en Monterrey puedes conseguir las pastillas de cuajo en los lugares donde venden forraje y semillas. Ahi las compraba yo cuando vivia en Monterrey.
Saludos!
Ziho
Entonces tipo agropecuaria…
Gracias
Anonymous
When I was a little girl in the 60s, I used to travel to Mexico regularly with my grandparents. On our way through Sonora, we would run into youngsters holding up little enamel pots of homemade cheese as we passed. We often stopped to buy this cheese, which was amazing. It was white, mild, and slightly acidic. It was made fresh and sold the same day. It separated into layers. I loved separating this cheese into layers and eating it on fresh corn tortillas made over an open-fire grill. I have been looking for the recipe for this cheese for years. Can anyone help me out? Please post the recipe if you have it.
Mexico in my kitchen
Hello Anonymous,
Sorry the late reply. That must be "Queso Cocido" Cooked Cheese very famous in Sonora the recipe is similar to Oaxaca Cheese. I had been thinking on making it but the busyness of daily life had kept me from doing it. I will post it for sure when I find the time to make it.
Thanks a lot for stopping by.
Mely
Erin
Oh please please post your recipe for Queso Cocido.
cristian.rubio
Hola Mely, me llamo Cristian, y te queria preguntar algo:
Yo quiero hacer queso pero vivo en los estados unidos y cuando fui a mexico de visita queria comprar las rennet tablets pero nomas las tenian en polvo, y las compre, no me podrias decir cuanto polvo tengo que usar para una libra de queso?
Mexico in my kitchen
Hola Cristian,
Puede variar con la marca del cuajo. Los que yo he usado en polvo requeiren una cucharadita del cuajo disuelta en dos cucharadas soperas de agua. Estas se le ponen a la leche cuando ya esta en la temperatura que indica la receta. Y se deja cuajar.
Cuando se usa cuajo liquido (liquid rennet) yo le pongo 20 gotas de este diluidas en dos cucharadas de agua.
Si es la primera vez que haces el queso fresco ten paciencia. Veras que tendras buenos resultados.
Saludos y que te quede muy rico.
Mely
cristian.rubio
muchas gracias Mely, lo voy a intentar para ver como me sale
Taste of Beirut
This method is the same (including the ricotta afterwards) as our own lebanese country-style cheese/ interesting~
Browneyed026
About how much salt do you prefer when you make cheese?
Mexico in my kitchen
Hello Browneyed,
I have settled in 2 teaspoons. After several times making this cheese 2 teaspoons if just good enough.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mely
lenyna
Hola me puse a hacer "cuajada" y fue un desastre me gustaria saber cuanto tiempo mas o menos tengo que dejar cuajando la leche. gracias
Mexico in my kitchen
Hola Lenyna,
Deja reposar la leche por lo menos una hora despues de agregar el cuajo. Cortas en cuadros dentro de la misma olla y dejas que los cuadros de cuajada se separen por lo menos dos horas mas.
Tengo otras fotos que no he puesto donde se ve mas claro el proceso.
Trata otra vez y veras que tendras exito.
Saludos,
Mely
Browneyed026
Thank you so much!
I made this with farm fresh milk but I do not think I added enough salt, so i will try again!
your recipes look fantastic and I enjoy coming to your site to see what's next :). I am also so pleased to see that you replied! It makes everything so much more personable!! Again thank you!!
Mexico in my kitchen
Hello Browneyed026,
I am so glad you found raw milk in your area to make the cheese. At the end your personal taste will dictate how much salt you add. Now you can start experimenting adding flavors like a little chipotle or poblano. Herbs like epazote or your favorite.
Thank you for visiting and your kind comment.
Mely
MariaT.
Hola Mely:Me encanta tu blog estupendas recetas, tu receta de queso fresco la voy hacer ahora con leche de la tienda, pero yo no uso tabletas rennet pues no las encuentro vivo en Kansas yo uso
trompillo es una planta que encuentro cerca del Rio aqui en donde vivo,cuando yo era peque~a una vecina cuajaba leche con trompillo y yo ayudaba a su hija a recogerloes es una planta silvestre fui muy afortunada al aprender de esa viejecita que me enze~o pero nunca me volvi a acordar hasta hace 2 semanas que me regalaron dos galones de leche bronca y decidi hacer queso,si necesitas mas informacion contactame,yo ya soy una Sra.grande y no se usar bien la compu o subir fotos,ni siquera suscribirme apenas si puedo skype con mis hijas y mi hijo con muchas batallas naci en Mexico pero tengo muchisiisimos a~ons vivinedo en EEUU.me e-Mail es [email protected]
lifelover
If I have some milk that has started to sour on its own, can I use it in this recepie too? Many times I have thrown out spoiled milk, knowing I was only a few steps away from cheese, but not knowing how easy those steps were. I will never waste milk again! Shall I make small batches as they happen, or save then up, or add fresh, or will it all just "work", such is the magic of nature?
Mexico in my kitchen
Yes, you can still make the cheese. It could have a slightly sour taste but is cheese. Another thing we eat in Mexico is a cheese that looks like ricotta, made of sour milk. Just add some drops of lemon juice and wait for it to curd, drain and store in the fridge. To use spread over a warm tortilla or french bread.
Have a great time doing it.
Mely
j r cárdenas
Hola Mely,
yo vivo en Europa y acá es todavía más complicado conseguir los ingredientes para preparar los platillos típicos. Pero con un poco de tesón y paciencia, es posible hacer muchos platillos sin tener que recurrir al tex mex, que tanto confunden los europeos con la comida mexicana tradicional. En fin, que uno de esos ingredientes siempre faltantes es el queso fresco. Hace un par de semanas me cansé de comer algunos platillos (como los chilaquiles) con otros quesos… así que me puse a buscar recetas y di con ésta suya. Después de echar a perder dos veces un poco de leche, por fin me quedó uno! (la tercera es la vencida). En el proceso aprendí algunas cosas que quisiera compartir con sus lectores:
Observaciones:
1. Uso leche de vaca comprada en granja (en EEUU se le llama "orgánica" y en Europa -en gral.- "de granja"). En Europa también hay productos "bio", que son muchas veces los equivalentes a "orgánico" en EEUU, pero, como los venden en supermercados en cantidades industriales, no estoy convencido de sus bondades "criollas".
2. Estoy usando un cuajo líquido, el cual -dependiendo del país europeo- se puede comprar en tiendas especializadas o hasta en las farmacias. Cada tipo de cuajo tiene sus propias recomendaciones de uso.
3. Con limón y vinagre todavía no he hecho queso. Eso lo probaré después.
4. Sólo uso leche, cuajo y saborizantes (sal, yerbas, chiles) y no uso yogurt u otros productos lácteos en el proceso, porque esos le dan otra consistencia al queso. (y saben bien, pero yo buscaba hacer queso fresco, como éste de su receta).
Aprendizaje:
1. La leche de granja debe pasteurizarse. En otras recetas leí que se debe calentar la leche a 70 grados por media hora. Es un error! Sólo debe permanecer en esa temperatura max.15 segundos y después debe bajarse la temperatura lo más rápido posible hasta los 33 grados, para poder usar el cuajo.
2. Tres tipos de pasteurización que he usado: la más común es calentar la leche a entre 70 y 75 grados max. por sólo 15 segundos a esa temperaatura. A 60 grados (max. 65), entonces sí se necesita media hora. Si se pasa la temperatura (por ejemplo, a 85 grados), entonces debe estar ahí sólo 5 segundos y después bajarse. Si se pasa de 85, pues es mejor hervirla y tomársela (y aprovechar la nata). Estos máximos de pesteurización son porque el proceso mata bacterias daninas, pero, si se pasa de temperatura, también elimina enzimas necesarias para la elaboración del queso.
3. Dependiendo del tipo de tela, tal vez haya que exprimir frecuentemente la masa del queso, para que se salga el suero, porque colgarla no siempre sirve mucho, pero tampoco hay que apretar muy fuerte porque se sale la masa.
4. La masa con cuajo se puede poner en molde y se debe apretar regularmente (de preferencia con un peso fijo) para ayudar a sacar el suero. Pero, una vez más, tampoco muy fuerte, para que no se vaya la masa que será el queso.
5. Los saborizanzes se los he puesto como usted lo indica en su receta, aunque una variante para agregarle sal es esperar a que el queso quede firme para después darle un bano en agua de sal por una hora (150 g. de sal por un litro de agua).
Y creo que es todo por ahora. Le agradezco mucho que haya tenido a bien publicar su receta. He visto algunas de sus otras recetas y un par de ellas son nuevas para mí, pero veo que coseguir algunos ingredientes en mi entorno para darles un sabor auténtico es algo complicado. Ya veré con el tiempo cómo le hago.
Le deseo que le vaya bien y quizá hasta la próxima.
Cordialmente
Juan G.
Mexico in my kitchen
Hola J. R. Cardenas,
Muchisimas gracias por tomarse el tiempo de escribir su experiencia en hacer el queso fresco.
Estoy segura que sera de gran utilidad para todas esas personas que como usted y yo que vivimos fuera de Mexico recreando los sabores que nos unen a nuestro pais.
Muy buenos puntos cada uno de los datos que nos das, a veces cuando se prepara algo por varios años y ya lo hace uno de manera macanica, los pequeños detalles se nos escapan simplemente por que ya es rutinario para uno.
La leche que se compra en granjas en Estados Unidos es conocida como "Raw Milk", literalmente leche cruda o lo que en Mexico conocemos como leche bronca. LA leche conocida aqui como organica que se obtiene en cualquier supermercado puede servir para hacer el queso siempre y cuando se compre la leche entera y no la descremada.
Nuevamente, gracias y feliz semana.
Mely
Rosaelena2010
I used junket rennet & so.far no results, can I heat it up again & add lemon juice? Or is it not good to combine the 2??… Or shud I just waot longer?
Mely
Hello Rosaelena,
I am sorry for the late reply. Somehow this comment went to my spam box.
Hopefully putting the milk back to the heat and adding some lemon juice had worked out for you. Does you rennet has an expiration date? If this happens again (I hope it doesn't) you can also use 1 Tablespoon of vinegar.
If you have any further questions email me, you can find my email address here:
Contact me
Have a great weekend!
Mely
Maribel Alvarez
Hola soy mary queria preguntarle si las pastiyas que ce yaman junket rennet pueden cuajar.porque compre esas pastillas para aser la receta que usted tiene pero nose me cuajo i la puse a calentae dos veses mas i nada.creo que pueda ser las pastillas?
Mely
Hola Mary,
He visto esas tabletas en el super, pero yo no las he usado. Por lo tanto no puedo darte una opinion sobre su efectividad para hacer queso, aunque he leido en sitios en ingles que no funcionan bien. Por otra parteel sitio de Junket, si menciona que sirven para hacer queso y hasta tienen varias recetas sobre como hacer queso de varios tipos.
Me da pena que hayas tenido que desperdicias la leche. Trata en otra ocasion usando jugo de limón o vinagre.
Cualquier duda enviame un correo, la dirección la encuentras en la sección de contacto.
Saludos,
Mely
Maribel Alvarez
Grasias mely lo intentare aserlo con vinagre.que rico se mira el queso de usted.muchas grasias..
Victoria Liles
Hola!
I am desperate to try making this cheese as it looks so yummy, but I was wondering if it is possible to make with UHT milk? I can get whole milk version but only UHT due to where I live and I worried that maybe this has been treated too much to work.
Victoria
Mely
Hello Victoria,
I tired once with an organic UHT milk and one gallon rendered a very small cheese. About 8 oz.
Elizabeth Sanchez
Mely, I love your blog! it's one of the best that is understandable for someone whose Spanish isn't that good! I need to know if American pasteurized, homogenized milk can be used for the Ranchera style cheese, or for oaxaca. I tried to warm up some slightly sour whole milk to use for rice pudding or custard, but it started forming loose curds. I do have some rennet, but lost the directions. Raw milk is very expensive and hard to find her. Thanks, Sherry S
Mely
Hello Elizabeth,
I had tried to make the cheese using organic whole pasteurized and homogenized milk, the one you buy at the grocery store. So far the results are not the same since this type of milk will render less amount of cheese but a decent one to start up making your own cheese at home.
Saludos!
Seluna
Uff!!! por fin llegue al espacio de comentarios. He leido gran parte de ellos y se me hace tan emocionante el interes de muchos latinos en el extranjero buscando hacer queso y mas aun tratando de no perder su raices, gustos y valores por lo hecho en casa y el sabor de nuestro México.felicidades! Mely Enhorabuena.???? encontrarte por estos virtuales-lares, sabes ya hice mi queso gace dos días, y quedo, buenísimo! Mi tirada era hacer el tipo mozarella, con mucho mucho epazote. Y quedo el condenadote.
Segui los pasos, pero creo qye me salte algunos, jajajajaja porque quedó como el tuyo de la primer foto. Use 1 galon dd keche 2%, temerosamente, le agregue 1/2 tableta de rennet disuelta en una taza dd agua y alli midmo le agregue la sal. Espere la temperatura adecuada y ld agregue la mezcla, le moví y le movi y a los 4 minutos, zas! Que empieza el divorcio del suero y el queso. Estaba yo naravillada! Luego entonces, dd la emicion, segui moviendo (error!) Aun asi en breve, empece a sacar la masa con una cuchara de palo y usando un colador. Lo exprimi al maximo le agregue todo el epazote picadito y emoece a integrarlo. Pero seguia saliendo suero. Luego dije, usare la msnta, y si asi fue y quedo la bola, seguia saliendo el suero, pero – but ☝ fye entonces que me di cuenta, que quedaría mas un queso tipo panela que mozarella como el de la tienda. Ah! Pero eso si, bien artesanal, casero y con todo mi amor para mi familia y futuramente para mis amistades. Quedo consistente, y con buen sabor, le falto un poco de sal, pero en unas quesadillas con una rajita de chile serrano. Mmmmm pa'que te cuento. Ricooo!!! Recomiendame como hago para hacer el tipo mozarella y el manchego y el oaxaca. Etc. Una vez que empiezo algo que me apasiona y sectrata de crear aquí en mi CusiNeta pues ni quien me pare! Como decia la Tucita: "ya ven pa' que me dejan dolita, no me se estar quietita…" ????
Mi abrazo ???? para ti y todos los lectores. ????
Luna????
Ismael Ramos
Hi Mely,
Love the recipe. I want to master this. My favorite type of cheese over all. Love it on tacos de bistec… I work at a dairy plant. Took home a fresh gallon of raw milk. I just have one question because I can't find the rennet tablets for it. Will there be a difference if I used vinegar and lime juice? Bit skeptic about it but don't want to lose hope in using your recipe tonight…
Mely
Hola Ismael,
Don't worry, using lime juice or vinegar works fine. Please be patience and wait for the milk to get solid.
Mely
Celia Cristales
Can i use 2% milk? If i use vinegar how long does it take to get solid?
Mely Martinez
Hello Celia,
I had never tried making the cheese with 2% milk. Please let us know the results if you make it.
johnny
Hola Mely,
What if i let the milk stand at room temp for 24hrs before starting, would the cheese be more sour and curds be more firmer?
mmartinez
Hello Johnny,
Actually, I had never tried that option. When I had milk that goes sour because was left out of the fridge, I place it in a saucepan and cook it to make a sort of cheese. Where the whey separates and then drain the curds, season with salt and is ready to eat.
Johnny
Hola Mely,
Ok so basically we don't need to let milk sour before cooking because we are just trying to get it to firm up/clump up which would happen already after adding the rennet / vinegar? Also if i use apple cider vinegar will i still have to add it in with 2 tablespoon of water, just like the rennet?
mmartinez
Hello Johnny,
Yes, just as you say it. You don't need to let the milk get sour. You don't need to dilute the vinegar in water. Be patience, sometimes it takes longer to get solid, it all depends in the type of milk you are using and the rennet.
Mark M.
Hi Mely,
I need to ask about this part, "add the rennet stir thoroughly for about 5 seconds and let the mixture rest for about 1 hour" with the stove On holding the 110F temperature or i can shut the stove off and let it rest for 1 hour?
mmartinez
Hello Mark,
Turn the heat off and let it rest. 😉
Addie
What can cause the cheese to become sour-tasting over several days in the fridge? I have the same problem with butter made with fresh raw cream
mmartinez
Hello Addie, as any other dairy cheese tends to get sour tasting after some days. It will last fresh at least for 4-5 days if we keep in a low temperature in our refrigerator. Check the thermostat in your fridge, maybe you need to lower the temperature a little bit down.
Happy cooking!
Anonymous
Hello. Thanks for the instruction. I don't speak Spanish. what words are used to ask for rennet at the no english Mexican grocery? Thank you.
mmartinez
Hello,
At the latin store, ask for: Pastillas de cuajo
Unknown
Gracias! I've been to a few places asking for cuajo and pointring to the cheese, lol. I haven't found ant yet.
Yvonne Anthony-Lopez
You can find rennet at the grocery store near the boxes of pudding mix. The brand I got is called “junket” rennet tablets. They were 2.99 where I got them.
Mely Martínez
Hello Yvonne,
Thank you for such a great tip!
Anonymous
I used fresh cows milk. Did everything expect didnt use chesse cloth i used my chilli strainer. And it came out good. But only just a little bit of chesse was made how much chesse is made out of gallon fresh milk. And its queso fresco. I made. I have a pic but dont know how to load it on here.
mmartinez
Hello,
It usually makes one pound cheese. That also depends on the type of milk you use. Raw milk will render that size of cheese, and using store bought whole milk a smaller cheese.
Teresa Duran
Mely,
I made the cheese today, yahoo, it's great, i am thing to reheat top make the ricotta, do o just reheat it and let it sit for another hour or do i need to put another rennet tablet in
Thanks teresa
mmartinez
Hello Teresa,
Just reheat and let it sit until is forms the cheese. Happy cooking!
Anonymous
ty Mely will try it out.
Anonymous
To all potential cheese makers; I have been making cheeses for over 12 years and have made many types and flavors of cheeses and found out that the "ultra pasteurized milk" will not curd up and make into cheese. It should be labeled as such on the carton or the plastic jug. Ultra Pasteurized milk is pasteurized at very high temperatures and it is cooked to prolong shelf life and long transportation distances. To make cheese use only pasteurized homogenized milk when buying from the supermarket.
Para las personas que hacen o piensen hacer queso con leche adquirida en el super-mercado; Yo he estado haciendo queso casero por 12 anos aproximadamente, de muchos tipos y sabores y he encontrado que la leche adquiritda en el super-mercado que esta marcada "Ultra-Pasteurized" no hace el cuajo necesario para hacer queso. Este tipo de leche a sido pasteurizada en altas temperaturas para que aguante largos tiempos en el refrigerador o en camino largo rumbo al mercado. Para hacer queso con leche adquirida en el super-mercado solo puede usar leche marcada "Pasteurized and Homogenized" para que pueda formar e cuajo que se convierte en queso.
Anonymous
Mely can you add whole cream to the milk, and if so how much to a gallon. Carlos Lepe
mmartinez
Hello, Carlos,
I know you can add cream, but it has to be raw milk and cream. Some cheeses, like those from Chiapas & Tabasco are rich in cream. Since this is something that I had never tried, I can not give you exact amounts. Sorry about it. If you make it, please come back and share you experience. Also, read the comment about from someone that also makes cheese.
Kitty Baker
How long will this cheese keep in the refrigerator?
mmartinez
Hello Kitty,
This cheese will keep good for about 5-6 days in the fridge.
Yvette
Hi Mely, I have tried twice now to make this with no success . First time I used Raw milk and vinegar and only got tiny curds and nothing else. I have a thermometer so don’t think that was my problem. Second time I used organic wholw milk and vinegar and slightly better results but still didn’t curd up. I am obviously doing something wrong ! I live in Ireland so we have great quality milk but not sure if that could affect the process. Also could you post metric quantities in your recipes? ☺️
mmartinez
Hola Yvette,
Did you allow the milk to settle and form into a thick layer? We have to wait until this thick layer forms before draining the clear liquid. I’ll update the recipe soon to add metric quantities.
Angela Zarate
I have tried many recipes for making Queso Fresco and yours is the first that turned out awesome. It taste exactly like the queso I had in Mexico. Thank you so much. Keep the great recipes coming. God bless Angela
Ralph
How much Epazote would you put in a batch?
Mely Martínez
Hello Raph,
If you are mixing the epazote with the cheese, use about 3 large leaves.
Kell
Hey! So I just tried this with raw milk from our cow, let it set for 50 min and it’s still milk. Zero curds yet. What did I do wrong?
Mely Martínez
Hello Kell,
Did you place it on the stove and added the rennet. Sometimes, you need to wait a little longer.