Authentic Queso Fresco
Ingredients
- 1 gallon whole cow's milk (I have used pasteurized milk and raw milk just fine, but don't use ultra-pasteurized milk for cheese. I also have never tried this with goat milk, only cow's milk)
- 1/4-1/2 cup white vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Place entire gallon of milk in a large pot. Place on stove and start to heat up until milk is about 190 degrees F. Stir frequently to keep milk from scalding.
- Once the temperature gets to 190 degrees (milk will be steaming and foaming slightly, but not boiling), add 1/4 cup of vinegar/lime juice/lemon juice and stir. You will start to see a bit of curdling.
- After about 2-3 minutes, you may need to add additional vinegar/lime juice/lemon juice up to a total of 1/2 cup. This all depends on how it is curdling. You'll learn how you prefer it after making it a few times.
- After adding additional acid, remove from burner and cover with a lid. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
- While milk is resting, line a colander with cheese cloth or a very thin, clean towel. If you wish to save the whey (the liquid left over from making cheese), place your colander over a pot or bowl to catch it.
- Whey is great to use in your breads instead of water for extra protein, or feed it to your livestock!
- After 20 minutes, strain your cheese into your cheese cloth. Be careful, it's hot! Twist the cheesecloth to help more of the whey to drain out. Squeeze out as much of the whey as possible. I typically use a spoon to help squeeze it out since the cheese is quite hot.
- Once all the whey is out, place the cheese solids into a bowl and stir in 1 tbsp of salt. Feel free to add more or less salt to taste!
- Place cheese in fridge to cool.
- This is typically a crumbly type cheese like a feta. Even though the cheese will come together while in fridge, just break it up into crumbles to use.
Notes
This is authentic Mexican cheese to use on your favorite tacos or other Mexican dish. But it's very versatile, and you can find plenty of uses for it.
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