Queso Fresco Cheese

Queso Fresco: How Nature and Science Combine to Bring Cheese to Your Dinner Plate

Have you ever wondered how queso fresco makes its way from the cheese maker to your dinner plate? Queso fresco is a fresh Mexican-style cheese that is becoming increasingly popular in kitchens around the world. It’s a semi-soft white cheese that is mild, crumbly, sometimes salty, and most importantly, delicious. Despite its simple appearance, there is quite a bit of science, technology, and nature that goes into the creation of queso fresco cheese, ensuring it reaches its familiar form and texture when it finally makes its way to your plate.

Before diving into the technical process of creating queso fresco, it’s important to understand the primary ingredients involved. As with any type of cheese, queso fresco is made from milk. Milk is an incredibly versatile base for many cheeses, thanks to its nutrient-rich mixture of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and minerals. In order to create queso fresco, the milk used should be from cows that are fed hay, grains, and other natural farm produce (depending on geographical location). Once the milk is collected, it’s filtered and pasteurized to kill any bacteria that could harm or destabilize the cheese. In terms of the type of milk used, it’s typically a mix of whole milk, skimmed milk, and carbohydrates, such as lactose, fructose, and glucose.

The next step in creating queso fresco involves adding rennet, a type of enzyme, to the milk. Rennet is extracted from a variety of animal sources, and helps to bring together the proteins in the milk, and create a cohesive texture when it begins to curdle. In order for the rennet to work properly and effectively, the milk needs to be brought to a small simmer, and then cooled to around 89°F/ 32°C. The milk will then begin to curdle, producing solid masses that can be strained and pressed with a metabolic press to remove the whey, or liquid.

At this point the cheese is churned, which helps to break down the particles of the cheese into finer granules and encourages the release of whey. The cheese is then shaped and begins to go through a process known as maturation, where it develops its signature flavor and texture. During this period, it is stored in a cool, dark environment and regularly flipped to ensure even ripening and aging. Depending on the type of queso fresco being created, the maturation process can take anything from a few days, to several weeks or even months.

Once the queso fresco cheese has been sufficiently aged, it is ready for packaging. But before the cheese can make its way from the cheese maker to the dinner plate, there is a crucial step that needs to be taken; salting. Salting is an essential process for queso fresco, as it helps to preserve the cheese’s flavor and texture and also prevents it from spoiling. It has been found that sodium chloride, common household table salt, is the best salt to use for queso fresco because its small particles allow it to penetrate quickly throughout the cheese.

Now that the queso fresco cheese has been sufficiently aged and salted, it is ready to be packaged and transported. In order to ensure its freshness and quality, the cheese is usually packaged in waxed paper or cheesecloth, which will help protect it during its long journey. Because of its tendency to spoil quickly, it is important that the queso fresco is transported in a temperature-controlled environment, preferably no lower than 55°F/13°C – and no higher than 65°F/18°C.

The final step in allowing queso fresco to make its way from the cheese maker to your dinner plate is its sale and distribution. Depending on the context and size of the cheese producer, the production and sale process of queso fresco can vary dramatically. In some cases, the cheese is sold directly to consumers from the cheese maker, while in others, the cheese is sold in supermarkets, cheese markets, or even online.

In conclusion, queso fresco is a deliciously tangy and mild cheese that has been around for centuries and is still incredibly popular today. Despite its simple-looking exterior, there is actually quite a bit of science, technology and nature that goes into its creation. From the type of milk used, to the maturation process and the salting, it’s clear that a lot of work is involved in making sure queso fresco reaches you in the most delicious way possible. Through this complex and fascinating process, queso fresco can finally make its way to your dinner plate, and you can enjoy this crumbly delight right at home.