Queso Blanco Cheese Making Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon of Milk (Not Ultra-pasteurized)
- 1/4 Cup White Vinegar
- Salt
- Chopped chiles, spices or herbs (optional)
Equipment
- Good Thermometer
- Slotted Ladle
- Cheesecloth
- Large Colander
- Small Hard Cheese Mold
- Cheese Press or Weights
- Instructions
- Reviews
- Q & A
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Heat Milk
Start with 1 Gallon of Milk heated slowly to 185F with occasional stirring.
Note: If desired, chopped chiles, spices or herbs can be added to this cheese. We suggest preparing this addition ahead of time, and setting it off to the side to use later. This prep work can be done while the milk is heating. For this batch we used two jalapeños, chopped in a food processor.
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Add Vinegar
Once the temp is reached add 1/4 cup of White Vinegar while stirring. Add this in 3 equal additions. You should notice the curds beginning to form and the whey separating as a greenish yellow liquid. Let rest for 5 min.
Once the curds begin to form well, stir to keep from matting for another 5 minutes.
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Drain Curd
Spread a sanitized piece of cheesecloth over a colander which is placed over a pan to collect the whey.
Pour the curds and whey into this cloth. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt.
Chopped chiles, spices or herbs can be mixed in also at this point.
Stir the curds gently to increase whey drainage and mix the salt. The cloth may be hung for 10-30 minutes for a drier cheese.
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Pressing
Transfer your curds to an open ended 2 Lb. cheese mold resting on a draining mat and set the follower on top.
Begin with 10 lbs of weight for 20 min. and then increase to 25 lbs for 2-5 hours.
Your cheese is now ready to enjoy or can be wrapped in waxed paper and refrigerated.
- Reviews
- Questions
- recipe
- milk
- quart
- equivalent
- coriander
- Cardamom
- tips
- curd formation
- Queso Blanco
- note
United StatesGood for beginners
Works well and a forgiving recipe to learn on. My first thermometer malfunctioned and I overheated the milk considerably, but was still able to strain out cheese curds. My second attempt used a candy thermometer and came out very nicely.
United StatesGreat easy cheese for newbies
I make this fairly often in small quantities. 1 quart milk makes about 1/2 cup cheese, just right for our weekly taco bar. Better to make it each time than store for even a week, especially since it's so easy. Cheaper and fresher than buying in the supermarket. One note: I wind up using 4 to 5 tsp 5% vinegar for that quart of milk to get good curd formation. That's the equivalent of 5-7 Tbsp per gallon, or about 1.5 times the amount in the original recipe.
United StatesQueso Blanco with infusions
Cardamom and coriander infused Queso Blanco! thank you for your great recipes and tips.
