Queso blanco, a soft, creamy Mexican cheese similar to cottage cheese, can be made easily at home with cow’s milk and vinegar. It can be used as a side dish, in salads, or as a pastry cheese, and some varieties make excellent melting cheeses.
Queso blanco, or “white cheese,” is a Mexican cheese popular in many places around the world. Often made with pure cow’s milk or a combination of cow and goat’s milk, the soft, creamy cheese is similar to cottage cheese. Queso blanco is extremely simple to make and is not aged, so it can easily be made at home.
Because of its short maturation process, queso blanco is also sometimes called queso fresco, or “fresh cheese.” Depending on the ingredients used, some versions make excellent melting cheeses that go well with quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches. Other varieties don’t melt, but rather soften and become creamy when heated. A non-melting queso blanco is great as a side dish, sprinkled on salads or enchiladas.
To make queso blanco at home, sterilize cooking equipment and combine whole cow’s milk with vinegar. Some recipes also call for the addition of yogurt and salt, but a basic version uses only the first two ingredients. The mixture should be heated to at least 185 degrees F (85— C) before straining through a colander lined with cheesecloth until the curds are cool enough to handle. Wrap the cheese in the cheesecloth and hang it to dry for several hours, until it no longer drips.
If you prefer, you can omit the hanging step and package the cheese in molds instead. After it is strained through the colander and cooled, kneed the cheese and packed tightly in small sterilized containers. Cover them tightly and let them refrigerate for several hours. The cheese will keep for about a week, so be prepared to eat it quickly.
You can eat queso fresco in salads, as a side dish, or simply nibble right from the container. It also makes a surprisingly good pastry cheese and can be used to fill Danish pastries or to make sweet cheese scones. If you find or make a melting variety of cheese, try melting it with cream and fresh jalapenos or green chiles for a tangy, tangy nacho cheese dip.
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