Queso Blanco is a simple cheese to make. It’s also great for cooking or frying due to its more naturally springy texture. The apple cider vinegar give the cheese a nice brightness and a healthy kick. Our suggestion is to mix your queso with grilled corn kernels and salt, stuff peppers, and roast in the oven.
Homemade Queso Fresco Recipe
from Mother Earth News
- 1 gallon Whole milk
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- A dairy thermometer
- A large stainless steel cooking pot
- A strainer. A wooden spoon
- Cheesecloth
- Optional: Salt and/or fresh or dried herbs
- Gather your supplies.
- Pour your milk into your pot and place over medium low heat. You want your milk to heat slowly and gradually to reach a desired temperature of 180 degrees. It takes about an hour when given the patience to be done right. Stir every so often with a wooden spoon to distribute heat evenly and to prevent scalding.
- When your milk reaches 180 degrees, turn off the heat.
- * If you do not have a dairy thermometer, turn off the pot when the milk starts to foam a little, just before you think it's going to boil. You DO NOT want it to boil.
- Slowly add your vinegar and gently stir with your wooden spoon. You should see the curds start to separate from the whey.
- Let sit a few minutes.
- Very carefully (as it is HOT) pour your curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth. If you want to save your whey (which I recommend because it is the cat's meow as a substitute for milk in baked goods) place another large pot under the colander. If you do not have cheesecloth you can use a cotton t-shirt. Clean obviously. Just cut it at the seams and use the same way. Come on, you must have an old cotton shirt lying around.
- Pull up the edges and ring out to expel the main part of the whey.
- Transfer back to your cooking pot and hang from any surface that can comfortably fit the pot and bag of cheese. I use a magnet on the hood of my stove. Easy and convenient, but use your imagination. Let strain for about 3 hours. Less time will give you a wetter cheese, more will give you a firmer cheese.
- Yum! Unwrap from the cheese cloth and place in a resealable container to refrigerate. It will keep up to a week cold. Not that it lasts that long.
