How to Make Queso Blanco
A recipe for making queso blanco, or fresh “white cheese”, at home with milk and a coagulating agent like vinegar, lemon or lime juice. Very easy and fresh! Essential for many recipes.
Queso Blanco, or “white cheese”, is a cheese widely used in Mexican and South American cooking. It adds a touch of texture and freshness to a dish and, because it doesn’t melt, is ideal for crumbling over hot dishes before serving. Instead of melting, it softens and becomes creamy without losing shape.
It is very similar to the more popularly named Queso Fresco, or “fresh cheese”. While both are technically fresh cheeses, queso fresco uses an enzyme called rennet to curdle the milk, where queso blanco uses an acid, typically vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice.
Both cheese are unaged and very mild in flavor. Despite being made from milk, it is not rich but rather quite light, with salty-sour notes. It is meant to be used right away in its crumbly form, or it can be pressed with weights to form a cheese that can be fried.
How Can I Use Queso Blanco
Queso blanco is most often used as a finisher for dishes. Simply crumble it over the top of tacos or salads, refried or black beans, pretty much anything served hot in a pan. Crumble it directly over a plate just before serving. It adds a pop of both texture and color.
If using very fresh queso blanco that hasn’t drained much, mix it with salt and fresh herbs for a spreadable cheese.
If you drain much longer you can also press the cheese, which makes is more compact, and you can grill it and either incorporate it into other dishes or enjoy it as a snack.
What Cheeses Are Similar to Queso Blanco?
Queso Blanco, as mentioned, is very similar to Queso Fresco in texture and flavor. The difference lies only in the curdling process. It is also similar to feta cheese, which (like queso fresco) is made with rennet, but also brined and aged. Paneer, a staple cheese in Indian cuisine for thousands of years, is essentially the same thing as queso blanco. It is also known as “Farmers Cheese”.
Making queso blanco at home is super simple, so much so that you’ll never want to buy it at the store again.
The process is easy. The only ingredients needed are milk, an acid (vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice) and salt. One gallon of milk will yield about 1 pound of finished queso blanco, so plan accordingly.
How to Make Queso Blanco Cheese
First, heat your milk slowly in a large pot. Do not heat too quickly or you risk scalding the milk, which will result in a burnt flavor. Bring the milk to about 185-190 degrees F when measured with a thermometer. You do not want to bring it to a boil.
Turn off the heat and stir in your acid – vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice – a spoonful at a time. It doesn’t matter which acid you use as the coagulating agent, but lemon or lime juice will impart a bit of its flavor in the finished product, so plan accordingly. I prefer lime juice for most applications.
Stir continuously as you add your acid and watch for curdling to occur. It will be obvious as milk clumps, or “curds”, form and separate from the watery substance, or “whey”. It is difficult to know exactly how much acid you will need, so keep extra on hand and keep adding it a bit at a time in until curdling starts. Once the curds form, stop and let the pot sit for about 20 minutes to complete the process.
Next, set a colander lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl and strain the curds from the whey. You can discard the whey if you’d like, but I like to keep it for other uses. It is ideal for tenderizing meats or for use in starting the fermentation process for foods like pepper mash. Consider freezing it for future use.
The curds can be used immediately and will be lumpy but somewhat creamy. You can mix in a bit of salt and spread it over breads or crumble it over foods as described above. However, it is best to let it drain for 10-20 minutes for most uses.
If you’d prefer drier, firmer cheese, wrap up the ends of the cheesecloth and continue to drain an hour or so. You can also place a weight over the top that will press the cheese for several hours, until it is packed and dense.
Queso blanco will keep for about a week in the refrigerator, though it is best when used immediately.
Enjoy!
What Type of Milk Should I Use to Make Queso Blanco?
You can use any type of milk from the store to make homemade queso blanco. Original farmers cheese was made with raw milk, whether it is from a cow, sheep or goat, but today you’ll most likely need to grab milk from the store. The only milk you can’t use is milk labeled ultra-pasteurized, which will not curdle.
- 1 gallon milk
- ¼ cup vinegar lemon juice or lime juice
- Salt to taste
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Heat the milk slowly in a large pot to 185-190 degrees F.
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Turn off the heat and stir in your acid – vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice – a spoonful at a time, stirring, until curds form and separate from the yellowish whey. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes.
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Set a colander lined with cheesecloth over a bowl and strain the curds from the whey. Discard the whey or keep it for other uses.
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Add salt at this stage, if desired, and stir.
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Stir the curds up a bit and let it drain for 10-20 minutes.
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For firmer cheese, wrap up the ends of the cheesecloth and continue to drain an hour or so. For dense cheese, place a weight over the top of the wrapped cheese (or cheese that has been placed in a cheese mold) that will press it for several hours, until it is packed.
Queso blanco will keep for about a week in the refrigerator, though it is best when used immediately.
4 comments
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Hi friends. I’m a your grateful italian follower. I make paneer almost every dayday like indian style, but I know a very very funny way to make this cottage cheese: boil water in a large pot, then put-in a 500ml milk-box (not-open) for 40 min. Then open the box and the cheese is ready. Useful for out-door picknik.
REPLY: Mauro, thank you very much for the info! I greatly appreciate it! — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Can you add any other spice other than salt? Great recipe!
REPLY: Absolutely. Feel free to add in herbs, spices, even chopped peppers. Have fun! — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Definitely making this recipe. Cheese is the next culinary frontier for me.
Sounds great, John!