As part of the Cheesepalooza challenge, there were some additional cheeses we could make. This week, I decided to make Queso Blanca! Queso Blanca is just white cheese. It is really easy, and doesn’t require any special supplies! And it is really good!
Queso Blanca
From “Artisan Cheesemaking at Home” by Mary Karlin
1 gallon whole milk
1/3 cup vinegar (I used regular white vinegar)
First, place the milk in a heavy bottomed pan, or in a double boiler. I decided to use the double boiler method. I have two large pots – one larger than the other – and I filled the bottom 1/2 full of water, and placed the smaller pot inside the larger pot. Add the milk, and bring to 195 degrees F.
Since I live at 9000 feet elevation, our boiling point is much lower. I could only get this to 190 degrees, so I just went with it!
The milk smelled really warm and delicious!
Add in 1/3 cup vinegar, and remove pan from the heat. Let sit with the lid on for 10-15 minutes. It will start to look curdled.
In the book, it says that if your milk doesn’t look curdled at this point, add in 1 tsp extra vinegar at a time until it does start to curdle. You don’t want the cheese to taste like vinegar, but it might need some extra help. However, mine didn’t, I just needed the original 1/3 cup vinegar.
Now, the cheese needs to be drained. I placed a strainer over a 2 gallon bucket, and lined the strainer with cheesecloth. Scoop the curds into the cheesecloth lined strainer.
Let it drain like this for 10-15 minutes.
Add in 1 tsp salt. I use this canning salt – you want a plain salt with no additives.
Carefully mix the salt into the curds with your hands, or a spoon.
Now, the cheese needs to be hung to complete draining. Take the edges of the cheesecloth, and bring them together. I use a hair tie to hold it together – you can use string or whatever you have.
I use a clip, and clip the remaining cheesecloth around a long handled spoon that will sit over the top of the bucket. Make sure the cheesecloth is not touching any of the whey in the bucket, and just let it hang and drain for about an hour.
After an hour, it will look like this. I dumped it straight out of the cheesecloth, so it is formed like it was in the cheesecloth.
We were having hamburger kebobs from Kayln’s Kitchen for dinner, so I decided to add some of this cheese to the mixture, and make it cheeseburger kebobs!
Delicious!
Tasting:
Appearance: it looks so smooth and creamy
Nose (aroma): no scent that I could tell, it smelled like cheese!
Overall Taste: Incredibly smooth and creamy, not gritty at all.
Sweet to Salty: It was a little on the salty side – I probably could have added less salt, but the salt really complimented the cheese!
Mild (mellow) to Robust to Pungent (stinky): Very mild, not robust or pungent at all
Mouth Feel: (gritty, sandy, chewy, greasy, gummy, etc.): so smooth!
This cheese was so good, and is so easy! It came together in just a few hours, so it is something quick to make while working on other things in the kitchen.
Don’t throw away the whey either! It is full of nutrients! I took the extra whey and fed it to my tomato plants, which was a tip I read in the book! I also fed some to my dog – he liked it!
Happy hump day!
This looks so good! I almost feel like I could make this cheese—though let’s be honest, I won’t. I am loving the cheese tutorials though!
Sam recently posted..Pumpkin Muffins
hahaha you are so funny!
You can live vicariously through me in the meantime 
You had me at cheese! This looks amazing and easy — thanks for sharing
Lisa recently posted..Positives to Go On…
Now this one looks really easy! I’ve never had any. We don’t get out much up here in the sticks!
Jane recently posted..TOMATO TIME!
This looks so easy, like I could totally do this easy
I will probably have to wait for it to cool off a bit as even with AC it is way too hot to have cheese just hanging around in my kitchen I think.
Rhonda (@diningalone) recently posted..Best Thing I Ever Ate – Snack Food
When I first started making cheese, I was worried about the milk “going bad”, because it stays at room temperature for so long, but it must be something in the curds when you coagulate it, because it really doesn’t! Hopefully it will start cooling down for you!
Uh, yum!
Jacky recently posted..Summer Supper {Spicy Watermelon Salad}
Jane, that’s so rad that you’re making your own cheeses! Queso Blanca… yum!
xo
E
erin @ yummy supper recently posted..CREAMY CORN PUDDING
Jane, another winner! Love your cheeses and how beautiful you write about them.
I do like stinky cheeses, I do, I do! And I also enjoy mellow cheeses too. Do you have a recipe how to make mozzarella? I want to learn how to make a mozzarella that is soft inside. I’ve tried it in the restaurants and it’s just great!
Marina@Picnic at Marina recently posted..Kitchen Arts and Letters
I have never made mozzarella, but I will have to try!! I have heard it is super easy! I like stinky cheeses too
I can’t believe how easy this looks! Cheese has to be one of the most glorious things to have ever been created – and to know something like this is so simple. MUST TRY! (drool!)
Lori recently posted..Wednesday WI!
Awesome! I hope you do try it! It really is so easy – and so good on just about anything!
Ah! We had so much of this delicious cheese while in Mexico City. I will definitely coerce my DH into making this for us
Alex @ Brain, Body, Because recently posted..Hiking and Produce
Nice!
I’m loving it – so easy to make too!
It just blows me away that you make your own cheese! I’m so impressed! You do make it look easy, so maybe this winter. I’ll list it as one of my goals for 2012 because your cheese looks SO GOOD and I want some!
mjskit recently posted..Cucumber & Onion Salad with Smoked Salmon
You should!! I really love making cheese, to me it is so rewarding to take a gallon of milk and turn it into something so good. I’ve been using the queso blanca on everything this week – salads, sandwiches, it is just so versatile!