How to make Queso Fresco

milk

🥗Healthier: low-fat milk

💰Cheaper: powdered milk

Lower calorie option and more affordable.

vinegar

🥗Healthier: lemon juice

💰Cheaper: apple cider vinegar

Natural alternative and often less expensive.

Heat 1.5 gallons of milk to 90 degrees using a sous-vide water bath.

Add Flora Danica mesophilic cultures to the milk and stir thoroughly using an up and down motion.

Mix 1/4 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 1/4 cup of non-chlorinated water and add it to the milk.

Let the mixture ripen for 30 minutes before adding rennet.

Dissolve 1/4 of a rennet tablet in 1/4 cup of water and stir into the milk for no more than a minute.

Let the mixture set for 45 minutes, checking for a clean break in the curd. If not ready, let it set for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Cut the curds vertically, horizontally, and diagonally into cubes.

Let the curds set for 5 minutes before gently lifting and breaking them up without stirring too vigorously.

Stir the curds gently for 30 minutes to expel whey.

Strain the curds through a cheesecloth set in a bowl, emptying the whey into the sink or saving it for ricotta cheese.

Hang the cheesecloth with curds between two pantry doors to drain for 45 minutes.

Mill the curds and weigh them, then add 3% of their weight in salt and mix well.

Line a cheese mold with cheesecloth and transfer the curds into the mold.

Press the curds for 1 hour at a time for the first couple of hours, then continue pressing for a total of 6 hours, flipping occasionally for uniformity.

After pressing, remove the cheese from the mold and trim any excess.

Taste the queso fresco to check for flavor.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens