This cheese, Queso Fresco, stems from Spain and Latin American roots. Translated it means Fresh Cheese. This cheese shouldn’t be confused with Queso Blanco, which is essentially Ricotta Salata. Queso Fresco uses rennet, whereas Queso Blanco only uses lemon juice to coagulate the milk.
It is a quick farmhouse cheese that can be made a variety of ways. It involves a little bit of mesophilic culture, a little liquid rennet, and some salt. Not too much to making it really, but well worth the effort.
Here is the recipe that I adapted for a lower yield as most of the recipes that I found asked for 8 litres (2 gallons) of milk, which I believe was too much.
Queso Fresco
- 4 litres of full cream milk
- 1/16th of a teaspoon of Mesolphillic direct set culture (MO30)
- 1/8th of a teaspoon of liquid rennet diluted in 30ml (2 Tbspn) of unchlorinated water
- 1 Tablespoon of Cheese Salt
- 1/8th teaspoon of Calcium Chloride diluted in 30ml (2 Tbspn) of unchlorinated water, if using pasteurised/homogenised milk.
- Add milk to pot, heat to 32°C (90°F). Add the
- Add the culture and mix the milk well.
- Add the Calcium chloride if using.
- Add the diluted rennet and stir for 1 minute only. Cover.
- Allow milk to set for 45-60 minutes, or until you get a clean break.
- Cut the curd into 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) cubes.
- During the next 20 minutes, slowly increase the temperature to 35°C (95°F), stirring gently to keep the curds from matting.
- Cover and let the curds rest for 5 minutes.
- Drain off the whey by hand, return the curds to the pot.
- Add the salt and gently mix by hand. Cover and allow curds to rest at 35°C (95°F) for 30 minutes.
- Line your mould with cheesecloth and fill with curds
- Fold one corner of the cheesecloth over the mould and top with a follower. Press at 16kg (35lbs) for six hours.
- Remove from press and mould.
There is a Queso Fresco video tutorial in the works for this cheese, which will be published in the next few days.
Enjoy this simple, yet worthwhile cheese.
Hey Gavin!
I was wondering, can I use Flora Danica instead of MO30?
Hey, Gavin!
I am wondering, can I use Flora Danica instead of MO30?
Step 1 looks like someone started to type “Add the calcium chloride, if required.” but then stopped. I nearly messed up this cheese last night because none of the steps mention the CC, but it turned out OK in the end. Got ‘er did!
We like this cheese!! However… if I added some lipase, press a bit harder, and let it dry out for a few weeks would I get a decent farmhouse melting cheese?
Hi Adrian, yes I think that is a possibility. Give it a try and see what happens
Hi there, I’ve been watching your videos and you’ve inspired me to try making cheese at home. So far, I’ve tried Ricotta and Mozzarella. For the Mozzarella I used Rennet tablets, but it hasn’t work very well in my opinion. I’m ordering Liquid Rennet and was wondering which works best for you or if you remember which one you used in this recipe. Organic Vegetable Rennet? Animal Rennet?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Hi Beth, I only use Vegetable rennet (liquid). It works well. The strength I use is 200 IMCU. You will need to adjust if you get something stronger. https://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/product/rennet-liquid-vegetarian-with-dropper-cap/
This is a lovely cheese, simple to make and mild in flavour. I can see that it will be a favorite in our house! Gavin, I wonder if I could offer a suggestion regarding the directions? I think on line #1, you meant to add the diluted calcium chloride which is listed at the end of the ingredients. Just a suggestion!
Hola ke kiere decir 1/8 th y 1/16th
Hi Lydia, sorry I don’t understand.
Quiere decir un octavo de cucharadita (1/8th tsp) y un dieciseisavo cucharadita (1/16th tsp), por Dios aprende a escribir “Que” y no “ke”, “Quiere” y no “kiere” el español no es tan difícil…