Queso Blanco (white cheese)

Queso fresco is white, crumbly and moist. Queso chihuahua is a milder, pale yellow cheese, which behaves much like Cheddar for cooking and eating. Queso blanco remains the queen of cheeses for Mexican cuisine.  Queso blanco is a soft mildly acid variety that is popular in Latin America and in Caribbean countries where it is known by different names depending on the country of origin.

In Latin America, Queso blanco covers many white cheese varieties which differ from each other by the method of production, composition, size, shape and region of production.

Examples include Queso de Cincho, Queso del Pais and Queso Llanero which are acid/heat coagulated and Queso de Matera and Queso Pasteurizado which are rennet coagulated.

Queso blanco was first introduced in the US by Weigold in1958. Since then researchers in the US and Canada have worked to standardize the manufacturing methods and elucidate the properties of Queso Blanco as made in North America.

In general Queso blanco-type cheese are creamy, high-salted and acid in flavor: the texture and body resembles those of young high-moisture Cheddar and the cheese has good slicing properties.

The main principle of Queso blanco manufacture is heat-acid co—precipitation of milk proteins. Traditionally, milk is heated to boiling and acid whey is added with continuous stirring, until coagulation is completed.

These cheeses can be consumed fresh but some cheeses may be held for 2-8 weeks before consumption.
Queso Blanco (white cheese)