Oaxaca cheese

Queso Oaxaca
Country of origin Mexico
Region Oaxaca
Source of milk Cow
Texture Semi-hard
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Oaxaca cheese, queso Oaxaca is a white, semihard cheese from Mexico, similar to unaged Monterey jack, but with a mozzarella-like string cheese texture.[1] Outside Mexico, Oaxaca cheese is often confused with asadero (queso asadero), a cheese produced in the northern state of Chihuahua. They are similar in texture and taste, but they are produced with different methods, making Oaxaca cheese slightly drier.[2]

It is named after the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, where it was first made. The string cheese process (pasta filata), originally from Italy, which is used to produce mozzarella, was brought to Mexico by the Dominican monks that settled in Oaxaca. However, as water buffallo milk was unavailable, they used cow's milk, instead. The cheese is available in several different shapes.

The production process is complicated and involves stretching the cheese into long ribbons and rolling it up like a ball of yarn. Italian mozzarella is another cheese which is processed by stretching (the pasta filata process)[3].

Queso Oaxaca is used widely in Mexican cuisine, especially in quesadillas and empanadas, where the queso Oaxaca is melted and other ingredients, such as huitlacoche and squash flowers, are added to the filling.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Long Towell Long & Luis Alberto Vargas (2005). Food Culture in Mexico. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 116. ISBN 9780313324314. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Villegas de Gante, Abraham. Tecnología Quesera. Editorial Trillas. pp. 451–456. ISBN 9789682469992.
  3. ↑ Patrick F. Fox; Paul L. H. McSweeney; Timothy M. Cogan & Timothy P. Guinee (2004). Cheese: Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology: Major Cheese Groups. Elsevier. pp. 9, 10, 21 & 251 - 277. ISBN 9780080500942. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "The Cook's Thesaurus". Lori Alden. Retrieved 2011-10-29.


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