Oaxaca cheese

Oaxaca cheese (Spanish: queso Oaxaca)(wɑhɑka) also referred to as quesillo, 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]

Quesillo
Other namesQuesillo de Oaxaca, Oaxaca cheese
Country of originMexico
RegionOaxaca
Source of milkCow
TextureSemi-hard
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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 friars that settled in Oaxaca. As water buffalo 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]

  • A quesadilla with queso Oaxaca, flor de calabaza, and epazote
  • A tlayuda topped with tomato and strings of quesillo Oaxaca

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 (2004). Tecnología Quesera. Editorial Trillas. pp. 451–456. ISBN 9789682469992.
  3. Yu, Chenxu; Gunasekaran, Sundaram (August 2005). "A systems analysis of pasta filata process during Mozzarella cheese making". Journal of Food Engineering. 69 (4): 399–408. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.08.031.
  4. "The Cook's Thesaurus". Lori Alden. Retrieved 2011-10-29.

Further reading


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