Queso Blanco
How to Make Queso Blanco
Queso blanco is made by setting warmed milk with a coagulant, cutting and gently stirring the curd, then draining, salting and lightly pressing it. It is eaten fresh, within days of making.
- Yield
- Yield depends on milk fat and protein content and on how firmly you drain and press.
- Time
- Typically a single working session plus cooling time.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Technical information to be supplied by Bixa.Exact coagulant quantities in this recipe are placeholders pending Bixa's confirmation of product strength. Follow your product label.
Ingredients
- Standard pasteurized or raw whole cow's milk — not ultra-pasteurized
- Bixa Liquid Microbial Rennet — Quantity to be confirmed by Bixa
- Cool non-chlorinated water for diluting the coagulant — Quantity to be confirmed by Bixa
- Cheese salt — Quantity to be confirmed by Bixa
- Calcium chloride, optional for pasteurized milk — quantity per your process and local limits
Equipment
- Stainless steel pot or vat
- Accurate thermometer
- Curd knife or long blade
- Perforated ladle or skimmer
- Cheesecloth and colander, or draining moulds
- Syringe or graduated measure for dosing
- pH meter (recommended for consistency)
Method
01Prepare and warm the milk
Check that your milk is standard pasteurized or raw — ultra-pasteurized milk will not give a cuttable curd. Warm gently to the temperature your process specifies, stirring to keep the temperature even, then stop stirring. Temperature target to be confirmed by Bixa.
02Add the coagulant
Dilute the measured coagulant in cool non-chlorinated water. Add it to the milk and stir thoroughly but briefly — around half a minute — then bring the milk completely to rest. Cover the vat.
03Let it set
Leave the milk undisturbed. Watch for flocculation, then test for a clean break: a blade drawn through should leave a clean split that fills with clear whey. Do not cut on the clock alone.
04Cut the curd
Cut evenly in one direction, then the other, then horizontally, working at a steady unhurried pace. Let the cut curd rest briefly to heal before you stir. Curd size to be confirmed by Bixa.
05Stir and separate
Stir gently at first, increasing slowly as the curd firms. Aggressive early stirring produces fines, cloudy whey and lost yield.
06Drain
Ladle the curd into cheesecloth or moulds and let the whey run off. Drain time controls texture: longer draining gives a firmer, drier cheese.
07Salt and press
Salt according to your process, mixing or applying evenly. Press lightly to the texture your style calls for. Salt quantity and press schedule to be confirmed by Bixa.
08Cool and store
Cool promptly and refrigerate. Queso blanco is a fresh cheese and is at its best within days.
Storage
Keep refrigerated and consume fresh. Fresh cheeses have a short shelf life and depend on strict hygiene and cold chain.
Scaling up
Dosage per litre remains your reference when you scale, but temperature uniformity, dilution and stirring routine, and how long cutting takes all become more significant. Expect to re-tune your cutting time at a larger vat size.
Where to Buy
Ready to buy Bixa?
Buying for a cheese business? Talk to Bixa about commercial orders instead of ordering single bottles.