Queso Fresco and Queso Blanco are the most commonly used cheeses in Mexico and Latin America. They are usually locally made from fresh milk and sold daily in markets everywhere. They are soft, fresh, mild cheeses that are used for sprinkling over various foods and for melting in quesadillas and other typical dishes.
We make both. Our Queso Fresco is a great melting cheese while our Queso Blanco is a cheese that becomes soft when heated but does not melt. Why? Our Queso Fresco is made by adding cultures and then rennet to pasteurized milk. Once coagulated the curd is cut into tiny pieces, stirred, and then drained. Eventually it is broken and crumbled by hand into small pieces and then pressed into discs. Our Queso Blanco is made by adding an acid to hot milk until it separates into curds and whey. Eventually it too is crumbled by hand into small pieces and pressed into discs.
It is this variance in production technique — a cheese made with cultures and rennet versus a cheese made by direct acidification — that determines the cheese's melting qualities.
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