Quesillo. It is a food, frequently of artisan production, characteristic of a large part of rural and semi-rural areas in Argentina , Bolivia and other Latin American countries (such as Mexico, where it is commonly known as Oaxaca cheese ).
Summary
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- 1 Marketing
- 1 In Mexico
- 1.1 Origin:
- 2 In Argentina
- 3 In Venezuela
- 4 Jujuy Quesillo with cow’s milk
- 5 See also
- 6 External links
- 1 In Mexico
Commercialization
It is marketed in the dairy market in Chile , under different brands. In Argentina the most common quesillos are usually prepared with goat’s milk or sheep’s milk .
In Mexico
Oaxaca Cheese, is known only in Mexico and is manufactured throughout the country, the name of this cheese is linked to the state of Oaxaca, its place of origin, it is also known as quesillo, string cheese and asadero cheese. Quesillo Oaxaca is a white and medium hard cheese of Mexican origin, it is similar to Gouda Cheese or Mozzarella, but with a much milder flavor. It is typical mainly in the Valles Centrales region in the state of Oaxaca, its place of origin, where it was first made.
Oaxaca cheese
Due to its excellent melting qualities, Quesillo Oaxaca is often used as the base for a popular snack in Mexican restaurants, consisting of melted asadero and red chorizo. It is also used in the making of quesadillas, which is the omelette with cheese and pumpkin flower, greaves or another ingredient. It is also known as quesillo or string cheese when it is shaped like a ball, and as asadero cheese when it is shaped like a brick. Mozzarella is another cheese that uses this stretching process.
Oaxaca is one of the cheeses that enjoys greater popularity among Mexican consumers, both in the popular and higher-income classes, and is sold both in popular markets without packaging, as well as in self-service stores with better presentations. Due to its aptitude to melt, it is consumed frequently, accompanying the traditional dishes of Mexican cuisine and specifically the typical “antojitos” .
Origin:
Villagers say that in 1885, almost a century ago, the girl Leobarda Castellanos García, only 14 years old, was in charge of taking care of curdled milk to make cheese. In an oversight the little girl forgot to attend to her order, realizing that the “curd” had already passed the point to make the cheese and so that her parents did not discover it, she poured hot water over the dough, giving this as a result a foundry and obtaining a chewy mixture which he called quesillo.
The parents of the little girl tried this mixture, noting that it had an exquisite flavor and began to elaborate it thanks to the fact that the “quesillo” was widely accepted by the population. This product enriched the local gastronomy and later served to make Reyes Etla, a population very close to the Capital of Oaxaca, known in many countries of the world as “La Cuna del Quesillo” .
Elaboration:
The cheese is a dairy derivative that is obtained through a careful manufacturing technique to give it an elastic consistency, which can be molded into a round and braided shape. the curdled milk is fermented and subjected to high temperatures until it becomes a uniformly elastic cheese that can be stretched to a round shape. This presentation has gained national fame as well as in many cities in the United States and Europe.
This cheese is made from cow’s milk, and belongs to the family of “spun pasta” cheeses in whose technology the spun pasta is acidified until reaching a pH of 5.3 and with this procedure it is molded. The molding can be done by stretching the strands and braiding the straps, or putting it in a mold and forming rectangles, in the latter case it is called asadero cheese.
Its elaboration requires skill and knowledge, since it presents certain critical points whose control is essential, for example, the adequate acidity of the milk, the acidification of the curd, the determination of the stitch point and the kneading of the pasta with hot water (65º to 70º OC) or malaxation, and then the cooling of the strands with water at 4ºC.
Milk:
It is made with cow’s milk, with whole milk it allows to obtain a cheese with a more appreciated flavor, while with skim milk a cheese with a remarkable flavor is obtained only for connoisseurs. The production process is complicated and sometimes involves stretching the cheese into long strips and then rolling it up to make a ball of the string of cheese. Smaller rolls of different weights can be made.
In Argentina
It is usually sold fresh (quite wet) in the form of cylindrical masses about the size of a fist. In the NOA | Northwest Argentina it is usually consumed as a dessert accompanied with honey and cayote.
preparation:
Fresh cheese obtained by coagulation of pasteurized cow and / or goat milk by means of rennet and / or other appropriate coagulating enzymes, complemented by the action of specific lactic bacteria and by a production process known as “filado” or spinning, which It is responsible for giving the product its particular and distinctive characteristics.
In Venezuela
Quesillo is another typical Venezuelan dessert. Most of the time it is served when there is a birthday and it is accompanied by cake and jelly, which cannot be missing either. Those who are Venezuelans know that this is the case, but also the quesillo is an ideal dessert, it is perhaps the Venezuelan version of Flan; They differ little from each other, except that the cheese has whole eggs and the flan the egg yolks. The name “quesillo” is Venezuelan. And whoever tastes it knows that it is a delight that can always sweeten his life: dedicated to my Dad Cesar, who is delicious.
Ingredients:
Venezuelan Quesillo
- 5 Eggs
- 1 bottle of condensed milk
- 1 measure of whole or semi-skimmed milk
- (The same bottle of condensed milk is used)
- 6 tablespoons sugar or more
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 1 splash of rum
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tin of biscuits with an aluminum lid or a cheese rack
preparation:
The first thing we do is the caramel, we put the sugar with the two tablespoons of water in a saucepan, over the fire and let it take color, rather that it remains dark brown but does not burn (since it would taste bad), the sugar can vary according to the size of the mold, maybe you have to put a little more sugar so that when we have it ready enough caramel will come out and we will not be short, those who have cheese makers can do it in the same cheese maker without using a saucepan (pot), when it is ready to bathe the cookie mold and / or the quesillera on all sides with the caramel and let it rest.
On the other hand, beat the eggs very well, and when they are well beaten, add the container of condensed milk, continue beating and add the measure of milk, the splash of rum and you want it for children, you better add a splash of vanilla essence.
When it is well mixed, pour it onto the caramel mold, and put the lid on. The oven is preheated to 180º and placed in Bain de Maria for 45 min. approx., until it is curdled, it is best to let it cool overnight, it is richer. Unmold on a plate where the caramel does not drop. It can be served with a little whipped cream or with some flowers made from strawberry.
Jujeño cheese with cow’s milk
Preparation method:
Milk cow obtained the morning one party to the morning and the afternoon fruit set. Rennet is added to the milk . This is made by extracting a part of the cow’s udder , it is washed, salt is added to form a kind of bag and it is dried in the shade or in the sun. Once dry, it goes to a container with warm water, it rests several hours until the water turns dark brown, meaning that the acid in the rennet is ready to cut the milk.
When the rennet is placed in the milk, it begins to become similar to yogurt. It is mixed with a wooden spoon and this preparation is made up of thick strips, then it settles, forming the curd: solid part of the milk (the liquid part, the whey).
Once the curd has settled , it is removed and placed in another container for ripening. With the ripe curd, (depending on the ambient temperature), in a saucepan with boiled water, place salt and put pieces of curd into the pot.
Then they remove from the boiled water, that heated curd and put it on a tray, making buns, put it on a canvas on a table semi-suspended from each end of the fabric. Then it begins to stretch, thus forming each unit of cheese, weighing up to approximately 500 g. Then in some countries it is bagged.
