When you date Latin girls you may come across foods you've never heard of before. I was offered some Queso Llanero at a recent gathering and found it to my liking, so I decided to make some. Llanero means "plainsman", which would correspond to a rancher or cowboy in the English world. This cheese tastes mild like queso fresco but it has a very nice quality when heated. Because it is lightly pressed it retains some whey. Then when you fry it (or microwave it) the cheese becomes kind of juicy, similar to a squeaky cheese curd. The taste and texture is also similar to squeaky cheese, but this stuff doesn't fully melt. It just gets really soft yet holds its shape pretty well. I made a plain version and a hot pepper version using some cayenne peppers from my garden.
I could only find one recipe for this cheese on the entire interweb and it was not very specific. I had to experiment a little with stirring and pressing times to get the firmness and texture right. This cheese may even vary quite a bit depending on which part of Venezuela you're in. Here's the recipe that worked best for me. Yield is about 1.25 lb per gallon of milk.
1 gallon whole milk
1/8 tsp Thermo C or ¼ cup yogurt
1/8 tsp calcium chloride (if using P/H milk)
1/8 tsp liquid rennet
1 Tbsp cheese salt
8 cayenne peppers, dried and ground (optional)
1. Bring milk to 104 F and add culture. Allow to rehydrate 5 min, then stir.
2. Allow to ripen 40 min.
3. Add calcium chloride and rennet. Allow to set for 40-50 min. or until a clean break is achieved.
4. Cut curds into 3/4” cubes and allow to heal 15 min.
5. Increase heat to 108 F over 30 min. while stirring.
6. Drain curds through cheesecloth lined colander for about 5 min.
7. Transfer back to pot, mill in salt (and peppers, if using) and allow to rest for 10 min while keeping warm.
8. Place curds into mold and press at 0.25 psi for 30 min.
9. Increase pressure to 0.5 psi without flipping, press for 30 min.
10. Flip/redress and press at 0.5 psi for 8-10 hours.
11. Remove cheesecloth and press lightly to remove marks, if desired.
There is no aging period for this cheese but I think the pepper flavor gets better after a day or two in the fridge. I like to eat it plain after warming in the microwave, or fry up a few slices on the griddle. It ain't bad cold either!
