I have the day off today, and wanted to make cheese. I decided on a queso fresco, as I would really like to have a cheese that can go from make to eating in a much shorter period of time. I followed this recipe (
http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/quesofresco.htm), which I found linked in one of John (CH)’s posts from about 10 years ago. Well, in truth, I MOSTLY followed the recipe, as I missed the step where I was supposed to mix the salt in with the curds……so, this cheese got a salt rub after pressing, and (fingers crossed), hopefully it will turn out to be seasoned properly!
Here’s the recipe and process:
Everything went pretty much according to plan. The only step that took longer was heating to 99F after cutting, as my setup with the sous vide controller just tends to need a bit more time to raise the temp (I set it to about 10F higher than target, but will try 15F next time.) I still had more curds than I could fit in my mold, so I’ll dial back to 1.5g next time.
Shattered curds (happens every time…..):
After first press (10 min):
After 2nd press (1 hour):
After final press (naked - 6 hours -- needed a little trimming around the edges):
After the final press, I salted the top and sides, and let it sit on a drying mat for about 2 hours. Then I flipped it and salted the remaining side. I’ll let this air dry for a day, then into the cave for ~4 days of aging before giving it a try.
This was a fun and easy cheese to make. Assuming that it turns out well, I can see making this regularly to have some homemade cheese to enjoy while waiting for some of the ones that are aging.
Thanks for looking!
Rich