Oaxaca cheese is named after the southwestern Mexican state where it was first made. Oaxaca is the culinary epicenter of Mexico. The cow’s milk cheese is fresh, semi-soft, and white. Oaxaca Cheese has a mellow Monterrey Jack flavor with a string cheese consistency. Some people refer to the cheese as ‘Oaxacan-style string cheese.’
The cheese originated from Italy, brought to Mexico during the 1500s by Dominican friars. The Italians referred to it as quesillo or “rope cheese,” and it is prepared using it. The cheese is similar to mozzarella, stringy in form, and easily shredded and melted when used for topping.
So, if it is hard to find Oaxaca cheese within your vicinity, then you are at the right place.
The Oaxaca cheese recipe is a bit more complex than ricotta and queso fresco, but possible. It is easier to prepare because of the easily accessible ingredients such as milk, salt, and citric acid.
However, get rennet and calcium chloride at any specialty food store near you, or even order the ingredients online.
How to Use Oaxaca Cheese
Oaxaca cheese is the best melting cheese, and it adds gooeyness to tacos, nachos, tlayudas, molletes, and quesadillas. Its creaminess and mild nature make the flavor a great addition to highly spiced foods such as cumin-roasted squash, chorizo, and vegetarian vampire tacos.
Apart from melting, Oaxaca cheese is tasty when eaten raw. You can spice it up by slicing and tucking it inside eggplant sandwiches. This is possible because it is tender and a bit squeaky. You can pull it into string mounds and use it as a textural garnish.
You can also use it to prepare refried beans or toss into strips of grilled nopales or stuff it into poblano peppers.
You can also shred and use it as a garnish on top of tostadas and soups.
Ingredients Used to Make Oaxaca Cheese
- Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride is optional but valuable if you are using pasteurized milk. It replaces the natural calcium lost during pasteurization and ensures stronger curds.
- Citric Acid
Citric acid is the preferable process that takes a few hours and ads the acid directly to the milk. Therefore, it is better for a quick cheese recipe.
- Milk
It is advisable to use raw milk, because it is naturally acidified by the microflora element readily present in the milk.
- Rennet
Rennet is added to the milk to help separate curds from whey.
Other ingredients include distilled water, and cheese salt
Oaxaca Cheese Recipe Process
- 2 baseball-sized balls with a preparation time of 5 minutes
- Use one hour for Hands-on time
- Total time should take one and a half hours
The Cheese Preparation Tools
- A huge stock pot with a lid
- Digital thermometer that can be read instantly
- Rubber Spatula
- Ladle
- Knife for cutting curds
- Strainer
- Large bowl
How to make Oaxaca Cheese
- Sanitize all your working surfaces, including the stovetop, and have your tools ready and nearby.
- Pour calcium chloride solution into a pot, then add a gallon of milk, and lastly, the citric acid solution.
- Mix the three ingredients and put them over low heat. Stir the milk constantly using a rubber spatula until the milk reaches 90°F. Then turn off the heat and remove the pot entirely from the burner.
- Add rennet solution to the milk and stir for 30 seconds while creating a figure 8 pattern, and round to ensure the rennet is mixed in. Remove the spatula, close the pot with a lid, and leave it to settle for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and start sliding the curds using a sharp knife to ensure clean cuts. Cut half to 1-inch slices across each curd in the same direction. Do the same in the opposite direction to create a grid pattern.
- Return the pot to the stove under low heat. Using a ladle stir the curds gently and increase the whey temperature to 110°F. As the temperatures rise, the curds will start to break up in some places. Separate them from the whey completely and let them sink to the bottom of the pot. Continue stirring gently and slowly until the thermometer reaches 110, then disconnect from the burner.
- Continue stirring off the heat for 3 minutes and let them settle at the pot bottom for 5 minutes. While the curds are resting, take a colander and rest it in a big deep bowl.
- Scoop the curds from the warm whey to the ready colander. After ensuring all the curds are out, pour the whey through the colander to get any remaining curd. While doing so, stop the colander from resting inside the drained whey to avoid unnecessary movements.
- Springle a teaspoon of salt on the curds as you fold them over. Allow the curds to drain for 30 minutes as you flip the mound halfway.
- While the curds drain off, heat a big pot of water to 175°F to allow steaming before the simmering process begins. Put your curds directly inside the pool or have a separate bowl to work the curds by pouring in hot water to manage the dropping temperature. You could use the drained whey instead of water. Be ready to handle the murkiness when using whey, as it can be a bit challenging.
- After the curds have drained for over 30 minutes, cut the curd block in half. This allows you to form two baseball-sized cheese balls.
- Take one half, cut it into 1 to 2-inch chunks, and put it in a large bowl. Pour enough steaming water into a bowl until all the curds are covered in water. Let the curds warm for about two minutes.
- Using the slotted spoon, gather and mash the curds together inside a bowl. If the softening has not happened, mash them together, and let them warm for one more minute.
- While the curds come together in a mound, start stretching and folding them. Initially, the mass will be shaggy and grainy, but as you continue to pull and fold, it will build tension, and the texture will smoothen out. Continue pulling and folding a few times as you return the mass to hot water.
NB- The process is much easier when working the curd mass in two parts. It is better than stretching the whole mass when you move to the next step.
- When the curd mass starts stretching and texture smoothens, begin pulling the group uniformly, like a taffy rope. Pull for a few seconds and put in hot water. Stretch again and repeat the process until the curd stretches into a long wide ribbon. Put the cheese ribbons inside icy cold water to stop cooking.
- After the ribbons have chilled, start wrapping them as it’s done to a ball of yarn. Tuck the end under an adjacent strand when you reach the rope’s end. Let it drain for 60 minutes on a cooling rack and eat fresh. If you want to store them tightly, wrap them in plastic containers. But use them within three days to have them as new as possible.
After making your fresh Oaxaca cheese, you can use it for cooking. The next step includes shredding and using it as a topping for a chicken enchilada casserole. You could even sprinkle some of the cheese on your tacos. Sometimes, use Oaxaca cheese to stuff the peppers inside the Cheesy Chile Rellenos.
Can you Freeze Oaxaca Cheese?
Yes, it is possible to freeze Oaxaca Cheese.
However, it is not worth doing that. When you freeze the cheese and thaw it, it loses its stringy texture and becomes sticky and crumbled. Oaxaca cheese is perfect when consumed fresh.
Does Oaxaca Cheese Melt?
Yes. It melts easily when fresh and this is aided by the mild buttery flavor. Therefore, this makes it a perfect baking cheese.
Superlative Oaxaca Cheese Substitutes
- Queso Asadero Cheese
This is a cow milk cheese from Chihuahua, the northern part of Mexico. Many acknowledge that Queso Asadero Cheese is similar to queso Oaxaca because of the similar kneading and stretching process.
The only difference is in their texture. The Asadero cheese is drier because it uses its whey, while cheese is softer because it is dipped into hot water. The two kinds of cheese melt well and are classified as string cheese types.
- Cheddar Cheese Curds
Cheddar cheese curds originated from the United Kingdom and have become a common cheese type in Canada, especially when preparing a poutine dish. It is also common in the United States, specifically Wisconsin, and used in making fried cheese curds. The cheese is prepared from cow milky and has a mild, milky flavor. The texture is drier and crumbled, like the soft feta cheese.
It is the ideal cheese for melting, a similarity it shares with queso Oaxaca.
- String Cheese
String cheese is the most common, readily available in a grocery store near you. It is, therefore, the most convenient substitute for Oaxaca cheese.
It is affordable and the most used cheese among school-going children. Many compare it to American string cheese. Its main undoing is lacking flavor, as it is bland.
- Muenster Cheese
The Muenster cheese flavor is almost similar to queso Oaxaca. Another similarity it shares includes the ability to melt well. However, to make the best Muenster cheese, grate it yourself, and avoid purchasing a pre-gated one.
- Buffalo Mozzarella
Buffalo mozzarella is an Italian mozzarella cheese that almost tastes like the queso Oaxaca. However, Oaxaca cheese melts better. The cheese is made using water buffalo milk. It is available in most grocery stores, especially around the deli area. Those at Deli are more original and are not packaged.
Also, if you go around an Italian grocery store, you can order fresh buffalo mozzarella prepared after ordering. It is the better option because it is fresher. Fresh mozzarella is the best alternative to the queso Oaxaca if served at room temperature.
- Monterey Jack Cheese
Jack cheese is made from cow’s milk and is white and semi-soft, with a more robust flavor than the Oaxaca cheese. It melts as same as the queso Oaxaca, hence a great replacement.
You might associate this Cheese with other Mexican Cheeses because it is readily available as a Mexican cheese blend. It is a blend of cheddar, queso, and quesadilla cheese from Mexico.
The aged or regular Jack cheese has a tangy and sharp flavor comparable to cheddar. But the non-aged one is much milder and almost similar to the queso Oaxaca. It is an excellent substitute for the queso, especially the unaged Monterey Jack cheese.
Best Cheese to Substitute Oaxaca Cheese- Go for Buffalo Mozzarella cheese.
Similar Texture to Oaxaca Cheese-American string cheese
Almost Similar Flavor to Oaxaca Cheese-Mexican Asadero cheese
Easily accessible replacement for Oaxaca Cheese- American String cheese
Where to find Queso Oaxaca
Queso Oaxaca is sold in supermarkets, specifically the cheese section, with other Mexican dairy items such as crema and Cotija. You could also purchase the cheese in local Mexican supermarkets, which offer additional artisanal types of this cheese, giving a better-nuanced flavor.
The flavor and form of Oaxaca Cheese remain irreplaceable. While there are many substitutions, they cannot work as replicas. It is even better and more fulfilling if you make it yourself.
If you cannot find this cheese, go for low-moisturized mozzarella or Asadero cheese. These cheese types are the best because of their melting capability. If you want to use it raw, consider the Armenian string cheese.
Wherever you choose to purchase it, Queso Oaxaca is delicious and you should make a point of trying it!
Hi I’m Shannon!
Hi, I’m Shannon and I’m a Canadian who fell in love with Mexico on my first trip to Puerto Vallarta when I was a young adult.
That started a 30 year love affair with this country which led to marrying my Mexican husband and building a home in Mexico. And now I have even a stronger connection to this gorgeous and complex country.
