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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Mexico, western states

Queso adoberaadobera

Raw cow milk is set with rennet, and the curd is cut, stirred and drained. The curd mass is then left at room temperature for 18–24 hours while the milk's own lactic bacteria sour it to about pH 5.0, and it is ground, salted, moulded and pressed into a brick shaped like an adobe block. It is a fresh cheese that melts well. Made in 6 steps over 18 h – 24 h. The longest step, let the curd mass sour, takes 18–24 h (Ruvalcaba-Gómez J.M 2020). Salt is 1–2 % (Ruvalcaba-Gómez J.M 2020). Streptococcus, Lactococcus and Lactobacillus, the core genera through the make and Leuconostoc and Enterococcus, secondary core genera that rise towards the end do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step18–24 hReported[ruvalcaba2020]Let the curd mass sour
Salt1–2 %Reported[ruvalcaba2020]Grind and salt
AciditypH 5Reported[ruvalcaba2020]Let the curd mass sour

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe study gives the rennet and salt ratios but no batch size. The artisanal make uses no other additives.
Raw cow milk · Sometimes standardised to 3 % fat[ruvalcaba2020]
1 part per 10,000 parts of milkRennet[ruvalcaba2020]
1–2 %Salt · Mixed into the ground curd[ruvalcaba2020]
Starternone; the curd is soured by the milk's own bacteria

Total time across the recorded steps: 18 h – 24 h

Start
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What changes: Starting material: raw cow milk, sometimes adjusted to 3 % fat

Step 1 of 6
Collect the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Streptococcus
Lactococcus
Lactobacillus
Leuconostoc
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: raw cow milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

The drained curd is left to sour for a day before it is ground, salted and pressed. So although it is sold fresh, it has a low pH, about 5.1, and it melts when heated.

Milk
Raw cow milk in the artisanal make; industrial versions are pasteurised
Ripening
None; sold fresh
Composition
In commercial samples, 42.5 % moisture, water activity 0.953 and pH 5.14
Size
A rectangular block shaped like an adobe brick

Related ferments

Variants

  • Artisanal Los Altos adoberaRaw milk with no additives.
  • Industrial adoberaPasteurised milk.

Safety

The artisanal make uses raw milk. In a study of six Michoacán dairies, all 30 adobera samples failed the Mexican microbiological guideline; all held S. aureus, 28 held E. coli and one held Salmonella. The authors note that Mexican law forbids cheese made from unpasteurised milk.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococcus aureus, found in all 30 adobera samples from six Michoacán dairies; Escherichia coli, isolated from 28 of 30 adobera samples; Salmonella, isolated from one adobera sample and a wooden shovel in the same dairy.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [ruvalcaba2020] Ruvalcaba-Gómez J.M., Delgado-Macuil R.J., Zelaya-Molina L.X. et al. 2020, Bacterial succession through the artisanal process and seasonal effects defining bacterial communities of raw-milk Adobera cheese revealed by high throughput DNA sequencing, Microorganisms 9(1):24paper
  2. [ruvalcaba2020b] Ruvalcaba-Gómez J.M., Ruiz-Espinosa H., Arteaga-Garibay R.I. et al. 2020, Texture, physicochemical and sensory properties of artisanal Adobera cheese from Los Altos de Jalisco, a genuine Mexican cheese, International Journal of Dairy Technology 73(2):411–420, doi:10.1111/1471-0307.12676 (abstract)paper
  3. [soria2021] Soria-Herrera R.J., Dominguez-Gonzalez K.G., Rumbo-Pino R. et al. 2021, Occurrence of nontuberculous mycobacteria, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus in artisanal unpasteurized cheeses in the State of Michoacan, Mexico, Journal of Food Protection 84(5):760–766, doi:10.4315/jfp-20-286 (abstract)paper