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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Mexico

Queso Oaxaca (quesillo)quesillo

Queso Oaxaca is a Mexican stretched-curd cheese. The milk is soured, either by leaving it to stand for hours or by adding acid, then set with rennet; the curd is left to acidify further, kneaded in water at about 70–80 °C and pulled into long ribbons. The salted ribbons are wound into balls and eaten fresh. Made in 7 steps over 25 days. The longest step, keep cold, takes 24 days (Fuentes L 2015) and runs at 8 °C (Fuentes L 2015). Salt is 2 % (Huerta-Jimenez M. et al. 2022). Lactococcus lactis, isolated through the making of raw-milk Oaxaca cheese and Lactobacillus plantarum, the predominant lactobacillus in raw-milk Oaxaca cheese do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 daysMeasured[fuentes2015]Keep cold
Temperature8 °CMeasured[fuentes2015]Keep cold
Salt2 %Reported[hj2022]Salt and wind into balls
AciditypH 5.5–5.6Reported[hj2022]Cut and let the curd acidify
Fully documentedCheese25 daysMore other cheesesMore from Mexico

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are from a 5-litre artisanal-style lab make that followed Villegas's method; no national recipe gives amounts. Real makes vary widely.
Cow milk · Raw milk in artisanal making[hj2022][sandoval2016]
Natural acidity of the milk, or glacial acetic acid · Milk is soured to 35–38 °D; resting it for hours lets its own bacteria do this[profeco2012]
Rennet[hj2022][profeco2012]
Hot water · For kneading and stretching the curd[hj2022][profeco2012]
2 % (w/w)Salt · Rubbed onto the stretched ribbon in a lab make[hj2022]
Starterspontaneous souring of raw milk; mesophilic or thermophilic cultures with pasteurised milk

Total time across the recorded steps: 25 days

Start
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AlcoholAcetic acidshapes, not to countLactococcus lactisLactobacillus plantarumLactobacillus

What changes: Left to stand for hours, the milk's own bacteria turn its lactose into lactic acid

Step 1 of 7
Sour the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus

Artisanal makers let the milk stand for hours; industry may add glacial acetic acid. A lab make adjusted the milk to 37 °D (pH 5.8–5.9) with acetic acid.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

the milk's own bacteria turn lactose into lactic acid

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

Like mozzarella it is a pasta filata, but the curd is stretched into long flat ribbons that are salted and wound into a ball rather than shaped into a round. Artisanal makers sour the raw milk naturally before renneting.

Standard composition (NMX-F-733-COFOCALEC-2010)
At least 21.5 % protein and 20 % fat, at most 51 % moisture
Survey of makers
pH 4.9–5.8 and salt 8.4–36.2 g/kg, because the process is not standardised

Related ferments

Safety

For raw-milk Oaxaca cheese, kneading the curd in water at 70–80 °C is a key control point. Mexican legislation excludes cheeses made from raw milk, and industrial versions use pasteurised milk with added cultures. Keep it cold; in vacuum packs at 8 °C its quality fell gradually over 24 days.

History and sources

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

The cheese takes its name from Oaxaca, its probable place of origin. A popular story dates it to Reyes Etla in 1885; no primary source was found for it.

  1. [hj2022] Huerta-Jimenez M. et al. 2022, Properties of Oaxaca cheese elaborated with ultrasound-treated raw milk, physicochemical and microbiological parameters, Foods 11(12):1735paper
  2. [profeco2012] Profeco, Estudio de calidad, Queso oaxaca, Revista del Consumidor, June 2012 (quotes NMX-F-733-COFOCALEC-2010)gov
  3. [deoca2009] de Oca-Flores E.M., Castelán-Ortega O.A., Estrada-Flores J.G., Espinoza-Ortega A. 2009, Oaxaca cheese, manufacture process and physicochemical characteristics, International Journal of Dairy Technology 62(4):535–540 (abstract)paper
  4. [caro2013] Caro I. et al. 2013, Characterization of Oaxaca raw milk cheese microbiota with particular interest in Lactobacillus strains, Journal of Dairy Science 96(6):3461–3470 (abstract)paper
  5. [caro2020] Caro I. et al. 2020, Characterization of Lactococcus strains isolated from artisanal Oaxaca cheese, LWT 122:109041 (abstract)paper
  6. [sandoval2016] Sandoval-Copado J. et al. 2016, Sensory profile development of Oaxaca cheese and relationship with physicochemical parameters, Journal of Dairy Science 99(9):7075–7084 (abstract)paper
  7. [fuentes2015] Fuentes L., Mateo J., Quinto E.J., Caro I. 2015, Changes in quality of nonaged pasta filata Mexican cheese during refrigerated vacuum storage, Journal of Dairy Science 98(5):2833–2842 (abstract)paper