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Cheese from Costa Rica, Cartago

Queso TurrialbaQueso Turrialba fresco tradicional

A fresh, pressed white cow-milk cheese from the slopes of the Turrialba volcano, with a Costa Rican denomination of origin. In the traditional method whole raw milk is set with rennet at about 35 °C, cut to small grains, drained, chopped, salted in the curd to 1.5–2% and pressed in hoops for hours or until the next day. It is eaten fresh.

Fully documentedCheese8.7 h – 25 hDenominación de origen (Costa Rica, registered 2012; a request for EU protection was published in the EU Official Journal on 20 August 2025)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceYee (1996), quoted in the technical study, gives the traditional make for 100 litres of milk; salt is added to taste.
Whole raw cow milk100 litres[fao]
Rennet tablets (traditional; liquid rennet today)2 tablets[fao][ucr-guide]
Saltto taste (1.5–2% in the finished cheese in the 2014 study process)[fao][ucr-guide]

Total time across the recorded steps: 8.7 h – 25 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Starting material: whole raw cow milk, strained through cloth

Step 1 of 7
Filter the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Whole raw milk is checked and strained through cloth or a disposable filter.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

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

At a glance

A fresh, pressed white cow-milk cheese from the slopes of the Turrialba volcano, with a Costa Rican denomination of origin. In the traditional method whole raw milk is set with rennet at about 35 °C, cut to small grains, drained, chopped, salted in the curd to 1.5–2% and pressed in hoops for hours or until the next day. It is eaten fresh. Made in 7 steps over 8.7 h – 25 h. The longest step, mould and press, takes 8–24 h (Fallas P 2017). Salt is 1.5–2 % (Fallas P 2017).

Key numbers
Main step8–24 hReported[ucr-guide][fao]Mould and press
Temperature30–36 °CReported[ucr-guide][fao]Set with rennet
Salt1.5–2 %Reported[ucr-guide]Chop and salt the curd
AciditypH 5.6–7Measured[fao]Bag and store

What makes this one different

Made from whole raw milk on family farms of Santa Cruz and protected by a Costa Rican denomination of origin. A 2014 University of Costa Rica panel found its milky smell, salty-creamy taste and juicy grain set it apart from other fresh cheeses sold under the same name.

Composition
Mean of 10 Santa Cruz dairies (Díaz, quoted in the technical study); moisture 60.98%, fat 21.86%, protein 14.62%, NaCl 1.01% (range 0.40–1.76%)
Producers
About 250 family dairies using whole raw milk and 12 small plants that skim and pasteurise

Related ferments

Variants

  • Artisanal (raw milk)Whole raw milk, richer and more yellow, made on about 250 family farms
  • Small plantsSkimmed, pasteurised milk; whiter, leaner and more uniform

Safety

Traditional cheese is made from raw milk and is barely ripened. The technical study reports pH 5.63–7.04 across farm dairies. The US CDC says people at higher risk of Listeria infection, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid unheated queso fresco-type cheeses, such as queso blanco, and any cheese made from raw milk, unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

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

The technical study, quoting Yee (1996), says family dairies once set unskimmed milk with a rennet tablet, cut it with a knife, kneaded it by hand, salted it to taste and pressed it in wooden hoops and troughs until the next day. Cheese was being made at La Pastora de Santa Cruz by 1917. Costa Rica's trade ministry (Comex) says the designation was registered in 2012 and that the method was forged over more than a century.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [fao] Granados Rojas L., Álvarez López C.J. 2007, Estudio técnico de la denominación de origen del Queso Turrialba (technical study for the DO registration, Dirección de Calidad Agroalimentaria CNP; partial copy hosted by FAO)gov
  2. [ucr-guide] Fallas P., Cortés M., Cubero E., Víquez D., Cordero M. 2017, Queso Turrialba fresco tradicional. Guía para su evaluación e identificación sensorial, Universidad de Costa Rica (CITA, Escuela de Tecnología de Alimentos)book
  3. [delfino2025] Delfino.cr, 4 December 2025, 'Proceso para reconocer el Queso Turrialba en la Unión Europea avanza sin objeciones' (reporting the Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Comex)web
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov