If you are Venezuelan and wondering what is this? I wanted a dessert recipe … I’m sorry, but this recipe is about a homemade Chilean Queso Fresco cheese, which in Chile is sold everywhere and we grew up eating daily.
I can tell you without hesitation that the Chilean Queso Fresco or Quesillo is what I miss most from Chile, and although I have tried many kinds of cheese here in the U.S., none are the same. And so, from time to time, I make it at home and enjoy it to the fullest. The recipe is a little long if you have questions leave a comment. The ingredients are as I find them in the U.S.A.
You may also want to check out the recipe: Chilean Beef Empanadas.
Homemade Chilean Queso Fresco
For an 8″ cheese
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon of 2 % milk
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablet of Junket Rennet (affiliate link)
It is important to sterilize all instruments and the cloth first, boil everything for 10 minutes in the same pot that will be used later to make the cheese. Do not forget:
- Pot
- Strainer
- Soup spoon
- Table knife
- Cheesecloth (affiliate link)
- Thermometer
- Whisk or fork
- Cheese Mold (affiliate link)
- Tongs
Directions:
- Warm the milk in a large pot over medium-high heat until it reaches a temperature of 31-34 degrees C (91F), it is essential to have a thermometer to control the temperature of the process. It took 7 minutes in my kitchen, but it will depend on the flame and the pot you use. Turn off the heat.
- Dissolve a tablet of rennet in 1 tablespoon of water. Add the rennet to the warm milk, stir for 3 minutes. Let stand without stirring for 1 hour and a half, until you can cleanly remove a piece of the surface with a knife and it is set. The time is variable depending on the temperature of the kitchen; in winter it can take up to 2 hours and something.
- Cut with a table knife from the top to the bottom of the pot in 2 x 2 cm. Let stand 15 minutes more in the pot, shaking gently every couple of minutes to “release” the serum.
- Cover the colander with the cheesecloth. Strain the curd and let drain without stirring for 5 min, then lift with the cloth forming a ball to drain more liquid. Add the salt and stir gently.
- Again make a ball with the cloth and squeeze gently, notice that the cheese has already decreased a lot in volume. The process starts with 3.8 Lt of milk, and I collected more than 2.5 Lt. of serum.
- Put the curdled milk in the plastic mold with holes that allow drainage, give it a proper shape. Put some weight (can be a pair of cans). Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- The next day, remove from the mold, cut and serve. Keep refrigerated. It is normal for the fresh cheese to release more serum, drain. It lasts only a couple of days.
Hola! Me he vuelto loca buscando quesillo, pero no he podido encontrar. No estás interesada en hacer y venderlo? Mis habilidades culinaria no son de las mejores… Saludos desde Philadelphia!
Hola Carolina,
No, no me gusta vender. Lo siento.
Hi! Thank you for this recepie! Quesillo is one of the things about Chile I miss the most also. I was wondering if you have tried and replaced the rennet with something else. Some recepies for quesillo use vinegar and lime.
Best regards // Peter
Yes, I had. I don’t like the aftertaste you get with vinegar or lime. I would say it’s something personal, some people don’t feel it.
Hi, many thanks for this recipe! After heating to 34 degrees Centigrade and then dissolving the rennet, do you turn off the heat and let it stand at room temperature or do you maintain on low heat (34 degrees centigrade) for that hour to hour and a half? Also when we lived in Chile we would buy both types: the quesillo and the queso fresco (higher fat content). I understood the quesillo to be lower in fat but we preferred the taste and texture of the queso fresco. Would I use whole milk to get the queso fresco result?
You turn off the heat, but keep it on the same burner so it doesn’t cool down fast. Yes, you can play with the fat content of the milk to get different textures, but also depends on how much you press it and some quesillos in Chile have gelatin added. This recipe produces a queso fresco.
How much gelatine need per two litre of milk and when we have to add?
Saludos desde Australia
This recipe doesn’t need gelatin. I don’t recommend it.
How much rennet would you use if using a liquid form? My friend has been asking me to make this for her so I’m excited to find this Chilean recipe.
Don’t know, I have never seen it around, so no experience. Sorry.
Hola,
Gracias por la receta. Por favor dime si en total son tres litros de leche por una tableta de Junket.
Un abrazo
Fancy
No, son 2 litros.
Thanks for this. One question…is 34 degrees C best? Other makers say much hotter, around 80+ degrees C.
Different cheeses ask for different temperatures, I always work with 34C with good results.
Thanks….I’ll be trying to make it soon.
Good luck. Hopefully, I will get around soon to do new pictures.
She loves it….as good as the best she has at home. Thanks!!!
Fantastic!!! Kudos to you.
Hey, I made queso fresco last week and it went very successfully…. by using nothing less than a mix of lemon juice and Apple vinegar. Even though using only lemon juice is Ok, I used the Apple vinegar because I didnt have enough lemons at home. The other resaon to use Lemon is that I don’t even know where to buy Cuajo- Reneet and maybe because I do prefer the natural things just as it was 200 years ago. 🙂
Any way, thanks for sharing!
I don’t like it with lemon because traditionally in Chile is made with rennet, and also, I’m susceptible to the flavor, and for me, it is overpowering.
Thanks for commenting.
This is excellent!!! Just the perfect flavor and texture ! I used 2% fat milk and 1 teaspoon of salt. I have not been back in Chile for 14 yrs and it was just like the quesillo I used to have for breakfast at my mom’s home ( comprado en El Jumbo Alto de Las Condes!). Thanks for the memories!
I’m so glad you made it and liked it. Welcome to the blog.
Can I use whole milk instead?
Thanks!
Yes, you can. Have fun!
Hello, I have done cheese exactly as your recipe, only I used vinegar instead,
The texture of my cheese is more like cream cheese and not like the queso fresco I remember from Chile. Why is this! Can you help me?
Thank you!
R Muñoz
It’s because of the vinegar, and maybe the milk. You must use “cuajo” or rennet.