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Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

A recipe blog by a Chilean living in the USA

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Homemade Chilean Queso Fresco

March 8, 2019 by Pilar Hernandez

Versión en español

Homemade Chilean Queso FrescoIf you are Venezuelan and wondering what is this? I wanted a dessert recipe … I’m sorry, but this recipe is about homemade Chilean Queso Fresco, 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.

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Homemade Chilean Queso Fresco

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A mild fresh and delicious young cheese.

  • Total Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8" cheese

Ingredients

Units
  • 1 gallon of 2 % milk
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1 tablet of Junket Rennet (affiliate link)

It is essential to sterilize all instruments and the cloth first,  boil everything for 10 minutes in the same pot 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

Instructions

  1. 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.
    ingredients for Homemade Chilean Queso Fresco
  2. 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 kitchen’s temperature; it can take up to 2 hours and something in winter.
    Junket dissolving Cutting a piece of cheese
  3. 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.
    Cutting the cheese on squares moving the cheeseAfter waiting for the separation
  4. 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.
    Separating the cheese Salt added
  5. 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.
    ball of curdled milk milk serum
  6. Put the curdled milk in the plastic mold with holes that allow drainage, giving 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.
    Curdled milk on the mold making the cheese Draining
  7. The next day, remove from the mold and cut.
    Ready cheese
  8. Keep refrigerated. It is usual for the fresh cheese to release more serum, drain. It lasts only a couple of days.
    Homemade Chilean Queso Fresco
  • Author: Pilar Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Cuisine: Chilean

Keywords: Chilean Fresh Cheese

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @chileanfoodandgarden on Instagram and hashtag it #chileanfoodandgarden

Fresh Cheese or Chilean Queso Fresco


The Chilean Kitchen*




 

If you enjoyed this recipe, you would also enjoy my cookbook* featuring 75 Chilean recipes for all seasons. It is lovingly written and scrumtpiously photographed, and you’ll delight in the best that Chilean cuisine has to offer, with easy-to-follow recipes tailored to American ingredients and grocery stores.

* Amazon affiliate links

Category: Appetizers, Breakfast, Chilean Breakfast, Chilean recipes

About Pilar Hernandez

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  1. Carolina

    March 25, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      March 26, 2017 at 8:51 am

      Hola Carolina,
      No, no me gusta vender. Lo siento.

      Reply
  2. Peter

    February 4, 2018 at 11:00 am

    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

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      February 5, 2018 at 9:31 am

      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.

      Reply
  3. Geraldine

    July 28, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      July 29, 2018 at 8:47 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Ramon Cornejo

        September 4, 2019 at 8:37 am

        How much gelatine need per two litre of milk and when we have to add?
        Saludos desde Australia

        Reply
        • Pilar Hernandez

          September 4, 2019 at 12:29 pm

          This recipe doesn’t need gelatin. I don’t recommend it.

          Reply
  4. Charly Zawacki

    September 6, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      September 7, 2018 at 8:26 am

      Don’t know, I have never seen it around, so no experience. Sorry.

      Reply
  5. Fancy

    September 19, 2018 at 5:25 am

    Hola,

    Gracias por la receta. Por favor dime si en total son tres litros de leche por una tableta de Junket.

    Un abrazo

    Fancy

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      September 19, 2018 at 7:13 am

      No, son 2 litros.

      Reply
  6. David J Foster

    January 22, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    Thanks for this. One question…is 34 degrees C best? Other makers say much hotter, around 80+ degrees C.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      January 23, 2019 at 8:58 am

      Different cheeses ask for different temperatures, I always work with 34C with good results.

      Reply
  7. John

    February 3, 2019 at 2:11 pm

    Thanks….I’ll be trying to make it soon.

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      February 4, 2019 at 8:49 am

      Good luck. Hopefully, I will get around soon to do new pictures.

      Reply
      • John

        February 19, 2019 at 12:51 pm

        She loves it….as good as the best she has at home. Thanks!!!

        Reply
        • Pilar Hernandez

          February 20, 2019 at 7:49 am

          Fantastic!!! Kudos to you.

          Reply
  8. Daniela Isabel Parra Sepulveda

    October 7, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      October 8, 2019 at 11:40 am

      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.

      Reply
  9. Anita

    November 17, 2019 at 7:50 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      November 18, 2019 at 2:22 pm

      I’m so glad you made it and liked it. Welcome to the blog.

      Reply
  10. Isabel

    April 18, 2020 at 3:31 am

    Can I use whole milk instead?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      April 18, 2020 at 1:56 pm

      Yes, you can. Have fun!

      Reply
  11. Rosalinda Munoz

    July 25, 2020 at 3:34 am

    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

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      July 25, 2020 at 2:40 pm

      It’s because of the vinegar, and maybe the milk. You must use “cuajo” or rennet.

      Reply
  12. Susana Gauthier

    November 16, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    Hi, thank you for your recipe! I just ordered my rennet, and I saw reviews on it saying you add 1/2 tablet for 1 gallon of milk. Do you use the whole tablet or 1/2 of one? Thanks !

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      November 17, 2020 at 1:01 pm

      I use the whole tablet, and sometimes, if my kitchen is cold, even 2, it does not affect the flavor.

      Reply
  13. Miriam

    April 8, 2021 at 9:03 pm

    My cheese after doing all the steps, after waiting more than 1 and a half hours doesn’t look like the picture you show, it’s just floating little pieces. Why? Help please

    Reply
    • Pilar Hernandez

      April 9, 2021 at 12:37 pm

      Most likely needs more time for the rennet to do their thing. If your kitchen is not warm, this happens a lot.

      Reply

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