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Regional highlights of Hispanic-style dairy products |
E. RIZO, Don Francisco Food, Inc., 6603 2nd St., Ste. C, Riverbank, CA 95367 Hispanics are among the largest per capita consumers of dairy products with California being the country’s leading producer and consumer of Hispanic style cheeses. However, one cannot group Hispanics as one single consumer entity, their impact in the U.S. economy is huge; there are regional differences, but 80% of the Hispanics come from three main areas of the Americas: Mexico, the largest group, Central America, and the Caribbean (Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Islands).The regional Hispanic cheeses consumed may be classified according to their curd characteristics and functional usage regardless of the country of origin. The three main categories are: 1) Fresh Cheeses with >50% moisture and pH>6.0, 2) Aged to Semi-aged cheeses with <50% moisture and pH<6.0, and 3)Pasta Filata or Mozzarella-type cheeses with moisture and pH levels similar to (2). In Mexico, the most popular fresh cheese is Queso Fresco, a soft, moist, crumbly curd with a mild, and a bit salty flavor. For Central Americans this type of cheese would be called Cuajada, and in Colombia, for example, it would be called Quesito. The most popular aged cheese in Mexico is Cotija- a firm, crumbly curd often referred as “Mexican Parmesan”, for Central Americans and Caribbeans it would be called Queso Seco. Lastly, the Pasta Filata-style cheeses for Mexicans would be Oaxaca and Asadero; for Central Americans, it would be Quesillo, and in some Caribbean countries, like Colombia it would be Queso Pera. All these cheeses melt well and range in flavor from mild to slightly tangy. The specific differences in Hispanic cheeses would dicatated by consumers and their country of origin. However, there are enough similarities that with the homogenization effect of the American culture one may, at the end, classify three distinct type of Hispanic style cheeses.
Session 2, Hispanic-style dairy foods: The quest for queso
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