🧶 Oaxaca cheese
Also known as: queso Oaxaca, quesillo, queso de hebra
A white, stringy cow's milk cheese named after the state of Oaxaca: the curd is stretched into long ribbons and wound into a ball, like mozzarella.
Oaxaca cheese is a white, semi-hard, stringy cow’s milk cheese named after the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, where it was first made. In Oaxaca itself it is more often called quesillo, or “string cheese” (queso de hebra). It is a pasta filata cheese: the acidified curd is dipped in hot water and stretched into long elastic ribbons, which are then wound into a ball.
According to one account, the technique of “pulling” cheese was brought to Mexico by Dominican friars who settled in Oaxaca. Today the cheese is made throughout the country.
In texture Oaxaca cheese resembles mozzarella or braided string cheese, and in its mild flavour, young Monterey Jack. It differs from mozzarella in its shape (a ball of ribbons), lower moisture and the fact that it is not stored in liquid. It pulls apart easily into strands and melts well, so it is used in quesadillas, tlayudas, empanadas and chiles rellenos.
How it connects to milk
🧶 Oaxaca cheese → made from → 🥛 Cow's milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Made from
- 🥛 Cow's milk
- How it is made
- 🔄 Curdling
- Where it is traditional
- 🌍 Latin America
- Which peoples make it
- 🧑🤝🧑 Mexicans
- Product type
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products
- Part of
- 🧀 Cheese
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Oaxaca cheese and mozzarella?
Both are stringy, but Oaxaca cheese is wound into a ball of long ribbons and sold without brine; it is drier and firmer than mozzarella.
What can I substitute for Oaxaca cheese?
Low-moisture mozzarella or young Monterey Jack are commonly used — they melt in a similar way.
What is another name for Oaxaca cheese?
Quesillo and queso de hebra, “string cheese”.
What to read next
- 🌍 Latin America — Mexico, Central and South America: dulce de leche, cajeta, fresh white cheeses from cow's and goat's milk.
- 🥛 Cow's milk — The most widespread milk in the world: versatile, inexpensive and the basis of almost all dairy products.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Mexicans — The people of Mexico in North America, with Spanish language and Indigenous traditions; their dairy staples are cajeta, queso fresco and Oaxaca cheese.
- 🔄 Curdling — Rennet coagulates casein into a curd (the basis of cheese).
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products — Products made for centuries to folk recipes: fermenting, cheesemaking, slow baking, drying. Tied to regions and peoples.
Similar
🧀 Queso fresco · 🧀 Leipäjuusto · 🪭 Rushan · 🧀 Wagasi · 🧀 Monterey Jack · 🧀 Ayib
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.