Mexican Cheeses

[Corinne]

Is anyone very familiar with Mexican "Frying Cheese" & Mexican "Melting Cheese"? What would you do with them if you had some?

Thank you!
Corinne

 

[marmalady]

Great question, Corrine! I've used both; the 'frying' cheese I coated with flour, and 'fried' in slices, served with salsa.


The melting cheese is just that; melt with a little milk, to use for nachos, or enchiladas.

Here's a great site that names all the cheeses, what they're used for, and substitutions:

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/mexicancheeses.htm

 

[GB]

I am trying to resist the urge to say melt the melting cheese and fry the frying cheese (obviously I am not resisting to well)

 

[Corinne]

Ah, I guess I wasn't very specific, was I, GB?
I was looking for the kind of advice that Marmalady offered - thank you!!
Yes, it's for frying, but how would you fry it? Bread it first or just slice it & fry it in a pan? Any oil in the pan? Or would you fry it in a deep fryer? How do you know when it's done?
The melting cheese - yes, you melt it & then what do you do with it?
I'm just looking for the best TNT methods for these cheeses!

 

[GB]

I was just pulling your chain

For the melting cheese, I would probably chop up some jalopenos or some other peppers and maybe add some cumin and milk. Then use it with tortilla chips.

Rainee posted this a while ago. I have not tried it yet, but it looks great. I bet your melting cheese would be perfect here.

Queso Blanco

1 cup cheese (Monterey Jack, Asadero or Chihuahua) shredded fine
4 ounces green chiles
1/4 cup Half & Half
2 tablespoons onion, chopped fine
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 serrano pepper, chopped fine (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped fine (optional)
Put all ingredients in a double boiler and heat on medium. Cook until melted and well blended, stirring occasionally. Serve with fresh tostadas or hot flour tortillas.

 

[ironchef]

Although it's not a frying or melting cheese per se, if you haven't tried queso cotija yet, I strongly recommend it. It's one of the best cheeses around.

 

[Lugaru]

I agree with the Ironman... Cotija is a lot like a milder feta I guess. It's really great for crumbling on top of tostadas.

As for the "frying cheese" I would recomend doing frying small recangles of it and adding them to a good and spicy tortilla soup.

As for melty cheese well anything goes but I recomend "quesadillas de collache" or squash quesadillas. Fry up some sliced squash, onion and peppers with some corn. Then melt the cheese into the skillet and you will end up with a really taste and gooey mess of veggies just waiting to be stuffed into a flour tortilla.

 

[Ekim]

The local Mexican joint uses some sort of white cheese on top of their tacos. It's shredded very finely and it seems to melt very easily. It's very soft and creamy in texture and taste.

Anyone have a guess of what sort of cheese that would be?

 

[ironchef]

It's probably Queso Cotija

 

[Ekim]

I found a site that said that cheese has a strong taste. This one doesn't.