Ingredients
Curd
- 6 litreswhole milk
- ¼ tspcalcium chloride in 2 tbsp water, if using shop milk
- ¾ tspliquid rennet in 50 ml cool water
Salting
- 100 gcoarse non-iodised salt
To serve
- grated over arepas, pasta and black beans
- with sweet plantain
Directions
- Warm the milk to 32°C (90°F), add the calcium chloride if using shop milk, then the diluted rennet, and leave 45 minutes until it gives a clean break.
- Cut the curd small, into 1 cm cubes. Small cubes expel far more whey, and this cheese has to end up dry and hard enough to grate.
- Rest 10 minutes, then stir for 30 minutes while raising the temperature slowly to 40°C (104°F). The long warm stir is what dries the curd out.
- Drain, then work the curd with your hands, breaking it up and squeezing out every bit of whey you can.
- Pack tightly into a cloth-lined mould and press under a 10 kg weight for 12 hours, turning and re-wrapping three times.
- Press it hard. Queso llanero is a hard cheese made on cattle ranches to survive heat and a long journey to market, and the whole point is that there is almost no moisture left in it to spoil.
- Turn the pressed cheese out and rub it all over with the coarse salt. Return it to a rack in the fridge and rub it again daily for five days, turning it each time.
- It is ready when the rind is dry and hard and the inside is firm, close and very salty. It will keep two months wrapped in the fridge and hardens as it goes.
- Soak a piece in cold water for an hour before eating if you find it too salty — this is routine practice, not a rescue.
- Grate it over arepas, pasta and black beans, or eat it in slabs with sweet fried plantain.
Technique
- Small curd, long warm stir, heavy press, daily salt rub.
- It is supposed to be very salty. That is the preserve.
- Soak before serving if you want it milder.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian microbial rennet.
- Aged three months on a rack for a harder grating cheese.
- Cotija or ricotta salata, which are the nearest supermarket substitutes.
Variations
- Queso de año, the aged version kept a year on the ranches.
- The Mexican cotija and Colombian queso costeño are close cousins.
History
Made on cattle ranches of the Llanos, salted to survive the heat and the long haul to market.
Frequently asked questions
What is Queso llanero?
Queso llanero is a cheese & dairy from Venezuela: hard salty white cheese from the plains, grated over arepas and pasta. Made on cattle ranches of the Llanos, salted to survive the heat and the long haul to market.
How long does Queso llanero take to make?
Queso llanero takes 1 hour plus 12 hours pressing and 5 days salting of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 800 g. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Queso llanero?
Yes, within limits. Vegetarian microbial rennet. Aged three months on a rack for a harder grating cheese. Cotija or ricotta salata, which are the nearest supermarket substitutes.
What is the most important thing to get right in Queso llanero?
Press it hard. Queso llanero is a hard cheese made on cattle ranches to survive heat and a long journey to market, and the whole point is that there is almost no moisture left in it to spoil.
