Colombia’s only ripened cow’s-milk cheese, semi-hard with a firm natural rind, made around Paipa and Sotaquirá in Boyacá. It holds a national denomination of origin, and it is sharper and drier than the fresh cheeses the rest of the country eats.
It is a raw-milk cheese ripened for weeks in a controlled cool store under a denomination of origin tied to specific highland municipalities.
What goes into it
- raw cow’s milk from the Boyacá highlands
- rennet
- salt
How it is made
Raw highland milk is set with rennet, the curd cut and pressed into rounds, salted, and then matured on wooden shelves in a cool store for weeks while a rind forms and is turned and brushed. The altitude and the páramo pasture of Boyacá are written into the denomination.
How long it takes: three weeks to three months
How it is eaten
Sliced with bread, grilled, or eaten with arepas and hot chocolate.
History
Colombia’s only ripened cow’s-milk cheese, made around Paipa and Sotaquira in Boyaca; it holds a national denomination of origin.
Frequently asked questions
What is Queso Paipa?
Queso Paipa is a cheese & dairy from Colombia: semi-hard ripened cow’s cheese with a firm rind, from Boyaca. Colombia’s only ripened cow’s-milk cheese, made around Paipa and Sotaquira in Boyaca; it holds a national denomination of origin.
How is Queso Paipa made?
Raw highland milk is set with rennet, the curd cut and pressed into rounds, salted, and then matured on wooden shelves in a cool store for weeks while a rind forms and is turned and brushed. The altitude and the páramo pasture of Boyacá are written into the denomination. It takes three weeks to three months.
Can I make Queso Paipa at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a raw-milk cheese ripened for weeks in a controlled cool store under a denomination of origin tied to specific highland municipalities.
What goes into Queso Paipa?
Raw cow’s milk from the Boyacá highlands, rennet, salt.
How is Queso Paipa eaten?
Sliced with bread, grilled, or eaten with arepas and hot chocolate.
