Queso Fresco | Cacique® Inc. (2024)

FAQs

Is the listeria outbreak linked to queso fresco made by El Abuelito cheese inc? ›

FDA's investigation is complete. CDC declares outbreak over. The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, investigated a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to queso fresco cheeses made by El Abuelito Cheese, Inc. On 5/14/2021, the CDC announced that this outbreak is over.

There's one type of cheese that no amount of tweaking will melt: Acid-set cheeses, like fresh goat cheese, quick farmers cheese, paneer, queso fresco, and ricotta, just can't do it.

What Is Queso Fresco? Queso fresco is a Mexican cheese whose name literally means “fresh cheese.” Queso fresco is a type of queso blanco, or white cheese, made from cow's milk alone or from a combination of cow and goat milk, and acidified with rennet, lemon juice, or vinegar.

The queso fresco should: Eat queso fresco only if it is made from pasteurized milk. Keep queso fresco cold and refrigerated at all times. Don't buy queso fresco from street vendors, door-to-door salesmen, or swap meets.

Here's a breakdown of recalled products from some of the best-known affected brands: Friendly's: 60 fl oz Celebration Ice Cream Cake, 40 fl oz Strawberry Krunch Ice Cream Cake; all dates between: 05/20/2024 to 05/28/2025; with plant code: 24-65, 24-0065, 2465, 240065 (Example: 05/20/25 15:30 24-65)

Queso fresco is typically white; so if it turns yellow or develops dark spots, it's time to toss it. If the texture appears slimy or moldy, it's no longer safe to consume. The smell should be fresh and mild; a sour or off-putting odor is a sure sign of spoilage. Always store queso fresco in the fridge.

Can be melted in a sauce, shredded for a recipe, paired with crackers, or enjoyed on their own any time of day.

Queso fresco is frequently crumbled on top of dishes right before serving and can be used as a garnish on soups, salads, beans, casseroles, and egg dishes. It crumbles easily and doesn't melt, leaving little nubs of cheese in every bite.

Use It As a Filling

Queso fresco gets soft when heated, but it's difficult to melt. You can melt it over low heat for a while in order to make a cheesy dip or sauce, but it may remain chunky. In its soft state, it is commonly used as part of a filling for chiles relleños (stuffed chiles), quesadillas, and burritos.

Making a slurry with cornstarch and cold milk is how you will thicken your queso. A traditional slurry is a 1:1 liquid to cornstarch ratio, but for our queso purposes I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of milk.

What is the best way to use queso fresco? ›

Use it as a filling:

Queso fresco gets soft when heated, but it's difficult to melt. You can melt it over low heat for a while in order to make a cheesy dip or sauce, but it may remain chunky. In its soft state, it is commonly used as part of a filling for chiles relleños (stuffed chiles), quesadillas, and burritos.

Queso Cotija

One of the most popular Mexican cheeses around, Cotija is a winner no matter how you slice it. Or rather, how you crumble it. This crumbly, dry cheese is an incredible addition to beans, salads, corn and tacos. It has definite saltiness to it, packing a flavor punch no matter what you put it on.

Uses for Queso Fresco and Cotija

Use cotija on elotes (Mexican grilled corn) or as a crumbly topping for tostadas, enchiladas, tacos, migas, salads, chili, soup, or stew. Use queso fresco inside tamales or as a topping for enchiladas, tacos, and salads.

Although these two cheeses are commonly confused for each other, they have a few key differences. While queso fresco is made with rennet and bacterial cultures that separate the milk into whey and curd, queso blanco simplifies things even further by using lemon juice or vinegar to achieve the same result.

monocytogenes, which can cause listeriosis in humans. In March 2017, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) linked Vulto Creamery's cheese to an outbreak of listeriosis, Vulto shut down the Vulto Creamery facility and issued a partial recall that was expanded to a full recall within weeks.

The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, investigated illnesses in a multi-year, multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to queso fresco and cotija cheeses manufactured by Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc., of Modesto, California.

The initial recalls included 10 types of cheeses produced by Rizo-López: blanco suave, cotija, oaxaca, panela, queso crema, queso fresco, queso para freir, queso seco, requeson and ricotta, according to the CDC. The cheeses sold nationwide under many brands.