Azores-style fresh cheese is creamy, a little salty and incredibly delicious! When I was growing up, we always had fresh cheese at the table for breakfast. I would typically have it with toast, sweet bread or cornbread (as seen in this post’s picture). Fresh cheese is also often served at Portuguese restaurants with crusty bread as an appetizer. I LOVE fresh cheese!
Ever since my culinary curiousity sparked years ago, I always wondered if fresh cheese was something doable and easy enough to make at home. My mom and a couple of other family members used to make it, so it couldn’t be that hard… right? Well, maybe not my first attempt, but I’ve got it now.
Just before visiting the Azores in the summer, a cousin of mine made fresh cheese for a family event. It was so good! We do have access to fresh Portuguese cheese in the Greater Toronto Area at most Portuguese bakeries and stores, but I find it less creamy and less tasty than the type of cheese I grew up with. This same cousin offered me some of the powder (rennet) she uses to make her cheese and told me where I could find the cheese moulds. I made a mental note to try it sometime after getting back from vacation.
I mentioned this to my mom while visiting, and she ended up giving me a wonderful gift–the two moulds she used to use. Both molds were made by a great uncle of mine who I was close to. This great uncle passed away a few years ago, but I had a huge respect for him, so this gift was very special to me.
I did quite a bit of research on cheese-making. Ideally, this cheese should be made with very fresh cow’s milk. Unfortunately, unless you live on a farm, this isn’t readily available. Homogenized milk (3.25% fat content) will have to do. The next very important ingredient to consider is the product that coagulates the milk and gives it that dense consistency. I had never even heard of rennet until doing my research. Rennet comes in three forms: tablet, powder and liquid. Based on my research, rennet in liquid form seems to do a great job and it’s easy to measure. Rennet is pretty easy to find in tablet form but not as easy to find in powder and liquid form. Fortunately, I was able to find Make Cheese, a company out of Western Canada that sells rennet, and most other cheese-making products you can think of. They also have a series of educational videos, FAQs and basic instructions on their site. I highly recommend a visit to their website. Ella, generously sent us a bottle of liquid rennet for our first cheese-making experience. She’s super nice and happy to answer all your cheese-making questions. If you don’t have a mould, they also carry them, so you’ll be all set. The one on their site that’s closest to ours is this one.
This style of fresh cheese is very common in the Azores and mainland Portugal. As far as I know the mainland style of this cheese is less salted during the cheese-making process and usually gets a sprinkle of salt at the table just before it’s eaten. Azores-style fresh cheese is saltier and more buttery. Some folks serve this cheese with a dash of hot pepper sauce, but I wasn’t brought up having it this way. I have since tried it though, and I must admit, it does add a delicious kick.
Making cheese might seem daunting, but don’t be intimidated. Give it a shot and impress your friends… they’ll be all “who makes fresh homemade cheese?”… and you’ll be all “I do!” … eat well, friends!
Special Note: Always ensure that your equipment is very clean before starting the cheese-making process to keep everyone safe.
Cutting / Covering with Cheese Cloth / Draining the Whey
- 2 litres (2.113 quarts) of homogenized milk (3.25% fat)
- 3 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp liquid rennet
- Pour milk into a large pot and add salt.
- Turn the burner on low.
- Stir milk gently until it reaches a temperature just slightly warmer than room temperature. Test with a clean finger. It does not have to be an exact temperature.
- Turn the burner off and add liquid rennet.
- Cover and let stand for 90 minutes.
- Uncover. The milk should be coagulated (dense)
- With a sharp knife, cut slivers across the curd (thickened milk) and then across in the opposite direction. Note: The lines should look like Tic Tac Toe, but with more lines, approximately 2 inches apart. Do not stir or try to split the curds apart.
- Let rest for 15 minutes. This will release more whey (liquid)
- Place cheese cloth inside the clean cheese making mould. The cloth should cover the bottom, sides and fall over the mould edge a few inches.
- Place the mould inside a a wide plate with a bit of a rim.
- Place the plate in the sink.
- With a slotted spoon, carefully start spooning the curds into the mould. Make sure the cheese cloth edges don't fall into the mould.
- Move all the curds from the pot to the mould leaving behind as much whey (liquid) as possible.
- Cover the top of the curds with the cheese cloth that was overlapping the mould edge.
- Whey (liquid) will start coming out through the holes of the mould.
- Eventually, the curds will have dropped and less whey will be flowing from the holes.
- While holding the mould against the plate, tip the plate to spill out any remaining whey.
- Leave the plate in the sink for another two hours and occasionally spill out the whey from the bottom of the plate.
- Clean the bottom of the plate and place the plate in the fridge. Ideally the cheese should remain in the fridge at least 10 hours (or over night).
- Remove the plate from the fridge.
- Uncover the cheese.
- Place a plate over the mould, centred over the cheese.
- Over the sink, flip over the plates so that the top plate is now the bottom plate.
- The cheese should slip down onto the new plate.
- Carefully remove the previous plate, mould and cheese cloth. Do this slowly to avoid breaking apart the cheese.
- These cheese is ready to be eaten. I like to give the cheese a few more hours in the fridge to let it set a little more.
- Whey (liquid) will still be coming out of the cheese, so make sure to spill the liquid out every half day.
- Enjoy with any kind of crusty bread, cornbread or sweet bread.
Always ensure that your equipment is very clean before starting the cheese making process.
I have been trying to make queijo fresco for quite sometime now and thanks
> to you I was able to because of your recipe. I was able to order the
> mould as well as the liquid rennet from the Make Cheese company and am
> happy to let you know that I made it this weekend, following you recipe
> and it came out great. I think it’s going to be a staple for our Saturday
> morning breakfast with fresh Portuguese buns. Thank you!
>
Thank you so much Christina, we really appreciate the kind feedback. There’s something special about eating cheese you made yourself. Take care.
Hello
I would like to make some cheese, but where I live they only sell Rennet tablets, How many could I use and would the process be the same?
Thank you
Hi Doria, thanks for stopping by the blog! I have a local cousin who only uses tablets. Basically, the rennet’s purpose is to coagulate the milk. The tablets should come with instructions, but I’m guessing you can introduce them at the same time I add the liquid rennet and then follow the same steps. You’re question made me crave cheese 🙂 I might have to make some this weekend. Take care.
Hi Doris, I used 1 tablet for the 2 litres of milk. I crushed it too a powder and stirred it in to the warm milk .
I tried using goats milk and it didn’t work.
Thanks so much for the insight. We had never tried with goat’s milk. Maybe we’ll do some experimenting on our end. This is valuable information.
A good friend of ours says that her family makes it with half goat half cow’s milk. That how she was taught in Portugal. I haven’t tried it yet, but will next time I have goat’s milk, perhaps in the springtime.
I think this recipe would be wonderful with goat’s milk. Please let us know how it turns out. Take care.
I tried your recipe yesterday and had great success with it. Thank you for sharing. I think I will make it again. I had never had Queijo Fresco but our family friend was going on and on about it and how no one ever wrote anything down and they do everything by feel. As a cheese maker myself, I felt this was a challenge. Your easy recipe helped me nail it the first try out. I took what I had made over to our friends and they loved it. She can’t wait to share it with her mom and I had to promise to teach her what I did. Now that I know what I am looking for, I will be a by touch cook also, but the first time out you always need a great starting recipe. Now on to my next challenge, Sao Jorge. THANK YOU!
Wonderful! I’m thrilled it turned out. I might have to make some soon to go with all the Easter sweet bread. I’ve never made S. Jorge cheese. That has to be a little more effort than this one. Best of luck.
I just made my cheese & it tastes fantastic!!! My first try & I can’t wait to make some more for my friends & family. I wish I could share my pictures. I bought heart shaped mold they are so cute!!
Thanks so much for letting us know! You inspired me… I haven’t made this in a while. And with all the easter bread right now, I need some! I love the heart shaped mold… that’ll make it extra special. Take care.
Does anyone have the receipe for. S. Jorge cheese?
Unfortunately we don’t. I do love that flavour!