Homemade Minas cheese (queijo minas frescal) is the mild fresh cow’s-milk cheese of Minas Gerais. It is the cheese on Romeu e Julieta. It is not a grilling cheese. Halloumi and queijo coalho belong on the grate. In a US store the stand-in is mild farmer cheese, queso fresco, or fresh mozzarella. Those are not the same cheese.
What it is
Queijo minas frescal is milk, rennet (coalho), and salt. The curd is cut, drained, and set in a form. It is eaten fresh, not aged. The home pot below uses one US gallon of refrigerated pasteurized whole milk. Boxed UHT milk will not set a clean curd.
Cheese-making liquid rennet and calcium chloride are sold at home-dairy shops and some brewing shops. Follow the dose on the bottle. The amounts below match a typical 1-gallon batch.
How it is used
Slice it with homemade or store goiabada for Romeu e Julieta. It is not for queijo coalho on the fire.
Where to buy it
A Brazilian market may have queijo minas. Frescal is this fresh pot. Padrão is a firmer shop cheese, often sliced with goiabada. If the shop is empty, make the pot below, or buy mild farmer cheese, queso fresco, or fresh mozzarella. Halloumi and cheddar are a different job.
What to buy
- Low: queso fresco or mild farmer cheese
- Usual mid: a homemade 1-gallon pot
- High: a Brazilian-shop queijo minas
Ingredients (one small cheese, about 1 lb / 450 g)
- 1 gallon (3.8 L) refrigerated pasteurized whole milk, not UHT
- Liquid rennet, the 1-gallon dose on the bottle (often about 1/4 colher de chá / 1.25 ml), mixed in 1/4 cup cool water
- 1/4 teaspoon (1/4 colher de chá) calcium chloride, mixed in 1/4 cup cool water (for pasteurized milk)
- 1 tablespoon, 15 g (1 colher de sopa) non-iodized salt
Method
- Use a clean pot and a clean thermometer. Heat the milk to 95–98°F (35–37°C). Keep it under a boil.
- Stir in the calcium chloride water for 1 minute. Stir in the rennet water for 1 minute with slow up-and-down strokes. Stop. Cover. Leave 40 to 50 minutes.
- The curd should cut clean and show a little greenish whey. Cut it into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. Rest 5 minutes. Stir slowly 5 to 10 minutes.
- Ladle off most of the whey. Sprinkle the salt on the curd and fold it in.
- Line a colander or a cheese form with a clean cloth. Pour in the curd. Let it drain 30 minutes. Flip the cheese in the cloth and drain 30 minutes more. A light weight (a plate) helps it close.
- Unwrap. Chill overnight before slicing.
How you know it is done
The cheese holds a slice and tastes mild and milky. If the pot never set, the milk was UHT or the heat was too high for the rennet. If it is rubbery, it was stirred too hard or cooked too hot.
When it goes on the table / storage
Make it a day ahead. Keep it cold, covered. Eat within 5 days. This is a fresh cheese, not a factory block.
What to leave out
Use the dairy-case gallon, not boxed UHT milk. Lemon juice as the only set is closer to paneer or requeijão. Raw milk needs a home pasteurization first (145°F (63°C) / 63°C for 30 minutes, then cooled to 98°F / 37°C). This cheese belongs on the plate, not on the grate.
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