Salvadorian Cheese: Creative Culinary Uses

El Salvador is a small yet densely populated country in Central America with a unique culinary culture. One of its most popular dishes is pupusas de queso, a type of stuffed tortilla or filled corn cake that is crispy on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside. Pupusas are often served as street food and are fried on a griddle with oil. They are commonly topped with a crunchy, pickled cabbage slaw called curdito and sometimes a mild red salsa. Another popular dish is quesadilla, a sweet cheese pound cake that is traditionally made with rice flour and some dairy products, such as Salvadoran cheese called queso duro blando (hard-soft cheese) or queso fresco, and baked in rectangular trays using brick ovens. Salvadoran quesadillas are typically enjoyed as a warm afternoon treat, paired with a cup of coffee.

Explore related products

Cocina Salvadoreña (Spanish Edition)

$10.95

Cooking Book El Salvador: Self-writing cookbook for the El Salvadoran cuisine. Blank journal recipe book to fill out all your favourite central american meals

$8.99

200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes: From Cheddar and Brie to Butter and Yogurt

$23.75 $27.95

Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America

$41.8 $49.95

Taste of Salvadoran Cuisine (Latin American Cuisine Book 14)

$2.99

Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe PopSockets Swappable PopGrip

$14.99

How to make Salvadoran cheese

Salvadoran cheese is used in a variety of dishes, including quesadillas, cuajada, and requeson. Here is a detailed guide on how to make some of these cheeses:

Cuajada

Cuajada is a popular soft, spongy, and pudding-like cheese in El Salvador. It is often made with semi-skimmed or whole milk, salt, and rennet tablets. Rennet is a small white pill that separates the solid curds from the liquid whey. To make cuajada, first add rennet to the milk, which will help separate the curds from the whey. Then, use your hands to form the curds quickly and cut the block into cubes. Add a generous amount of salt to the cubed curds. If you want to make hard cheese, you can crumble the cuajada into tiny pieces, add more salt, and put the mixture into a cheese mold. The cheese will then need to sit in the mold for anywhere from three days to several weeks, depending on the desired hardness. Hard cheese is more expensive and can cost up to $3 per pound.

Requeson

Requeson is similar to fat-free ricotta cheese. To make requeson, separate the curds from the whey, as mentioned in the previous section. Put the whey over a fire and boil it. The requeson will rise to the surface, and then you can remove it from the heat and strain it using a cloth to cool it down.

Quesadilla Cheese

Quesadilla Salvadoreña, or Salvadoran quesadilla, is a sweet cheese pound cake that is a popular dessert and breakfast cake in El Salvador. It is often made with a combination of cheeses, including cotija cheese, cottage cheese, queso fresco, and crema agria or crema Salvadoreña (similar to crème fraîche or sour cream). To make the quesadilla, blend the cheeses with milk, cream, and sugar. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the egg yolks and continue beating until well mixed. Add the flour mixture in batches, mixing until just combined. Pour the batter into a prepared pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the quesadilla to cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Pupusas de Queso (Cheese-stuffed tortillas)

Pupusas de Queso, or Cheese-stuffed tortillas, are a traditional Salvadoran dish. They are made of thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, beans, or meat. Pupusas are crispy on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside. They are often served as street food and are commonly fried on a griddle with oil. Here is a recipe for Pupusas de Queso:

Ingredients

• Masa harina (dried corn dough)
• Water
• Cheese (shredded) mozzarella, farmer's cheese, or queso fresco
• Refried beans (optional)
• Oil (sunflower oil, vegetable oil, or any neutral-flavored cooking oil)
• Salt

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl, combine the masa harina, water, and salt. Mix until the dough thickens.
• Start kneading the dough with your hands until it becomes smooth.
• Let the dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 8 to 14 even balls, depending on your preferred size.
• With your hands, form a pocket in the middle of each ball.
• Place one teaspoon of refried beans (if using) and one tablespoon of shredded cheese into the pocket. You can adjust the amount of filling to your preference.
• Bring the edges of the dough over the filling and form it back into a ball.
• Flatten each filled ball into a thick disk shape, about 6 inches in diameter.
• Add oil to a non-stick pan or griddle and place it over medium heat.
• Once the pan is hot, add the pupusas and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they are lightly browned.

Serving Suggestions

Pupusas de Queso are commonly served with curtido, a crunchy cabbage slaw, and sometimes with mild red salsa (salsa roja). You can also serve them with a traditional coleslaw called curtido by slicing open one side of the pupusa and spooning the curtido inside. Enjoy!

Salvadoran quesadillas

The recipe and method for making Salvadoran quesadillas vary from household to household. The key ingredients, however, are rice flour and ajonjoli (sesame seeds). Another important ingredient is the cheese, and in El Salvador, the traditional cheese used is called queso duro blando, which is a hard-soft cheese that is airy and light, white in colour, and as hard as a brick. Outside of El Salvador, it can be substituted with cotija cheese or Parmesan cheese. Other types of cheese used in the recipe include cuajada, a soft, fresh cheese, and crema salvadoreña, a cream similar to crème fraîche but less salty and more yellowish than sour cream.

To make the cake, start by blending the different types of cheese with milk and cream. Set this mixture aside. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar a little at a time, then add the yolks and keep beating until well mixed. Add the flour and melted butter to the egg mixture, creating a creamy batter. Finally, add the cheese mixture and blend with an electric mixer. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter. Before baking, sprinkle the batter with sesame seeds.

The sweetness of Salvadoran quesadillas can vary according to taste. The amount of sugar used in the recipe can be adjusted to make the cake just sweet enough to contrast with the salty cheeses in the recipe. The batter can be made a day in advance and left to rest overnight, although many people choose to bake it the same day without resting the batter, which is said to result in an equally good flavour.

Explore related products

Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe PopSockets Swappable PopGrip

$14.99

iPhone 14 Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe Case

$17.99

Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe PopSockets Swappable PopGrip

$14.99

Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe PopSockets Swappable PopGrip

$14.99

Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe PopSockets Swappable PopGrip

$14.99

Pupusas El Salvador Food Cheese Salvadoran Maker Recipe PopSockets Swappable PopGrip

$14.99

Cuajada (soft, fresh cheese)

Cuajada is a popular Salvadorian cheese with a soft, creamy, and delicate texture. It is a type of milk curd, traditionally made from sheep's milk, but more commonly made from cow's milk in industrial production. The raw milk is warmed and mixed with rennet or plant extracts, and sometimes lemon juice, and left to curdle and separate into solid curds and liquid whey. The curds are then cut into cubes and a lot of salt is added. The cheese is often formed into large, palm-sized ovals, and it is ready to be served or used in other dishes.

Cuajada is a versatile cheese that can be used in a variety of ways. It is commonly served as a dessert with honey and walnuts or with sugar. It can also be served as a side dish to another dessert or on its own with nuts and honey. In rarer cases, it is served as a breakfast with fruit or honey. Cuajada can also be used as a substitute for yogurt or as a thickening agent in baked goods.

In terms of specific dishes, cuajada is delicious when served with fried plaintains, arepas, cachapas, tequeños, or empanadas. It can also be cut into slices and grilled. A popular way to serve cuajada is with corn tortillas, where a thick slice of cuajada is placed on a freshly toasted corn tortilla, and the two are eaten together.

Additionally, cuajada can be further processed to create other types of cheese. For example, if a harder cheese is desired, cuajada can be crumbled into tiny pieces, mixed with salt, and placed in a cheese mold to sit for several days to weeks. This process results in a hard cheese similar to Parmesan.

Queso Duro (hard cheese)

Queso duro, or "hard cheese", is a traditional Salvadoran cheese with a strong smell and a salty taste. It is usually shaped like a brick and has a flaky, crumbly texture. It is made from raw cow's milk, which goes through a maturation and ageing process of more than 60 days. The ageing time affects the texture of the cheese, which can vary from hard to soft.

Queso duro is a versatile cheese that can be used in many dishes. It is commonly crumbled or grated over beans, bean soups, and Salvadoran enchiladas. It can also be melted on tortillas and served with salsa. For dessert, it can be used in tarts, such as a blueberry tart, or in a sweet and salty combination with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon.

Queso duro is also an ingredient in Salvadoran quesadillas, a type of sweet cheese pound cake or quick bread that is popular in El Salvador. The cake is made with rice flour and queso duro blando, a variety of queso duro that is strong, salty, and hard, yet airy and light. The cake is traditionally baked in rectangular trays using brick ovens and is often topped with sesame seeds.

In addition to the above, queso duro seco, or "dry hard cheese", is a variety of queso duro that is slightly aged and has a solid, heavy, and slightly rubbery texture. It is versatile and can be used in various dishes, including tamale masa, broiled or baked dishes, sweet breads, refried bean dishes, saucy tamales, and tortilla soup. It can also be used as a substitute for ricotta salata, paneer, or any anejo cheese in recipes.

Frequently asked questions