Queso Blanco is fresh white cheese in Spanish. It refers to different kind of cheeses whose only common factor is their white colour. It is to be noted that some might confuse queso fresco for queso blanco. These two are quite different as the latter melts well, whereas queso fresco does well in dishes where mild crumbled cheese is needed.
Since you have already gathered that queso blanco melts well, it is the right ingredient for your macaron-cheese, queso blanco dip or whatever dish that needs a cheese sauce. Though melting a block of queso blanco might seem pretty straight forward, messing it up is just as easy too. The proper ways of melting queso blanco are explained below.
MELTING QUESO BLANCO ON THE STOVE
- Grate the Queso Blanco:The best utensil to use for shredding your queso blanco into tiny pieces is a grater box. It is best to shred the queso as you take it out of the fridge while it is still firm. Slicing it with a knife or a food processor is another way of going about it. Purchasing already shredded queso is also a good idea, though you are likely to attain a better creaminess from the self-shredded one. If shredding is proving to be a job and half, due to its softness, placing it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes could help make it hard.
- Allow The Queso Blanco to Adjust to Room Temperature:This might take half an hour. Make sure not to leave the queso blanco out for hours. Leaving the it to settle to room temperature is a means of refraining from keeping it exposed to heat for long when melting it. A shredded block of queso blanco that has adjusted to room temperature melts faster and evenly than cold shreds.
- The Place Your Queso Blanco in A Non-Stick Pan: Heap your queso blanco in a wide based pan in which it fits perfectly.
- Add Acid: This is the secret ingredient, the enzyme catalysing the process of queso blanco melting. Adding a little wine or lemon juice enhances its melting and smoothness. Wine and lemon keeps the queso blanco from crosslinking and being clumped together.
- Place Pan On Low Heat: Turn on your stove to its lowest heat and place your pan on it. Low heat allows you to monitor the quesoblanco, making sure it does not exceed its melting point and turn into a stringy, greasy mess.
- Stir Frequently: You need to watch your queso blanco more closely, stirring it frequently, moving it around the pot so that the heat is distributed evenly. Be careful with your stirring, doing so vigorously encourages clumping and it may result in a lumpy texture, the opposite of the intended reason. Also, if left unattended, the queso blanco will burn as soon as it starts to melt.
- Remove The Queso Blanco from The Heat: Keep in mind that if your queso blanco is melted for longer than needed, that will kill its taste and it will turn rubbery. Once melted, stir once more then remove the it from the heat.
- Don’t Cool Allow to Before Serving: If and when you allow your melted queso blanco to cool, it gets firm again.
MELTING QUESO BLANCO IN THE MICROWAVE
Using the microwave is the fastest method of melting your queso blanco. You just have to do it right, minding not to burn it.
- Find A Microwave Safe Bowl: The bowl will also need to be non-sticky. Finding such a bowl might be quite a challenge, so you can first spray with the bowl with a non-sticky spray.
- Grate Your Cheese: Grating the queso blanco allows heat to permeate quickly causing it to melt evenly. Large blocks melt unevenly such that the outside becomes overcooked before the inside starts to melt.
- Allow Your Queso Blanco to Come to Room Temperature: Let your queso blanco set out until it comes to room temperature so that when finally exposed to heat it will melt faster and evenly.
- Add Evaporated Milk: This addition to the process helps prevent the queso blanco from being lumpy, rather, it makes it silky. You only need to add a dash of evaporated milk.
- Add in an Acidic Ingredient: White vinegar, beer or wine will add flavour as well as keep the queso blanco smooth as it melts.
- Place the Bowl in The Microwave: Once the bowl is in the microwave, set it to a lower heat setting and melt the queso blanco in 60 second intervals.
- Stir the Queso Blanco:Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir it, evenly mixing to bring out a smooth texture. If still clumped, return the bowl to the microwave and set it to another 60 seconds. Repeat the same process until the queso blanco has a lump free texture.
STEAMING THE QUESO BLANCO
- Find a Heat-Resistant Bowl: The bowl has to be heat-resistant as it will be placed over hot steam directly.
- Shred Your Queso Blanco: Avoid pealing up irregular sized queso blanco strands.
- Add Acidic Ingredient: Be it white vinegar, wine, beer or lemon juice to add taste and stop lumps from forming.
- Leave Queso Blanco to Room Temperature:This makes the melting process faster.
- Boil Water in A Large Pot: Fill the pot to three quarters with water and bring it to boil at high heat. Your pot has to be one that will enable a steamer basket to fit on it.
- Reduce The Temperature: Once the water boils, reduce the heat such that the water is kept at a simmer.
- Place The Steamer Basket Over the Top of the Pot:The basket should be sturdy enough not to fall into the water. If the steamer basket has no heat-resistant handle, use kitchen mitts to handle it, that way you will not burn your hands.
- Put The Bowl of Queso Blanco in The Steamer Basket:Ensure that the bowl fits into your steamer basket first. The queso blanco will melt in 3 to 5 minutes depending on the size to which you had shredded them.
- Whisk The Queso Blanco: Whisking is done to break up all chunks that form in your bowl.
- Remove Bowl from Steamer Basket: Turn off the stove and remove the bowl from the heat once it has melted and serve the queso blanco right away.
