Oaxaca Cheese
Oaxaca cheese is a white, semi-hard, low-fat cheese from Mexico, named after the state of Oaxaca where it was first made. It is similar to unaged Monterey Jack, but its stringy texture is like mozzarella or string cheese.
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Photo: nsaum75¡שיחת!, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Mexico |
| Specific Origin | Oaxaca, Mexico |
| Milk Type | Cow's milk |
| Texture | Semi-hard, stringy |
| Colors | White |
| Age | Fresh, unaged |
| Alternative Spellings | Queso Oaxaca, quesillo, queso de hebra |
What is Oaxaca Cheese?
Oaxaca cheese (Spanish: queso Oaxaca) is a white, semihard, low-fat cheese from Mexico. It is also called quesillo and queso de hebra. It is similar to unaged Monterey Jack, but its texture is like mozzarella or string cheese.
The cheese is named after the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, where it was first made. Dominican friars who settled in Oaxaca brought the string cheese method to Mexico. Mexico produced just under 30,000 metric tonnes of Oaxaca cheese in 2020, and much of it comes from the state of Oaxaca.
Making the cheese is complicated. Cheesemakers use the pasta filata method to stretch the cheese into long ribbons, then roll them up like a ball of yarn. Mozzarella is made with the same method, but the last steps for Oaxaca cheese are closer to those used for braided cheeses. The cheese comes in several different shapes.
Oaxaca cheese is used widely in Mexican cooking, especially in quesadillas and empanadas. Cooks melt it and add other fillings, such as huitlacoche and squash flowers. It is closely linked with the tlayuda, a typical Oaxacan snack. People often confuse it with queso asadero from Chihuahua, which has a similar texture but is made a different way, so Oaxaca cheese is moister. In Costa Rica it is called queso palmito, and in Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador it is called quesillo.
What Does Oaxaca Cheese Taste Like?
Oaxaca cheese is similar to unaged Monterey Jack. It is a white, low-fat cheese.
Its texture is stringy, like mozzarella or string cheese. It is also moister than queso asadero, a cheese from the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua with a similar texture.
How Is Oaxaca Cheese Used in Cooking?
In Mexico, cooks melt Oaxaca cheese inside quesadillas and empanadas. They often add other fillings with it, such as huitlacoche and squash flowers.
Oaxaca cheese is also closely linked with the tlayuda, a typical snack from Oaxaca.
Substitutes for Oaxaca Cheese
- Mozzarella has a texture like Oaxaca cheese and is made with the same pasta filata stretching method.
- Monterey Jack is similar to Oaxaca cheese when the Jack is young and unaged.
- Queso asadero from Chihuahua has a similar texture, but it is made a different way and is less moist.
- Provolone is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Campania, Italy. It has a tangy flavor and the same semi-hard firmness as Oaxaca cheese.
What Other Names Does Oaxaca Cheese Have?
In Spanish, Oaxaca cheese is called queso Oaxaca. It is also known as quesillo and queso de hebra.
Quesillo is the name first used in the region where the cheese began. People in Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador also call it quesillo.
In Costa Rica it is called queso palmito, because its stringy texture is like heart of palm (palmito in Spanish). Costa Rica makes it in the San Carlos and Zarcero cantons of Alajuela Province.
Where to Buy Oaxaca Cheese
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