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Cheese from Peru, Cajamarca

Queso mantecoso de Cajamarca

Fresh whole pasteurised milk is coagulated and made into a curd called quesillo, which is left five or six days before it is washed, milled and salted. The result is a spreadable, creamy, yellowish-white paste with a fresh aroma.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sources used here give no recipe amounts. The study gives only the wash water ratio, 23.2 ml per g of quesillo at its optimum.
Fresh whole cow milk, pasteurised by the maker Andina describes[andina]
Salt, added after washing and milling[andina]
Water, for washing the soured quesillo[sanchez2014][andina]
StarterVillanueva León (2023) describes the cheese as made from raw cow milk set with rennet, then matured, washed and salted. In her pasteurised-milk trial a freeze-dried Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis culture (0.5 g for a 100 L batch) was added to restore the milk's own bacteria, which heating destroys.

Total time across the recorded steps: 5.5 days – 7.8 days

Start
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What changes: The maker Andina describes starts from fresh whole milk that has been pasteurised

Step 1 of 5
Take fresh whole pasteurised milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Fresh whole pasteurised milk is coagulated and made into a curd called quesillo, which is left five or six days before it is washed, milled and salted. The result is a spreadable, creamy, yellowish-white paste with a fresh aroma. Made in 5 steps over 5.5 days – 7.8 days. The longest step, hold the quesillo, takes 5–6 days (Andina (Peruvian state news agency) 2025). Salt is 2–2.5 % (Matara Centurión F.E. 2021). Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step5–6 daysReported[andina]Hold the quesillo
Salt2–2.5 %Reported[matara2021]Mill and salt

What makes this one different

A curd held for days, then washed to take acid back out before it is milled and salted. The study (abstract) says washing lowers the lactic acid content, which can affect the texture and sensory character of the final cheese.

Related ferments

Safety

Salt is added at 2.0 to 2.5 % of the quesillo weight, and Prácticas-ITDG, as quoted by Matara (2021), says a lower share lets some bacteria multiply more easily. Alayo (2018) found total coliforms and Escherichia coli above the ITINTEC limits in 18 samples of industrially made mantecoso sold in Cajamarca city. Villanueva León (2023) reports that the traditional cheese is made from unpasteurised milk.

Hazards the sources name: Total coliforms and Escherichia coli (found in 18 samples of industrially made mantecoso sold in Cajamarca city, at 37,220 and 7,410 UFC/g, both above the ITINTEC limits).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

In 2024 a mantecoso from Cajamarca, made by Lácteos D'Celendin, was named best cheese of Peru (95/100) at the VII Concurso Nacional de Quesos. In 2025 Roger Orrillo Novoa's mantecoso won a bronze medal at Expo Queso Brasil in Minas Gerais.

  1. [sanchez2014] Sánchez González J., Arana L., Cortijo P., Haro R., Olivares I., Pérez M., Polo K. 2014, Estudio de la transferencia de masa en la operación de lavado del quesillo para la elaboración del queso mantecoso, Agroindustrial Science 4(2), Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (abstract)paper
  2. [andina] Andina (Peruvian state news agency), 'Conoce al productor de queso cajamarquino ganador de una medalla en la Expo Queso Brasil', 3 July 2025web
  3. [agraria2024] Agraria.pe editorial team, 'Queso mantecoso de Cajamarca se coronó como el mejor del Perú en Concurso Nacional 2024', May 2024web
  4. [villanueva2023] Villanueva León F. 2023, Evaluación del tiempo y temperatura de maduración de la cuajada sobre las características texturales y sensoriales del queso mantecoso utilizando Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, tesis, Universidad Nacional de Cajamarcapaper
  5. [matara2021] Matara Centurión F.E. 2021, Determinación de correlación entre perfil de textura instrumental y perfil de textura sensorial en queso mantecoso, tesis, Universidad Nacional de Cajamarcapaper
  6. [alayo2018] Alayo Briones G.J. 2018, Caracterización del queso mantecoso que se comercializa a nivel industrial en la ciudad de Cajamarca, tesis (abstract), Universidad Nacional de Cajamarcapaper