Mercado Benito Juarez ★ 4.6
Mercado Benito Juarez opened in 1894 one block from the Zocalo, with chapulines on Miguel Cabrera, mole pastes and the chocolate rows facing 20 de Noviembre.
History
Quesillo was traditionally made in Reyes Etla, north of the city, by Oaxacan cheesemakers since the late 19th century. The pulled-curd technique winds the warm cheese into long ropes, then loops them into a ball that locals untangle by hand to top tlayudas, quesadillas and memelas. The Mercado Benito Juarez sells fresh quesillo by the kilo; the Reyes Etla Wednesday tianguis is the origin source.
Common allergens: Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 4L whole pasteurised cow's milk
- 1/8 tsp powdered rennet diluted in 50ml cold water
- 2 tbsp fine sea salt
- Hot water for stretching (about 80C)
Method
- Warm the milk to 32C in a heavy pot.
- Stir in the rennet solution; cover and rest 45 minutes until the curd sets.
- Cut the curd into 1cm cubes and rest 5 minutes.
- Gently heat to 40C, stirring carefully.
- Drain the curd in a cheesecloth-lined colander and rest 30 minutes.
- Dip a piece of curd into the 80C water; if it stretches into a long rope, it is ready.
- Stretch and fold the curd repeatedly into the hot water, adding salt, until smooth and elastic.
- Pull into a long rope; wind into a loose ball; cool 1 hour before using.
Tip from the editors. If the curd breaks rather than stretches, the milk wasn't acid enough; rest the curd longer next time.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat quesillo (queso oaxaca)
Quesillo (queso oaxaca) in Oaxaca
Mercado de Reyes Etla (Wednesday tianguis) ★ 4.3
Mercado de Reyes Etla is the Wednesday-Sunday tianguis half-an-hour from Oaxaca, the home of the Reyes Etla quesillo tradition and valley produce stalls.
Itanoni ★ 4.6
Itanoni in Reforma serves the Oaxacan breakfast canon from 07:00 daily: memelas with frijol, tetelas with hierba santa and a chocolate or atole de granillo.
Order: Memelas with frijol and quesillo, atole
Tlayudas Libres ★ 4.7
Tlayudas Libres on Calle de Los Libres opens at 21:00 and runs to 03:00 with wood-fire tlayudas, tasajo and quesillo, the canonical Oaxaca late-night stop.
Try: Tlayuda
Casa Oaxaca el Restaurante ★ 4.6
Casa Oaxaca el Restaurante is Alejandro Ruiz's 18th-century townhouse in the shadow of Santo Domingo, the room that built modern Oaxacan technique.
Tip: Book the rooftop terrace for sunset; the guacamole prepared at the table with grasshoppers is the canonical opener.
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