Best cheese for a quesadilla
Oaxaca is the quesadilla cheese. It is a stretched-curd cow's-milk cheese that melts into strings.
Melt in a dry pan
The tortilla cooks fast. The cheese has to melt in that time. Stretched-curd cheeses and mild pressed cow's-milk cheeses do this.
A grating cheese is a finish
Cotija is salty and hard. It will not melt into the tortilla. Sprinkle it on after, if you want it.
The cheeses
- OaxacaSemi-soft stretched-curd cow's milk. It melts into strings in a hot pan.
- Asadero cheeseSemi-soft stretched curd. It melts, and it holds up on a grill.
- Monterey JackSemi-hard pressed cow's milk. The common melter when Oaxaca is not in the shop.
- ChihuahuaSemi-hard pressed cow's milk from Mexico. It melts.
A poor fit
Questions
- What cheese is best for a quesadilla?
- Oaxaca. Asadero, Monterey Jack, and Chihuahua also melt in the tortilla.
- Can you use Cotija in a quesadilla?
- Cotija will not melt. Use Oaxaca or Monterey Jack for the filling, and grate Cotija on top if you want the salt.