Minas vs Queso Panela
Minas
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Country
- Brazil
Minas is a family of cow's milk cheeses from Brazil, and the name points to Minas Gerais, the state where the style took shape. The best-known version is fresh, white, moist, and mild, with little or no rind. Firmer versions are lightly cured, deeper in color, and easier to slice. All of them are everyday cheeses rather than long-aged grating wheels, and cooks use the fresh kind with bread and fruit. More than one style shares the name.
Queso Panela
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Fresh
- Type
- Fresh
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Mexico
Queso panela is a fresh white cheese from Mexico, made from cow's milk. It is the Mexican cheese of that name, not a goat cheese from California that sometimes uses a similar word. The loaf is soft, moist, and mild, and it has no rind. Basket molds leave a woven pattern on the surface, which is why people also call it queso de canasta. It is eaten fresh, not aged into a sharp wheel.