Say Cheese!

A little over an hour from San Miguel de Allende, is the town of Tequisquiapan.  Known as Tequis for short, it is part of the wine and cheese route of central Mexico.  We decided to make a stop at Quesos Vai, a local cheese producer in Tequis.

Quesos Vai makes all sorts of cheese from cow and sheep's milk.  Our tour began by looking at the various animal and understanding how many liters of milk each produce.  The kids got to feed the animals and even hold a baby lamb.

Once we had our fill of the furry ones, we put on our hair nets (no exceptions!) and went inside to see how the milk is pasteurized and the process of cheese making is done. 

Our guide showed us how artisan cheese is made using manual stirring during the pasteurization, how rennet is added so that the milk will curdle. 

Then she showed us how you fish out the cheese curds from the whey, cut them, and add salt. Next, she showed us how they are placed into molds and then are pressed firm. 

Finally she took us down into the cellar where the cheese is ripened.  She explained how the ripening process is a function of temperature, humidity, and time.  These all influence the type of cheese that you get and its characteristics in terms of texture and taste. 

We had the opportunity to taste a variety of cheese produced at Quesos Vai.


To top off our visit, the kids got to season and mold their own cheese by hand. 

And then we returned to the open area to enjoy the animals before heading out again.

After our fill of cheese, we headed to the downtown of Tequisquiapan to view the open air markets in the central square and also the local church in the main square.  This particular church was popular with the girls, since it was painted pink.