I have never seen this cheese in Taipei. Not in Willie’s Dellie, Jason’s, City Super, Carrefour Tianmu, Costso or on PnP foods’ price list.
Is this cheese available in Taiwan? I’ve been dying for some good Quesadillas. Costco sells a Mexican cheese blend, but I’m looking for this particular cheese (Queso Quesadilla).
I’ve never seen it here, but somewhat to my chagrin I’d also never heard of it. (Lessening my chagrin is Diana Kennedy apparently saying it doesn’t exist in Mexico.)
For “basic” quesadillas I usually use a pepper jack / cheddar mix, although depending on the recipe I may use goat cheese (from Costco, although I haven’t seen it lately) or feta.
I don’t know much about cheese, but as far as I can tell the more impressive-for-Taiwan cheese counters mainly focus on European varieties.
Off-topic for Queso Quesdilla, on-topic for Mexican cheese in general: this page talks about common substitutes for Mexican cheeses in Australia, and is probably a reasonable guideline of what we can get here:
I’ve never heard of it, either. It appears that the term originated in Wisconsin. You can tell it’s not an actual Spanish term, because it would be redundant, since the word cheese (queso) is already in quesadilla. It would be like saying “grilled cheese sandwich cheese” or “beef noodle beef.” The type of cheese traditionally used in quesadillas from Mexico is Oaxaca.
I’ve seen pepper jack in Carrefour and elsewhere in Taipei. That’s probably what I would use here, if I really had to have a quesadilla.
There’s no such thing in Mexico. It’s just a U.S. marketing term. It’s like saying “I want hamburger sauce” instead of 'ketchup", or “I want pizza cheese” instead of mozzarella etc.
Quesadillas are made from a mild melting cheese like Oaxaca, which does not have very distinctive characteristics, so given that we are in Taiwan and exact ingredients are hard to come by (as much as we’d like the original), the reasonable thing to do is substitute the most similar and economical thing. Do let us all know if you find actual Oaxaca, though.
The cheapest near substitute is as far as I know mozzarella from Costco. They are essentially produced based on the same idea. I prefer the block version, and grate then freeze it, as that does not contain adjuncts like cellulose. Or use something similar like Monterey Jack. If you happen across Asadero, that’s a very good substitute.
The thing to do IMO is try that, as well as similar cheeses and blends thereof, and see which you personally like. I like a bit of character, so things like Costco’s affordable Manchego and blends of mozzarella and so on are nice to play with. My boys love blends of those with other cheeses. A quesadilla with a bit of smoked Gouda thrown in is really nice. As one plays with the ingredients, one may find that variations are actually preferable to the original!
Yeah, queso fresco doesn’t really work for quesadillas…at least not the kind usually found in stores. I may sprinkle it on a tostada or put it in a burrito. For quesadillas, a mild Monterrey Jack does the trick.
I would like to reminiscense on the different kinds of fresh cheeses we use back in the ol country, but I already have enough things to be depressed about right now…
Yeah, my experience is with the kind you usually find at Mexican groceries (Costco carries it too) in the U.S., like this one, which is crumbly and not melty: