A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
Mexican cheese?
Janet US

U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
> Mexican cheese?
> Janet US
>

Cheddar or pepper jack, just about any type of cheese works well in most
dishes.

On 7/8/2018 6:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
> Mexican cheese?
> Janet US
>

No, no more than there is a standard "French cheese" or Italian
cheese". Like other countries, they have a wide variety of aged and
fresh cheeses. Much Mexican food that is served in the U.S. is topped
with cheesy glop nowhere near the original. In Mexico it wouldn't
necessarily have cheese at all.
gloria p

"U.S. Janet B." > wrote in message
...
>
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
> Mexican cheese?
> Janet US

Perhaps you could post such a recipe? I have never seen that in a recipe. It
usually lists the type of cheese. I rarely buy Pepper Jack. I would if it
was on clearance for cheap or something. For Mexican stuff I usually use
medium cheddar or the shredded "Mexican blend". I only buy the Mexican blend
if it's a good price. I use Cotija sometimes for crumbling on top of things.

On 7/8/2018 8:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
> Mexican cheese?
> Janet US
>
There are bags of shredded cheese called "Mexican Cheese Blend". IIRC
it's a blend of sharp cheddar, colby, asiago and monterey jack.

Jill

On Mon, 9 Jul 2018 09:41:52 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 7/8/2018 8:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>
>> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>> Mexican cheese?
>> Janet US
>>
>There are bags of shredded cheese called "Mexican Cheese Blend". IIRC
>it's a blend of sharp cheddar, colby, asiago and monterey jack.
>
>Jill

I guess that is what is meant by Mexican cheese in those recipes you
run across in magazines, on the computer, etc. But, the ingredients
don't make sense to me. There's nothing Mexican about them. I wish
they would just say Mexican Cheese Blend and be done with it. But
maybe the people writing the recipes don't know the difference.
I bought some of that blend once. Mostly I remember it was dusty
feeling from whatever was in it to keep it from sticking together.
Thanks
Janet US

On 7/9/2018 10:10 AM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Jul 2018 09:41:52 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 7/8/2018 8:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>>
>>> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>>> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>>> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>>> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>>> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>>> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>>> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>>> Mexican cheese?
>>> Janet US
>>>
>> There are bags of shredded cheese called "Mexican Cheese Blend". IIRC
>> it's a blend of sharp cheddar, colby, asiago and monterey jack.
>>
>> Jill
>
> I guess that is what is meant by Mexican cheese in those recipes you
> run across in magazines, on the computer, etc. But, the ingredients
> don't make sense to me. There's nothing Mexican about them. I wish
> they would just say Mexican Cheese Blend and be done with it. But
> maybe the people writing the recipes don't know the difference.
> I bought some of that blend once. Mostly I remember it was dusty
> feeling from whatever was in it to keep it from sticking together.
> Thanks
> Janet US
>
Cellulose? I buy the "Mexican" cheese blend from time to time for
tacos. Can't think of much else to use it for.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Cellulose? I buy the "Mexican" cheese blend from time to time for
> tacos. Can't think of much else to use it for.

I always use extra sharp cheddar for any mexican dish here. I
don't care if it's authentic or not...it works well for me.

On 7/8/2018 6:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
> Mexican cheese?

As a fan of World cheeses, I'm not a big fan of "Mexican cheese". I
think they all taste pretty much alike. I usta live around the corner
from a Mexican fruit stand. I bought all their cheeses .....once! The
Mexicans didn't even bother to copy Cabrales, the classic Spanish blue
cheese.

Pepper Jack is NOT a Mexican cheese. It's basically Monteray Jack
loaded with hot peppers and MJ is definitely a US cheese.

You can buy shredded Mexican Cheese blends.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...sl_c3jnz6cay_e

****OR****

https://tinyurl.com/ydex55jr


I figure they can blend 'em together cuz, like I sed, to me, they all
taste the same. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

nb

On Mon, 9 Jul 2018 08:51:59 -0600, notbob > wrote:

>On 7/8/2018 6:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>
>> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>> Mexican cheese?
>
>As a fan of World cheeses, I'm not a big fan of "Mexican cheese". I
>think they all taste pretty much alike. I usta live around the corner
>from a Mexican fruit stand. I bought all their cheeses .....once! The
>Mexicans didn't even bother to copy Cabrales, the classic Spanish blue
>cheese.
>
>Pepper Jack is NOT a Mexican cheese. It's basically Monteray Jack
>loaded with hot peppers and MJ is definitely a US cheese.
>
>You can buy shredded Mexican Cheese blends.
>
>https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...sl_c3jnz6cay_e
>
>****OR****
>
>https://tinyurl.com/ydex55jr
>
>
>I figure they can blend 'em together cuz, like I sed, to me, they all
>taste the same. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
>
>nb

I confess that any US recipe that calls for "Mexican cheese" is
imprecise to say the least, but does, perhaps, reference what is
identified as "Mexican Cheese blend" in US stores.

Nevertheless, a quick primer about the real thing is at the link
below.

https://www.epicurious.com/holidays-...heeses-article

On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:56:14 -0400, Boron Elgar
> wrote:
snip
>
>I confess that any US recipe that calls for "Mexican cheese" is
>imprecise to say the least, but does, perhaps, reference what is
>identified as "Mexican Cheese blend" in US stores.
>
>Nevertheless, a quick primer about the real thing is at the link
>below.
>
>https://www.epicurious.com/holidays-...heeses-article

that's a very nice article because it references substitutions and
uses. I hadn't seen that article before. Just glancing through the
article you can see that Mexican cheese blend is not a good direction
to go.
Janet US

On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 10:18:02 -0600, U.S. Janet B. >
wrote:

>On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:56:14 -0400, Boron Elgar
> wrote:
>snip
>>
>>I confess that any US recipe that calls for "Mexican cheese" is
>>imprecise to say the least, but does, perhaps, reference what is
>>identified as "Mexican Cheese blend" in US stores.
>>
>>Nevertheless, a quick primer about the real thing is at the link
>>below.
>>
>>https://www.epicurious.com/holidays-...heeses-article
>
>that's a very nice article because it references substitutions and
>uses. I hadn't seen that article before. Just glancing through the
>article you can see that Mexican cheese blend is not a good direction
>to go.
>Janet US

I know where I can get a great variety of Mexican cheeses not too far
from me, so I have an advantage.

I am also very picky about eating vs cooking cheeses....some, at least
for me, fall distinctly into one category or the other.

On 7/9/2018 1:42 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 10:18:02 -0600, U.S. Janet B. >
> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:56:14 -0400, Boron Elgar
>> > wrote:
>> snip
>>>
>>> I confess that any US recipe that calls for "Mexican cheese" is
>>> imprecise to say the least, but does, perhaps, reference what is
>>> identified as "Mexican Cheese blend" in US stores.
>>>
>>> Nevertheless, a quick primer about the real thing is at the link
>>> below.
>>>
>>> https://www.epicurious.com/holidays-...heeses-article
>>
>> that's a very nice article because it references substitutions and
>> uses. I hadn't seen that article before. Just glancing through the
>> article you can see that Mexican cheese blend is not a good direction
>> to go.
>> Janet US
>
> I know where I can get a great variety of Mexican cheeses not too far
> from me, so I have an advantage.
>
> I am also very picky about eating vs cooking cheeses....some, at least
> for me, fall distinctly into one category or the other.
>
Of course they do! But Janet was talking about recipes calling for some
sort of mysterious thing called Mexican cheese. I, for one, was merely
trying to answer the question.

I love oxaca cheese, queso fresco, queso blanco, asiago... but they
aren't what she was ascribing to recipes which call for some sort of
generic "Mexican" cheese.

We're on the same page, right?

Jill

On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 13:42:33 -0400, Boron Elgar
> wrote:

>On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 10:18:02 -0600, U.S. Janet B. >
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:56:14 -0400, Boron Elgar
> wrote:
>>snip
>>>
>>>I confess that any US recipe that calls for "Mexican cheese" is
>>>imprecise to say the least, but does, perhaps, reference what is
>>>identified as "Mexican Cheese blend" in US stores.
>>>
>>>Nevertheless, a quick primer about the real thing is at the link
>>>below.
>>>
>>>https://www.epicurious.com/holidays-...heeses-article
>>
>>that's a very nice article because it references substitutions and
>>uses. I hadn't seen that article before. Just glancing through the
>>article you can see that Mexican cheese blend is not a good direction
>>to go.
>>Janet US
>
>I know where I can get a great variety of Mexican cheeses not too far
>from me, so I have an advantage.
>
>I am also very picky about eating vs cooking cheeses....some, at least
>for me, fall distinctly into one category or the other.

We have a large Mexican community around here. Because of that I can
get a great variety of Mexican cheese at any store.
Janet US

On Mon, 9 Jul 2018 08:51:59 -0600, notbob > wrote:

>On 7/8/2018 6:10 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>
>> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>> Mexican cheese?
>
>As a fan of World cheeses, I'm not a big fan of "Mexican cheese". I
>think they all taste pretty much alike. I usta live around the corner
>from a Mexican fruit stand. I bought all their cheeses .....once! The
>Mexicans didn't even bother to copy Cabrales, the classic Spanish blue
>cheese.
>
>Pepper Jack is NOT a Mexican cheese. It's basically Monteray Jack
>loaded with hot peppers and MJ is definitely a US cheese.
>
>You can buy shredded Mexican Cheese blends.
>
>https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...sl_c3jnz6cay_e
>
>****OR****
>
>https://tinyurl.com/ydex55jr
>
>
>I figure they can blend 'em together cuz, like I sed, to me, they all
>taste the same. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
>
>nb

Yes, I know that pepper jack is Monterey jack with peppers mixed in.
I happen to like it and the bite and I always have it around as one of
the many cheeses I keep on hand. My question had to do with if there
was a cheese that everyone knew was 'the' Mexican cheese to use in
such dishes. As I suspected, it is a lazy way for a recipe writer who
knows nothing about cheese to fill in a blank spot on a recipe card.
BTW, I like the different Mexican cheeses. They are very flavorful.
Janet US

On Sun, 08 Jul 2018 18:10:49 -0600, U.S. Janet B. >
wrote:

>
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>Mexican cheese?
>Janet US
>
>---
>This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
>https://www.avg.com

Dunno, myself I use co-jack, usually finely shredded.

On Mon, 09 Jul 2018 15:38:07 -0400, wrote:

>On Sun, 08 Jul 2018 18:10:49 -0600, U.S. Janet B. >
>wrote:
>
>>
>> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>>figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>>one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>>taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>>recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>>when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>>missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>>Mexican cheese?
>>Janet US
>>
>>---
>>This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
>>https://www.avg.com
>
>Dunno, myself I use co-jack, usually finely shredded.

that's a nice melting cheese.
Janet US

On Sunday, July 8, 2018 at 8:10:55 PM UTC-4, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
> Mexican cheese?
> Janet US

I'd like to see a link to one of these recipes. You've alerted the
puzzle-solving part of my brain. More clues, please.

Cindy Hamilton

On Tue, 10 Jul 2018 03:36:59 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Sunday, July 8, 2018 at 8:10:55 PM UTC-4, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>> A gripe of mine. Some lazy recipes call for 'Mexican Cheese.' I
>> figure if they really wanted Mexican cheese they would call out which
>> one they want. I mean, for a start there are different textures,
>> taste and melting properties in different Mexican cheese. The
>> recipes I see do not say 'Mexican Cheese Blend.' What do you use
>> when Mexican cheese is called for? I generally use Pepper Jack. Am I
>> missing something? Is there a cheese that is universally called
>> Mexican cheese?
>> Janet US
>
>I'd like to see a link to one of these recipes. You've alerted the
>puzzle-solving part of my brain. More clues, please.
>
>Cindy Hamilton

sorry, I can't put my finger on one. It's just something I've run
across in clicking some of those side bars, stuff like that. You
know, something like "Easy Summer Recipes' or 'Quick Chicken Recipes'.
That's what prompted my original post. But, since I didn't copy or
keep a recipe I can't show it to you or reference the source.
Janet US