Just one of the important life skills and lasting memories I’ll take away from working on the farm in Costa Rica (lesson #2: don’t put fingers in dark boots) was learning about female anatomy… cow anatomy, that is. Ronald spent a couple mornings gesticulating and explaining enthusiastically about how to milk his precious vacas. It took us a couple of tries, but by the end I felt like I was really starting to know my way around the back of a cow. Quite the feat.

First, it’s important to note that the baby cow is an integral part of the milking process. To get the juices flowing (sorry, but when has that phrase been more appropriate?), the calf needs to drink from each udder for about 10 seconds. Then each time Mama seems to be tapped, the baby cow comes over, takes a drink, and all of a sudden 4 more gallons appear! The whole process is really remarkable, and also encouraging, as the cows seem to really not mind being milked at all– it actually seems to make them more comfortable. That is, as long as you aren’t pulling and prodding like an amateur. Then there’s alot of “queda!” being yelled, and Ronald swoops in to squeeze out 5 gallons like it ain’t no thing.

Once we had the milk, we proudly presented it to Lidiette, who appraised it and said “Hoy, hacemos queso.” Si, por favor!

Cheese is a staple at the farm. More of a treat than the ubiquitous beans and rice, but still a common occurance either wrapped up in empanadas, crumbled in tortillas, or just as a small block to give dinner a little gusto. The cheese is like a fresh farmer’s cheese, the consistency of feta but softer and with a much more mild flavor. I believe queso fresco, which you often can find at the Columbia Heights Giant or any Latin bodega, would be just like this. Except I doubt they milked those cows that morning!

To start, we added a couple drops of culture to a large pot (as in, you could boil me in it) filled with all the milk from the day. That sits covered for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally as the curds and whey start to emerge. We then seperated out the curds by pressing out all the extra moisture. This was salted, and yes, it’s really that easy. Queso! We enjoyed it for lunch and dinner that day, then in tortillas the next morning, but with 7 volunteers and 8 family members in the house, it was gone in less than 24 hours after we had milked the cows. Another morning, another milking…

Tortillas con Queso are this simple: corn meal, salt, water, crumbled queso, all mixed into a think batter. Pat these out into circular pancakes, than pan-fry with vegetable oil. Serve warm with eggs, bean and rice, or vegetables.
The experience definitely inspired me to try making cheese at home in the U.S. Big talk… will there be action? I’ll keep you posted. Anyone out there ever attempted the process before?