Costeño cheese facts for kids

A stand selling Costeño cheese in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Arroz de lisa (mullet rice) from Barranquilla served with a piece of Costeño cheese.

Costeño cheese is a popular type of cheese from the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It's a fresh, white cheese that is usually soft and salty. Some kinds of Costeño cheese are a bit harder and have even more salt. This cheese is a very important part of the food culture in this sunny region of Colombia.

How Costeño Cheese is Made

Making Costeño cheese starts with fresh milk. Here's a simple way to understand the process:

• First, something called rennet is added to the milk. Rennet helps the milk separate into solid parts, called curds, and a watery liquid, called whey.
• Next, the whey is drained away, leaving the curds. These curds are then pressed to make them harder.
• Salt is added to the curds to give the cheese its famous salty taste.
• Finally, the cheese is often heated. Traditional tools like a wooden bowl called a sereta and a press are used to shape the cheese.

Where Costeño Cheese is Used

Costeño cheese is a favorite ingredient in many traditional dishes from the Colombian Caribbean. It's often eaten for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack. You might find it:

• Served with Arroz de lisa (mullet rice), a popular local dish.
• Paired with Suero atollabuey, a thick, sour cream-like sauce.
• Enjoyed with Butifarra Soledeñas, a type of sausage.
• Eaten with different kinds of Bollo, which are corn or yuca rolls.
• It's also great simply fried or grilled!

See also

• Arroz de lisa
• Suero atollabuey
• Butifarra Soledeñas
• Bollo