(A blog from Chuck)
I described a tour of the Chilcatortora community in Blog 28. Today, I will share photos of their cheese factory.
The Kanchik Kawsay cheese making facility is a community cooperative set up with assistance by
some French volunteers. Now that the community has a way to preserve their milk, they can sell cheese and butter at the Feria Libre in Cuenca on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Three types of cheese are produced in this factory: Queso Fresco, Mozzarella, and (a pleasant surprise) Queso Duro.
Here are the curds of the day's milking, draining.
And a by product - butter
The milk is
pasteurized in this vat.The Mozzarella molds are clean and ready for use.
And cheese is aging in the cellar.
We were very impressed with the Queso Duro, a round, pressed, cheese which tastes like Comté or Gruyère.
