🧀 Minas cheese

Minas cheese (queijo Minas) is a Brazilian cheese from the state of Minas Gerais. Its best-known form, Minas frescal, is a fresh cheese defined by Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture in Portaria 352/1997, which adopts a Mercosur technical regulation. The name covers two very different cheeses: fresh industrial frescal and aged artisanal cheese from raw milk. ¹²

According to that regulation, Minas frescal is obtained by enzymatic coagulation of milk with rennet or other suitable coagulating enzymes, with or without specific lactic bacteria. The curd is drained, not pressed, salted and not ripened. It is a semi-fat cheese of very high moisture, to be eaten fresh. The paste is soft and whitish with a mild or slightly acid taste; there is no rind or only a thin one, and a few mechanical holes may occur. The cheese is cylindrical and weighs 0.3 to 5 kg. The milk must be pasteurised or given an equivalent heat treatment, and the cheese is kept at no more than 8 °C. ¹

Artisanal Minas cheeses from regions such as Serro, Canastra and Salitre are a separate tradition: they use raw, unpasteurised milk and pingo, a natural starter taken from the cheese's own whey. Brazil's heritage institute IPHAN registered the traditional way of making them as national cultural heritage in 2008. ²

Artisanal Minas shares common features across its regions: raw unpasteurised milk and pingo, a starter from the cheese's own whey. The climate, soil, altitude and vegetation of each place affect this starter, so the cheese carries the mark of its area. Known regions include Serro, Canastra, Salitre, Araxá, Campo das Vertentes and Triângulo Mineiro. The techniques developed over three centuries and are passed on in families and communities. ²³

In 2024 the “ways of making artisanal Minas cheese” were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is the seventh Brazilian element on the list and the first since 2019. ³

The regions really do differ in composition. In a study of cheeses from seven certified regions, Canastra cheese had higher moisture, Campo das Vertentes cheese had higher pH and more nitrogen compounds, and ripening indexes were highest in the Cerrado region. ⁵

Minas or queso fresco? The name Minas covers two cheeses, so compare by process. Minas frescal is defined by Brazil’s Portaria 352/1997: milk set with rennet, curd drained but not pressed, salted and not ripened, eaten fresh from pasteurised milk. Artisanal Minas is a separate tradition made from raw milk and pingo, a natural starter from its own whey, and it ripens. In a study of Serro cheeses, safe values came after 17 days at room temperature or 33–63 days in the fridge, depending on the season.

Check which Minas you are buying. “Minas frescal” is the fresh one: soft, whitish, cylindrical, 0.3 to 5 kg, made from pasteurised milk and kept at no more than 8 °C. Artisanal Minas names its region, such as Serro, Canastra or Salitre, and is made from raw milk, so read the label if you avoid raw-milk cheese. It is not an EU protected name, so there is no PDO symbol. Look for it at a Brazilian or Latin American grocery or a delicatessen.

Why it matters to you. Check which cheese you have. Minas frescal is made from pasteurised milk, kept at no more than 8 °C and eaten fresh. Artisanal Minas is made from raw milk, so ripening matters: in a study of Serro cheeses, safe values were reached after 17 days at room temperature and after 33–63 days in the refrigerator, depending on the season. ¹⁴