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What is Queseo ?

Have you been in Compostela, Cebu?  If yes, have you tried their famo us queso or kesong puti? Maybe you start asking what it tastes like and Ywhat it looks. I’ve been living here in Compostela for almost 7 years and just recently  I discovered about the queso. Though I know the festival, I never had the chance to taste it. Queso is a white cheese, a town product that has all of Compostela celebrating every year. This is made from carabao milk. Process in seven steps. Limpyo  is the first step showing the act of cleaning the breast part of the carabao. Next is puga sa Gatas. It demonstrates the milking of the carabao. Followed by Sa-an which shows the act of screening the milk with a mesh. Then the init kaldero represented the heating of the cauldron with burned wood. Huwad suka shows the act of pouring vinegar to heated milk and stirring. After pouring the vinegar process hulma is followed, demonstrating the molding of the cheese. Lastly is the putos representing the wrapping of the cheese with banana leaf strips. The queseo is meticulous to prepare. It starts with getting fresh carabao’s milk. A mesh is used to strain fresh carabao’s milk and place it inside a metal vat. The metal vat is heated and vinegar is added. The mixture is stirred until it curdles or thickens. After this, salt is added and moisture is removed. The salted curdled milk is taken out and molded before it is wrapped in banana leaves to produce this special cheese from the town of Compostela. The queseo is best paired with puto, biscuits or hot bread.But many like to eat it as it is – savoring the exquisite taste of soft cheese straight from the green, banana leaf that it is wrapped in.The making of which is a means of livelihood common to residents of barangay Lupa and other barangays.

Many of the families in the mountain barangays of the town get their daily income from making queseo.The town also promotes the product through the annual festival of the town. It is also the product the town adopted under the one-town-one-product concept of the provincial government.

A little background of the origin of queso.  It is produced in a number of places in the country, and one of these places is the Municipality of Compostela. In fact, the queseo is the main tiheme of the annual festival of the town, the Queseo Festival that is celebrated every 25thd day of july every year. Compostela is located in the northern part of Cebu. This town used to celebrate the Caballo Festival in honor of the patron saint of the town, Sr. Santiago de Apostol or St. James the Apostle. The word “caballo” is the Spanish word for horse. The Caballo Festival of Compostela is rooted on the portrayal of the loyal Apostle of Jesus riding a white horse, which is considered legendary and symbolic to the Spaniards. The essence of the Caballo Festival was unity, faith, development, and strength. It is interesting to note that before the Caballo Festival was established, local authorities considered calling their festival the Queso Festival. It was rejected since it was unthinkable at that time for a dance demonstrating milking a carabao or preparing queso would become popular among the people. So, the concept was shelved.

The Caballo Festival was then  later changed into the Queseo Festival after Compostela adopted the one-town-one-product drive of the provincial government. The festival was created to facilitate the promotion of the product. It was necessary to develop a dance routine mimicking the tedious process of making the queseo. After careful analysis of the movements in the process along with a little imagination, seven main dance steps were created for the festival.

Queso is unfamiliar to most of us. Maybe you just know it after you read this. It just melancholy that people in this place is not familiar their own product and is slowly forgetting it. I was in my tenth year of school when I discover and feel the savor of it. It’s quite unfamilair way back then when one of my friend hand me a piece of folded banana leaves with queso in it. I found out that she bought it from one of the small stall infront of the municipal hall. Stalls are only allowed infront of municipalities during festival. She was confused what it taste since she also never taste it that’s why she buy. But thanks to the few elders who still continue to make queso despite having small income from it.

Today, there are only few eateries selling the queseo of Compostela. These eateries are typically located close to or at the public market itself.  There are also some residents of Compostela who go around and sell the cheese in and around Compostela. Others even reach as far as Danao City to sell their wares. The queseo is available at the Compostela Vendors Cooperative building in barangay Poblacion, Compostela at P50 per piece. A lady is also selling these products at a stall every Sunday morning near the barbeque station outside the La Consolacion College building in Liloan. Sometimes, the queseo is featured as one of the native delicacies sold at the grocery shop of SM Consolacion at P60 per piece.

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