Queso de Tuna Potosino (Tuna Cardona)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide copper cazo or heavy Dutch oven
• •Wooden spoon with a flat edge
• •Food mill or fine-mesh sieve
• •Small round mold or cheese basket
• •Clean cotton cloth
• •Small weight for pressing

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the tuna

   Use ripe tuna cardona, deep burgundy outside and heavy for its size. The pulp should be red-purple, juicy, and fragrant, not pale and watery. If the fruit is weak, the queso will be weak. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.

2. 2

   Peel the fruit

   Wear gloves. Cut off both ends of each tuna cardona, make a shallow lengthwise cut through the skin, and peel it away from the pulp. Work over a bowl because the juice stains and you want every drop. Do not rinse the peeled fruit. Water is the enemy here.

3. 3

   Break the pulp

   Place the peeled tuna cardona in a wide copper cazo or heavy Dutch oven. Crush the fruit with a wooden spoon. Add the water only if the fruit is so firm that it might scorch before releasing juice. Set over medium-low heat and cook until the pulp loosens, about 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Strain the seeds

   Pass the hot pulp through a food mill or a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly to extract the thick juice and pulp. Discard the seeds and skins left behind. You want a smooth red puree. Seeds in queso de tuna are laziness, and the senoras of the Altiplano would tell you so.

5. 5

   Reduce slowly

   Return the puree to the cazo. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often at first and constantly once it thickens. The color will darken from bright ruby to deep wine. The spoon should leave a clean path across the bottom before the paste slowly closes back in. This takes 2 to 3 hours depending on the water in the fruit.

6. 6

   Test the paste

   Drop a spoonful onto a small plate and let it cool for 2 minutes. Push it with your finger. It should hold a wrinkle and lift as a soft sheet, not run like jam. If it spreads, keep cooking. Queso de tuna must slice. That is the whole point.

7. 7

   Press the queso

   Line a small round mold, shallow bowl, or cheese basket with a clean cotton cloth. Scrape in the hot paste, smooth the top, fold the cloth over it, and place a small weight on top. Let it sit at room temperature for 12 hours, then uncover and let the surface dry another 12 to 24 hours until firm enough to cut.

8. 8

   Slice and serve

   Turn the queso de tuna out onto a clay platón and cut into thin wedges. Serve with queso fresco or requeson if you want contrast, but the candy itself contains no dairy. The flavor should be concentrated tuna cardona: dark fruit, desert sun, and patience.

Chef Tips

• •Tuna cardona is not interchangeable with pale green supermarket prickly pear. You need the dark red fruit from nopal cardon. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •A copper cazo gives even heat and helps the paste reduce cleanly. If you use a Dutch oven, keep the heat lower and stir more often because the fruit sugars catch fast.
• •Do not add piloncillo unless the fruit is truly weak. Traditional queso de tuna is built from the natural sugar of tuna cardona. If you sweeten it heavily, you are making fruit paste, not the Potosino sweet.

Advance Preparation

• •Queso de tuna must be made at least one day ahead so it can set, press, and dry properly.
• •Once firm, wrap in parchment or waxed paper and store in a cool dry place for up to 2 weeks, or refrigerate for up to 1 month.
• •The paste can be cooked one day and pressed overnight. Do not cover it in plastic while warm or the trapped moisture will soften the surface.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 25g)