Two decades ago, Jessica, my nearest Peace Corps neighbor, made a significant discovery in the city of Quevedo: semi-hard cheese. At the time, Quevedo was over two hours away via bus and the closest place to access dial-up internet. That day, I received a special delivery via the bus driver as he passed through La Josefina: a chunk of cheese wrapped in an ecstatic hand-written note, " Try this! It is amazing!!! -JLH " Ecuadorians love cheese, but almost all of the cheese produced and consumed here is queso fresco , a mild, soft fresh cheese, often salted, made from local cow's milk. It is eaten fresh and served in many typical dishes including empanadas and bolón . Queso fresco is tasty, but it does not really melt and bears little resemblance to the cheddar, gouda, and Havarti of our homeland. Even today, mozzarella is the only other readily available cheese in Ecuador, except in specialty stores and supermarkets in large cities. I sampled the semi-hard cheese from ...
He looks to be a good listener. Those are welcome at any table
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