Mexican-Style Cheeses: The Next Big Thing in American Grocery Stores

According to Arturo Nava, senior marketing director for Hispanic Cheese Makers-Nuestro Queso in Kent, Ill., all signs point to a similar explosion in interest in cheeses like cotija, Oaxaca, panela, queso blanco, queso fresco, queso de freír and queso quesadilla.

Several factors are contributing to this increase in demand, all of which are underscored by shifting demographics in the U.S. The 1990 Census tallied 4.3 million immigrants from Mexico, while in 2021, there were 10.7 million Mexican-born individuals living stateside, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

As Bill Esparza wrote for "Roads & Kingdoms" in 2017, Mexican food in America has been shaped by waves of immigration, resulting in almost innumerable examples of regional Mexican-American cuisines built from — or in spite of — American ingredients and limitations.