Meet the Woman Leading the Artisanal Cheese Movement in Puerto Rico
Produced in Collaboration with Discover Puerto Rico
Photography & Words by Alison Engstrom
Puerto Rico is a vibrant island that boasts more than 300 miles of aqua blue coastline, but a little-known fact is there are nearly as many cows as there are more people. Outside of the bustling thoroughfare of San Juan, the idyll is home to a diverse terrain including rolling, golden pastures where cows graze and roam freely giving way to grass-fed milk and inevitably delicious cheese.
Wanda Otero, a local microbiologist, was running a successful laboratory that specialized in dairy. Her job ensured the 200 farms in the region complied with the USDA rules and regulations. It wasn’t until the economic crash in 2008, that farmers found themselves short on cash and unable to pay her for her work. She decided that instead of payment, they could give her some of their raw, unpasteurized milk. She eventually found herself with a surplus and instead of letting it go to waste, she decided to start experimenting with cheese making. Like many, she initially turned to YouTube and then seminars to learn the craft. “I started with the Montebello, our Manchego style. I used ingredients like lipase to increase the flavor of the cheese but those cheeses were very piquant in flavor. Then I tried the most simple recipes and it worked. It took almost a year until it was the way I wanted,” she says.
Once she eventually honed the craft, she started selling at the farmers market in San Juan offering five different types of cheeses coined after the local towns and Vaca Negra, meaning black cow, was born. Her product was different from existing cheeses in Puerto Rico since they were inspired by European varieties made of raw milk that had been aged for 60 days. “Raw milk cheeses have more natural and intense flavors,” she says. “The aromas bring you to the farm.”
The operation began to blossom as word got out and in 2018 they opened their brick and mortar store in Hatillo, situated in western Puerto Rico. Today, they offer six different types of cheeses like Cabachuelas, which lends an intense flavor reminiscent of truffles; Le Petite, a nod to soft French varieties with subtle floral notes, and Capaez, similar to French alpine cheeses, is milder with subtly sweet undertones.
Locals and visitors can taste the cheeses by stopping by their on-site restaurant and coffee shop, La Ubre, where they serve an ample brunch menu, in addition to picking up cheeses and yogurt. Guests can also fully submerge themselves into the world of cheese, and experience Wanda’s passion firsthand, by partaking in their two-hour cheese making class, which occurs every Saturday. For Wanda, cheese has become more than just a hobby, it changed her life. “The original intent of exchanging the debt for milk and finally making cheeses was the beginning of a new adventure in my life.
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