Cotija cheese makers fight to preserve artisanal tradition amid succession and regulatory barriers
Artisanal Cotija cheese producers in the Sierra Jal-Mich region are seeking to maintain a method associated with one of Mexico’s best-known dairy products. The trade currently depends on no more than 20 families, while younger people have shown limited interest in taking up the work.
Javier Vargas Barajas, a third-generation cheesemaker who has operated his own workshop for more than 30 years, identified the demands of the occupation as a challenge to continuity. Milking, hand-kneading and caring for the herd require working days of more than 12 hours.
The traditional specification also sets requirements for the livestock and the milk. Producers use criollo or zebu cattle kept on open pasture, with average yields of six to seven litres per cow at each daily milking. A single aged wheel weighing 20kg requires about 200 litres of pure milk collected from 29 cows. Salt and natural rennet are used; chemical additives and preservatives are excluded.
The producers hold the collective trademark “Queso Cotija: región de origen”, which supports sales in selected markets. They do not, however, have an appellation of origin from the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, or IMPI. The institute has rejected their applications over almost 20 years, leaving the group without that form of formal protection against industrial imitations.
Transport has become easier than it was in earlier decades, when the cheese was carried for 12 hours by mule from mountain ranches to the municipal seat of Cotija. The sector still faces limited profitability, the physical burden of production and the migration of young people, factors that have affected the transfer of technical knowledge between generations.
The report places the cheese’s situation within the wider vulnerability of specialised artisanal cheesemaking in Mexico as processed products become more widespread. It identifies formal geographic protection, access to higher-value commercial channels and incentives for young people in mountain dairy areas as measures intended to support the continuation of the tradition.
