Dominican Fried Cheese: Queso Frito

Fried cheese is not uncommon in a number of cultures, particularly those in of Latino background. In the Dominican Republic, fried cheese is often served as a part of a full, hearty breakfast, along with fried eggs, mashed plantains with sauteed onions and fried salami. Of course, if your doctor hears that you've had more than one such breakfast in the last six months, he or she may need to be admitted to the hospital for 24 hour observation. Other Latino cultures have the same or similar recipes to the one I have here, but there are certainly some variations; such as, the cheese is cut into "sticks" or "cubes" or "rounded into ball shapes," or the cheese pieces are coated in cornstarch, or the cheese pieces are dipped into egg, then into flour or breadcrumbs. Fried cheese from these cultures are served in various ways, like with fruit compotes or mayonnaise-based sauces, just plain, or as part of a larger plate of foods, as noted above in the Dominican Republic. Generally in the Dominican Republic the cheese is simply fried, just as I am presenting here. 
  
The best cheese to use for this simple recipe is "queso blanco," which may also say on the label, "for frying," Spanish="para freír." You don't want cheese that melts easily, and this cheese basically holds its form. It's available in many supermarkets, Latino markets and cheese shops. The brand I buy comes wrapped in a clear plastic cover and it is a 16 ounce rectangular block in shape. 

"I can hear the phone ringing .... Hello, I'd like to speak to my doctor.... What do mean he's in the hospital for observation? ..... He read my post about a Dominican breakfast? ... Damn, I thought I was just joking!... Ah, give him my best wishes."  

Ingredients:

slices of queso blanco, sliced about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick
olive oil to fully cover the bottom of the skillet
good paper towels to drain the fried cheese

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the cheese slices on both sides until golden brown. Remove the slices from the skillet and drain them on paper towels before serving.

WORD HISTORY:
Class-This word, most commonly used as a noun with a variety of meanings, and with a verb form (in modern usage essentially replaced by the related "to classify"), is related to a number of words, including: "claim" (including in compounds like "exclaim," "proclaim," "reclaim," "disclaim," "datclaim," oh wait, not that last one, although it does seem to follow) and "declare," all Latin-derived words, and also to "haul," a word from the Germanic roots of English, with later reinforcement from French, which had a form from Germanic Frankish. "Class" goes back to Indo European "kele/kehl," which had the notion of "to shout, to cry out." This gave Latin "classis," initially meaning, "the call up of Roman citizenry for military service," then later the more specific, "Roman army, Roman naval forces." Further, "the administrative division of the Roman citizenry into six segments according to their wealth (to determine taxation);" thus also more generally, "a division or separation into groups of the same or similar characteristics." The Latin form passed into Latin-based French as "classe," with similar meanings, but also the more specific, "the call up of men for military service from particular age groups," which "may" have provided the basis for the usage, "students divided by age for schooling." English borrowed the word "about" 1600, primarily with the "student division" meaning, and this led to the rooms used for such divisions of age/grade level or for specific subjects being termed "classes" (singular: "class"), and then later to the rooms being called "classrooms," although German also has "Klassenzimmer" ("classroom," with "Zimmer" being a relative of English "timber") and I'm not sure if the English and German terms developed independently of each other, or if one borrowed the idea from the other (German had also borrowed "Klasse" "about" 1600). Some of the meanings of "class" seem to have come about in English directly from Latin meanings, rather than from French; for instance, "division of society by income, profession," "scientific division of plants and animals into related groupings"), both of which developed in about the mid 1700s. The idea of "high class," or of a person, "with class" (also "classy"), may seem to tie in with the societal division notion, but it "might" actually have started with the student/education meaning, as some university courses were only available to students who had high scholastic achievements; thus, "high class." No question that the "societal division" meaning reinforced the idea.