Chongos Zamoranos is a Mexican dessert made of what kind of milk?

Chongos Zamoranos is a dessert of Mexican cuisine made of curdled milk. It is typically prepared with rennet tablets, milk, sugar and cinnamon. The result is a dish of soft cheese-like consistency on a sweet brown milky syrup.

Chongos Zamoranos was originally invented in the colonial-time convents in the town of Zamora (hence the name). Although there are several versions of Chongos Zamoranos, they all coincide to highlight the creation of this dessert as a lucky accident.

The word “chongo” is derived from “tzontli”, which means “hair” and refers to the milk that is cut when curdling and then cooked again. This causes the pieces to twist a bit and take the shape of knots or bows similar to those made by people with long hair. “Chongo” simply means “bow” or “pompadour”.

Some Mexicans believe that the dish may have been invented when someone preferred to try a new variant of curd milk that was used for cheese, with a little sugar. Others simply relate its creation to the high milk production of the time, and the need to include new ingredients in it.