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The verb squeak is common enough, with various quasi-onomatopedic Spanish equivalents, among which can be found chirriar, chillar, piar, and rechinar, according to linguee, but I'm looking for an adjective (or adjective phrase) to describe new cheese (and a few kinds even when matured), that "squeaks" when it is chewed.

Here, here and here are three examples in English:

  • Nowadays the Syrian cheese (a squeaky semi hard cheese) that I know and ate every day for breakfast in Syria is very trendy in the UK and British people love eating it!

  • That resistance causes the curd to squeak because it's rubbing across your teeth. ... That protein starts to break apart because of an enzyme used in cheese making...

  • Queijo Coalho:Pronounced "KAY-zhoo KWAH-lyoo," this salty cheese has a firm, but lightweight texture that is said to "squeak" to the bite. Queijo Coalho is often sold by vendors on the beaches of Rio. It's grilled to order on handheld charcoal ovens and served kebob-style with oregano and garlic sauce.

I became curious yesterday while eating what we town folks call "queso de campo"; but when I lived in the country itself (Las misiones de Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to be sure!) we called it simply "queso nuevo", because most kinds of cheese stop being squeaky after they are properly cured.

Is it "queso rechinoso", like in a faceb**k advertisement here: https://m.facebook.com/queseria.la.vaquita.de.TB/posts/3617473888292880? Or "queso chirriento?"

Or some other word? Regionalisms are welcome, especially Americanisms.

Edit (12-09-2020):

Some commenters state that they have never eaten such cheese, which shows my failure to explain the phenomenon. I wish to clarify: during my two years spent in Las Misiones, I made cheese every other day, and ate the same cheese as often. The question is not, repeat not, whether squeaky cheese exists, nor what it certainly is called in English; it is what this cheese is called in Spanish!
I have tagged the question with "onomatopeyas" because squeaky is one in English, but perhaps in Spanish this cheese is not commonly called by its sound.

  • A word that simply describes the cheese idiomatically is acceptable, even if it is not in common use.
  • A word already used used by a cheese maker (or eater) to describe would be better even if it is not onomatopedic.
  • A word used by more than one cheese maker (like "squeaky" is in English) is preferred.

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    According to the wikipedia is called "Queso en grano" es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queso_en_grano I haven't heard any reference to such cheese in Spain.
    – RubioRic
    Commented Apr 20, 2020 at 10:11
  • The phrase squeaky cheese is not familiar to me (English from south east England) so perhaps we need more context? I do eat lots of cheese if that is relevant.
    – mdewey
    Commented Apr 20, 2020 at 12:28
  • Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Rubio and mdewy. I've added two examples in English, with links to their contexts. In some places it Is illegal to sell new cheese because of the bacterial risk involved.
    – Conrado
    Commented Apr 21, 2020 at 1:55
  • @mdewy: It is relevant. However, I've only experienced it in cheese within a few days of being pressed.
    – Conrado
    Commented Apr 21, 2020 at 2:14
  • I added the tag Bolivia since I think this does not apply to any other hispanoamerican region.
    – DGaleano
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 20:04

1 Answer 1

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First of all, "rechinoso" does not exist, it would be "rechinante". So the translation would be something like "Queso rechinante". And actually I've never heard anyone talk about cheese in that way, I don't think it's common, at least not in Bolivia. Here we just call cheese by their type, like "Queso Cheddar", "Queso Parmesano" (Parmesan Cheese),"Queso Suizo"(Swiss Cheese), etc. Hope my answer helps!

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  • Hello, Jorge. I've heard talk about cheese this way in English, in Concepción, where a friend by the surname Mamani taught me to make cheese. I know he was aware of the phenomenon, but I can't remember what he called it in Spanish.
    – Conrado
    Commented Apr 21, 2020 at 13:35
  • So i made some research about squeaky chesse from Concepcion, Texas (if my guess was right) and squeaky chesse would be a type of cheddar chesse and at the same time, young chesse. I think it fits with "queso nuevo" as you said before in the post. On a sidenote, you came to Santa Cruz-Bolivia? That's where i am from! Funny coincidence! Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 0:10
  • No no, viví en Concepción de las misiones, dpto de Sta Cruz, de San Javier más allacito. ¡En esa región hay muy buen queso!
    – Conrado
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 0:51
  • Si, tengo familiares en San Javier que envían un queso delicioso a Santa Cruz! Finalmente lograste resolver tu duda sobre la traducción correcta del queso? Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 0:56

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