The Great Queso de Bola Crisis: Yucatán’s Culinary Emergency
Alarm bells are ringing across Yucatán, but there’s no fire, and it’s too early for a hurricane. A different kind of storm is brewing. Call it the queso de bola crisis of 2025.
Queso de bola, the beloved Edam cheese that has become an essential ingredient in countless regional dishes, has seen its price skyrocket by more than 100% in recent months, creating panic among locals and restaurants.
To understand why this imported Dutch cheese has caused such a stir, one must first understand its profound importance to Yucatecan identity. The distinctive red-waxed spheres hang prominently in food markets everywhere, their presence as common as habanero peppers or achiote paste.
“Queso de bola fell in love with Yucatán, and we fell in love with it,” Miriam Peraza, a celebrated traditional Yucatecan cook and owner of the acclaimed Mérida restaurant Manjar Blanco, once told Yucatán Today. This romance began in the 19th century, when ships from Europe would arrive at Yucatecan ports to collect “green gold”—sisal fiber, which was the region’s main export. These same ships brought goods from Europe, including Edam cheese from the Netherlands.
What made this cheese perfect for the long voyage was precisely what made it perfect for Yucatán’s tropical climate—it doesn’t spoil but simply becomes harder and develops a bolder flavor as it ages. While the Dutch failed to colonize the Peninsula, their cheese succeeded in conquering the Yucatecan palate, becoming so deeply integrated into the local cuisine that many visitors are surprised to learn it isn’t native to the region.
More than just an ingredient
Today, queso de bola isn’t merely a food item—it’s a cultural cornerstone. The most iconic dish featuring this cheese is queso relleno, a masterpiece of culinary fusion where a hollowed-out sphere of Edam is stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, almonds, raisins, olives, and capers, then served with a traditional Mayan corn-flour sauce called k’ool and topped with tomato sauce.
But the versatility of queso de bola extends far beyond this signature dish. It’s what’s stuffed into marquesitas, the region’s beloved street food consisting of crispy crepe-like rolls filled with cheese and sweet toppings like Nutella or dulce de leche. The sharp, salty flavor of the cheese creates a perfect contrast to the sweetness, creating an addictive flavor combination that locals and tourists line up for.
You’ll find queso de bola in chaya empanadas, stuffed into salbutes, grated over fresh papaya, and even transformed into ice cream, flan, and cakes. Its ability to accentuate both savory and sweet flavors makes it irreplaceable in Yucatecan gastronomy. As one vendor put it: “A marquesita without queso de bola is like cochinita pibil without achiote—it simply isn’t authentic.”
The queso de bola crisis unfolds
The current crisis began unfolding in early 2025, when vendors noticed supply issues and gradual price increases. A survey of Mérida’s markets—including the Lucas de Gálvez, Chetumalito, and García Rejón—reveals a troubling situation. Merchants report that suppliers haven’t provided the cheese consistently for about a month, causing prices to surge dramatically.
“In January, a whole ball cost 350 pesos,” explains Alicia Guadalupe, a vendor at one of Mérida’s bustling markets. “Now, in May 2025, that same ball costs at least 700 pesos, and in some places up to 800 pesos. That’s more than double in just a few months.”
The cause? According to vendors, tariffs imposed by the United States are creating complications. Since the cheese typically arrives in Mexico through the U.S. rather than directly from the Netherlands, these new trade barriers have disrupted the supply chain.
“Because of the tariffs, it’s taking a long time to arrive because they don’t want to pay,” Alicia continues. “The product is available, but Holland has to pay the United States. Baroudi, the company that has been importing the cheese to Yucatán since 1982, has to pay the United States.”
Restaurants and locals feel the pinch
The effects are rippling through Yucatán’s renowned culinary scene. Restaurants are reporting shortages and have been forced to increase prices for dishes featuring queso de bola. Some smaller establishments have temporarily removed queso relleno from their menus entirely, unable to absorb the cost increase or source the cheese reliably.
For locals, the crisis strikes at the heart of daily life and traditions. The cheese isn’t just for special occasions—it’s integrated into everyday meals. Families making enchiladas topped with grated queso de bola now face a difficult choice: pay significantly more or change generations-old recipes.
Even on social media marketplace sites, entrepreneurial Yucatecans are offering balls of the cheese for 750 pesos, evidence of both the shortage and the cultural importance that leads people to pay premium prices when official channels fail.
Hope on the horizon?
Alicia Guadalupe, the market vendor, believes that the situation may improve by the end of June as supply normalizes. However, she cautions that prices are unlikely to return to their January levels, even with restored supply chains.
Until then, some cooks continue to adapt, experimenting with mixed cheese blends that approximate the distinctive flavor profile of aged Edam, while others simply use less of the precious ingredient to make it last longer.
As one woman at the market said while carefully selecting a half-ball of the cheese for 370 pesos, “Some things you cannot replace. Queso de bola is the flavor of my childhood, the taste of Yucatán itself. We will find a way to continue, as we always have.”
With reporting from Diario de Yucatán
Lee Steele is the founding director of Mérida-based Roof Cat Media S de RL de CV and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012. He was Hearst Connecticut’s Sunday Magazine creative director and worked in New York City for various magazine publishers, including Condé Nast and Primedia, for over 20 years.
