The Tex-Mexplainer series explores the ingredients, techniques, history, and culture of Mexican food in Texas.

At 91 years old, Emilio Apodaca continues his longtime weekly routine of purchasing large blocks of Muenster. After he returns home, he cuts them into smaller (but not by much) sections and places them in separate containers. The vessels of semisoft cow’s milk cheese with a lattice-like, orange-colored rind are distributed among family members across Apodacas’ native El Paso, including his granddaughter, multimedia artist Christin Apodaca . When I asked her about the cheese, she quietly opened the door to her refrigerator and shook a zip-top bag. “My current chunk,” she said.

Gabe and Melissa Padilla, owners of Café Piro in Socorro, southeast of El Paso, also grew up eatin

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