Ingredients
Cheese
- 4 litrescarabao (water buffalo) milk, or whole cow’s milk
- ¼ tspcalcium chloride in 2 tbsp water, if using shop milk
- ¼ tspliquid rennet in 50 ml cool water
- 2 tspsalt
To serve
- pandesal, warm
- or with rice and coffee
Directions
- Warm the milk to 35°C (95°F) and stir in the calcium chloride if using pasteurised shop milk.
- Stir in the diluted rennet with a few slow strokes, stop the milk moving completely, and leave it undisturbed for 45 minutes.
- Test for a clean break: push a finger in at an angle and lift. The curd should split cleanly with clear whey running in.
- Cut the curd into 2 cm cubes and leave 10 minutes, then stir very gently for 10 minutes. Buffalo curd is soft and rough handling shatters it into grains that will not knit.
- Drain off the whey and work the salt lightly through the curd.
- Pack into a muslin-lined mould or a banana leaf-lined basket and let it drain under its own weight for three hours. Do not press — kesong puti is meant to be soft and moist, and pressing makes it rubbery.
- Turn out, wrap in banana leaf if you have it, and chill.
- Eat within three days, tucked into warm pandesal for breakfast.
Technique
- Do not press it. Draining under its own weight is the whole method.
- Carabao milk is what gives the original its richness — it is far higher in fat and solids than cow’s milk.
- A three-day cheese with nothing preserving it. It does not freeze.
Substitutions
- Whole cow’s milk with a little cream added, which is the practical substitute.
- Lemon juice or vinegar in place of rennet — 4 tbsp into milk at 85°C (185°F) — which gives a crumblier cheese.
- Vegetarian microbial rennet.
Variations
- Fried in slices until golden, which it does without melting.
- Wrapped in banana leaf and sold at roadside stalls in Laguna, which is where most Filipinos first meet it.
History
Made in Laguna, Bulacan and Cebu from water buffalo milk set with salt and rennet; sold wrapped in banana leaf and eaten within days.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kesong Puti?
Kesong Puti is a cheese & dairy from Philippines: soft fresh white cheese of carabao milk, salty and squeaky, eaten with pandesal. Made in Laguna, Bulacan and Cebu from water buffalo milk set with salt and rennet; sold wrapped in banana leaf and eaten within days.
How long does Kesong Puti take to make?
Kesong Puti takes 30 min plus 3 hours draining of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 500 g. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Kesong Puti?
Yes, within limits. Whole cow’s milk with a little cream added, which is the practical substitute. Lemon juice or vinegar in place of rennet — 4 tbsp into milk at 85°C (185°F) — which gives a crumblier cheese. Vegetarian microbial rennet.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kesong Puti?
Pack into a muslin-lined mould or a banana leaf-lined basket and let it drain under its own weight for three hours. Do not press — kesong puti is meant to be soft and moist, and pressing makes it rubbery.
