Kesong Puti

Kesong Puti (Native White Cheese) 

Paano nga ba gumawa ng Kesong Puti?

       Kesong Puti ang nakagisnan nating palaman sa ating mga tinapay tuwing umagahan. Malinamnam, malabot, at tunay itong masarap. Alam mo rin ba na ang KESONG PUTI na kinahihiligan natin ngayon ay kinahiligan din ng ating pambansang bayani? 

Recipe by the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI), UPLB:

Ingredients:

• 2 liters fresh milk (carabao, cow or goat’s)
• 2 tbsp DTRI coagulant/rennet extract*
• 2-3 tbsp heaping table salt

*Rennet is an extract prepared from a mixture of abomasum, glacial acetic acid, and salt. DTRI coagulant and rennet are available at the Dairy Training Research Institute at UP Los Baños, Laguna.

Materials Needed:

• kettle (casserole)
• perforated plastic tray
• cheesecloth (“katsa”)
• basin
• ladle
• knife
• cheese wrappers (wax paper or banana leaves)
• kitchen thermometer (optional)
• 8 pieces cheese moulds (ex: open-end milk can)

Yield:

• Carabao’s milk – about 6 blocks (approx. weight of 200 g each)
• Cow’s or goat’s milk – about 4 blocks (approx. weight of 200 g each)

Procedure:

1. Dissolve the table salt into the milk.
2. Filter the salted milk into a clean kettle.
3. Heat the milk to about 72° C for 1-2 minutes (at this temperature, vapor or steam is seem rising from the surface).
4. Immediately place the kettle of milk in a basin of cold or tap water and stir the milk until lukewarm (about 40 to 42° C).
5. Add the coagulant and stir for one minute. Cover and leave the milk undisturbed for 20-25 minutes. After this period, the milk should be coagulated (custard-like or has a texture similar to “taho”).
6. Cut the coagulated milk or coagulum across with the distance of one inch between cuts. Leave the cut coagulum undisturbed for 5-10 minutes.
7. Arrange cheese mould in a perforated plastic tray lined with cheesecloth. The tray should rest on a basin.
8. For carabao’s milk, scoop the cut coagulum (2-3 cm thick) into the cheese moulds.
9. For cow’s or goat’s milk, [a] stir the coagulum slowly for 10-15 minutes (avoid shattering the coagulum into fine pieces). [b] Remove about a liter of the liquid (whey). [c] Pour or scoop the partly drained curd into the cheese moulds. The thickess of the coagulum inside the mould should be about 2.5-3.0 inches.
10. Cover the moulds and drain the cheese for 3-5 hours at room temperature or 6-8 hours at refrigerated temperature.
11. After the draining period, lift the moulds leaving the cheese behind then wrap each cheese cake with waxed paper or banana leaves.

Tips:

• Soft or white cheese will remain acceptable within 2 days at room temperature and 5-7 days when stored in a refrigerator.
• Shelf-life of soft cheese or white cheese is longer if the amount of salt is doubled.
• The flavor and texture of the cheese are enhanced or improved 24 hours after its manufacture.
• If cheese becomes moldy within the predicted shelf-life period, do not discard, wash the surface of the cheese with water and it will still be acceptable.