How to Make Kesong Puti (Filipino White Cheese) using Vinegar Jron December 6, 2011 Food Business

Kesong puti is a soft, white cheese similar to cottage cheese that is made from unskimmed carabaos milk, salt and Rennet or white vinegar. It has a soft, close texture and slight salty taste. Heres the recipe on how to make kesong puti or the Filip ino white cheese using vinegar. Ingredients: 1 liter (4 cups) carabaos milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup white vinegar Procedure: 1. In a double boiler, heat milk and salt for about 15 minutes. 2. Turn off heat then add the vinegar. The curds will form at this point. Note the whey (yellow liquid) forming at the top. Leave the mixture to cool and set for at least an hour. 3. When cool to the touch, pour the mixture over a fine-screen strainer to drain out the whey. The resulting curd is already a kesong puti and is ready for use if a creamy, spreadable cheese is the desired outcome. 4. To make a firmer cheese, press down with a spoon or spatula until more of the whey drips out. Or place a saucer on top of the cheese and weigh down using a heavy object, like a water-filled bottle, to press more of the whey out. 5. To form cheese into the desired shape, place it in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap. Bundle the corners of the sheet together to create a pouch. Place this in a cup or rectangular plastic container, and press down. Refrigerate until the cheese sets, at least 30 minutes. When ready, remove cheese from cup or container, unwrap and serve on plate. Note: If carabaos milk is not available, commercial milk in tetra packs labeled pure or full fresh cows milk will do just as well. If you prefer low-fat milk, double the amount of white vinegar used. Source: Claude Tayag Food magazine

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Los Baos is said to be the melting pot of people from different backgrounds, cultures and nationalities. They usually come here to Los Baos to either work or study. This makes the town a very ideal place for businesses to thrive. One of the flourishing industries today is the Dairy industry. Choco milk, yogurt and

various kinds of cheese are easy to sell to locals and tourists alike. There is a ma rket here in Los Baos, said Dr. Arnel del Barrio in Filipino, director of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) in Los Baos. So why not try a new business like selling kesong puti?. Kesong Puti or white cheese is a delicacy in Sta. Cruz, Laguna and is usually eaten with another pinoy favorite, the pandesal. The potential of this product is being tested in BIOTECH and is yet to gain popularity in Los Baos. The business is highly profitable according to Dr. Susan Mercado, a biotechnologist working on the development of microbial rennet in the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH). According to Dr. Mercado, white cheese is the simplest kind of cheese to make. There are only three ingredients needed, salt, cows or carabaos milk, and the rennet. Rennet is a liquid substance containing chymosin, an enzyme that acts like a magnet to form a network of milk proteins that later becomes the cheese.Chymosin on the other hand is found in the fourth stomach or abomasum of the cow. Ingredients Estimated Cost Cows milk (1liter) P20.00-P25.00 Carabaos milk (1liter) P50.00 Animal rennet (1liter) P60.00-P70.00 Microbial rennet (1liter) P105.00 Salt P0.00-P20.00 Fig1. Estimated cost of materials The ingredients are also relatively cheap. Cows milk is cheaper than carabaos milk but produces less amount of white cheese. There are two types of rennet available in Los Baos. Animal rennet is the traditional rennet which is the kind of rennet commonly used in the Philippines. The other kind, the microbial rennet is commonly bought in bulk abroad because it is not locally produced in the Philippines before the research conducted by Dr. Mercado in BIOTECH. Today, it can be bought in retail at BIOTECH. Cheese of a higher quality Quality is very important in products like cheese. First quality that one should look in the product is the shelf life. It is very important because a product with longer shelf life means more days for the person to sell it, thus higher profit is made. In room temperature, kesong puti made from pasteurized milk and animal rennet can last for one week. Kesong puti made from pasteurized milk and microbial rennet can last up to two weeks. Unpasteurized milk made as kesong puti can only last one to two days. Pasteurization is the process of subjecting the milk in high temperature for a short period of time to kill the micro-organisms that causes early rotting of the cheese. Dr. Mercado explains that there is a big difference in the quality of cheese when the microbial rennet is used. Kesong puti made from microbial rennet doesnt have the fishy smell or bitter taste that the cheese from animal rennet sometimes has. It is also creamier because it loses fewer milk proteins in the process of curdling or forming the network of proteins and trapping more fats between the network Start up the cheesy stuff There are several options to consider in planning to invest in the kesong puti business. According to Dr. Del Barrio, raw milk is scarce in Los Baos because the land that can be used in raising carabaos is now used mainly for real estate.

For those that are planning to go to the business of making kesong puti, the first thing that should be considered is where to buy milk. Surrounding towns like Bay and Calauan can be the source of raw milk because they have the land to raise carabaos. In Los Baos only PCC and the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI) are the ones raising carabaos for milk production. Before deciding to get in the business though, transportation and other expenses should also be considered.. Another alternative would be to buy kesong puti in bulk from known distibutors and sell it. Just make sure of the quality of the product and study the market first before really deciding for it. How to make the kesong puti 1. Pasteurize the milk. Heat water until it reaches 72C. It is important to use a thermometer to measure the exact heat needed. Put the milk on top of the boiling water in a separate container. 2. Wait for 20 seconds before taking it off. Then let the milk cool down to about 50C before adding the rennet and salt. 3. Stir the milk constantly to prevent it from having lumps. 4. The cheese will form after about 30 minute. Packaging Innovations After the cheese has formed, it is ready to be packaged for selling. In the traditional packaging, the cheese is molded and wrapped in banana leaves. The packaging can be messy because the water in the kesong puti drops from time to time. According to Dr. Del Barrio, to be competitive in the market, try to innovate. In PCC, since most of the costumers are tourists they expected that the kesong puti will be transported from one place to another. So instead of using just banana leaves, they use clear plastic to make the kesong puti convenient for transportation. To retain the traditional look, the banana leaf-wrapped kesong puti can be put in a clear plastic for easier transportation. The future of kesong puti Once you have decided to go for the business, study the cost of production. One liter of rennet can be added to ten liters of milk, says Dr. Mercado. Animal rennet can be commonly bought from cow farmers while microbial rennet is available in BIOTECH. Animal rennet costs P60.00 to P70.00 while the current price of microbial rennet is P105.00, but if production is increased, BIOTECH can put it down to P70.00, says Dr. Mercado. The estimated capital of a 100g white cheese is P11.00 to P16.00 and it can be sold for P25.00 to P30.00. Ten liters of milk plus 5ml of rennet can produce up to 100 pieces of 100g cheese. Dr. Mercado and her colleagues are happy about the product. They are excited about the profit that they can make from it if they do it fulltime. Dr. Del Barrio on the other hand also sees kesong puti as a good business opportunity. But you must also be realistic about it," he warned. The market here is open for interested entrepreneurs to try the kesong puti business.
Kesong puti or native white cheese is widely produced in Santa Cruz, Laguna, its town of origin. "Kesong puti is fresh, non-aged, white and soft cheese made from the milk of carabaos or water buffalos."