Is Kesong Puti the Best Filipino Cheese?

Famed for their pearly white, fine sand beaches, and soothing blue, clear waters, the tropical islands of the Philippines are a little-known player in the cheese world. Their most recognized contribution to the cheesy landscape is probably cheese ice cream, which Filipinos have enjoyed for over 50 years, long before this quirky sweet, salty, and tangy flavor combination in ice cream became mainstream.  But locals love kesong puti.

 

What is Kesong Puti?

In a land where processed and imported cheeses reign, unbeknownst to most, there is an artisanal cheese that this archipelago in southeastern Asia claims as its very own – kesong puti, which translates to “white cheese.” Nothing special, you might initially think, but this unaged cheese is unlike other popular fresh cheeses. Firstly, it is traditionally made with raw milk from the domesticated Philippine swamp buffalo or carabao. The thick milk from the carabao has more than double the fat content of cow’s milk and produces a luscious and creamy kesong puti that’s also high in calcium and protein but low in cholesterol. Secondly, vinegar, commonly coconut or cane vinegar, is utilized to curdle the milk, giving it a faintly sourish aroma. It may also have a hint of citrus if kalamansi juice, the juice of calamondin or Philippine lime, is added. Lastly, fresh and fragrant banana leaves are typically used as cheese molds and packaging. Opening a kesong puti parcel is a remarkable sensory experience.   

 

How is Kesong Puti Made?

The traditional way to make kesong puti is relatively simple, which is probably why it has remained primarily a cottage industry in the Philippines. The basic steps are, more or less, as follows: First, carabao milk is heated with salt and curdled with vinegar. After coagulation, more salt is typically incorporated. The curds are mixed, drained, and scooped into cheese molds, usually banana leaves made pliable by heating over an open fire or soaking in boiling water. The process takes approximately three hours, and the resulting cheese is slightly salty with a soft texture, like ricotta. In some recipes, the curds are pressed and the cheese is brined. These variations of the basic recipe result in kesong puti that’s firm, like mozzarella, and saltier. According to KESONG PUTI: The Philippine Cheese Beginner’s Guide, it may also be crumbly, like feta, depending on how much whey is removed. Different cheese molds are employed, and kesong puti comes in various shapes: cylinders, thin squares, thick blocks, and discs. 

 

History and Culture of Kesong Puti

Though unsubstantiated, it is widely accepted that kesong puti was introduced by the Spanish in the early 17th century. Another theory suggested by Ige Ramos of the Ugnayan Center for Filipino Gastronomy and author of Republic of Taste: The Untold Stories of Cavite Cuisine is that it may have come from India via Sumatra because of its similarities to paneer and dali ni horbo cheese from the Bataks of Northern Sumatra. But no matter how kesong puti found its way to the Philippines, Santa Cruz, Laguna, located southeast of the capital, Manila, is where it is thought to have been first produced. 

Kesong puti is the town’s contribution to the Philippines’ culinary heritage, and every April, it pays homage and celebrates its close ties to this famous and much-loved white cheese by holding the Kesong Puti Festival. The festival started in 2002, when Dennis G. Panganiban was the municipal mayor, as a way to honor local farmers and introduce kesong puti to a wider market. The festival has become grander over the years, and it is now a week-long event with a fluvial parade, live performances, a unique beauty pageant for grandmothers and grandfathers, an amusing cat and dog show, a fireworks display, and a pastry-making contest with kesong puti as the star ingredient. The town hopes that the festival will revitalize the struggling keso puti industry, as only three producers are remaining.  

 

Kesong Puti Makers

Gil del Mundo, or Mang Gil, as he’s fondly called, is the proprietor of celebrity favorite Gil’s Kesong Puti. He learned the skill from his mother and, with the help of his wife, Virginia, has been lovingly crafting his very soft and nearly spreadable kesong puti for almost 50 years. He relies solely on fresh native carabao milk, sourced from the nearby towns of Lumban and Magdalena, so it is also incredibly lush and creamy.

 

Other regions of the Philippines have their own versions of kesong puti. According to Clang Garcia of Food Holidays PH and author of Secret Kitchens of Samar, there are provincial variations in texture, shape, packaging, and language. In Cavite, there’s quesillo (or kasilyo), which means small cheese. The quesillo is a flat square individually wrapped in banana leaves, perfect for a single serving. In Samar, there’s the round queseo (or keseo). In her book, she mentions the pairing of queseo with tuba, an indigenous wine made from fermented coconut sap. Both the quesillo and queseo are more firm compared to the Santa Cruz kesong puti.  

 

How Kesong Puti is Consumed

Kesong puti is versatile and can be used in many recipes. In Philippine cuisine, it is one of the toppings in bibingka, a baked rice cake. It’s delightful in cheesecakes, as Filipina culinary genius Gel Salonga of Cakes by Gel Salonga has shown by taking the flavors and ingredients of bibingka and transforming them into a one-of-a-kind baked cheesecake. It’s also well-suited for ice cream: Arlene Macalinao’s aptly named concoction KESOrbetes (a portmanteau of keso, meaning cheese, and sorbetes, meaning ice cream) and food giant Magnolia’s Gold Label kesong puti ice cream are delicious examples. But all Filipinos will agree that it is best eaten as is, paired with bread, preferably pan de sal (a typical Filipino bread), and coffee or thick, hot chocolate. Another recommendation from Mang Gil, which is quite unusual, is to eat it with Filipino menudo, a tomato-based pork stew. 

Kesong puti’s versatility extends beyond typical Filipino flavors, and it is a worthy, even more delectable, substitute for mozzarella in Caprese salad. It can also be fried or grilled, just like halloumi, and marinated, just like feta.  

The next time you think of the Philippines, don’t only imagine pearly white, fine sand beaches and soothing blue, clear waters, but dream of the luscious and creamy kesong puti as well.