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Close up of Kesong Puti with a knife swipping it.
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4.34 from 3 votes

How To Make Kesong Puti (Filipino White Cheese)

Traditional Kesong Puti recipe made with just whole milk, vinegar and calamansi.  The soft curds are wrapped in banana leaves to add flavor and set the cheese. 
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time15 minutes
Setting Time1 day
Total Time1 day 2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Filipino
Servings: 8 Servings

Ingredients

  • 4 Cups 100% Whole Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Cane Vinegar
  • 2 Teaspoons Fresh Calamansi or Lemon Juice
  • 2-4 Pieces 12x12 Inch Square Banana Leaves

Instructions

  • Pour the milk and salt in a large sauce pan and put the heat to low.  Don’t walk away far from the stove.  The milk is ready when you start seeing tiny bubbles around the edges of the pan.  Don’t get the milk to boil or you will have super rubbery curds. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
  • Once the milk has heated up, turn off the heat and add in the vinegar and calamansi juice.  Leave the milk to cool and you will see the curds start separating from the whey (milk juice). Leave for an hour to cool and curdle.
  • When the milk has cooled and you see large cunks of curds start to drain it.  Put a strainer over a bowl and line it with a clean cotton cloth.  Leave for an hour to drip through, then fold over the cloth and start pressing out more of the whey.  If you want it creamy, just use your hands to press through.  If you want it for firm, place something heavy like a book on top of the cloth.
  • Cut a banana leaf into a 12 x 12 inch square.  Then using some tongs pass over the banana leave over an open flame over your stove to make it pliable.  If you don’t have a flame stove boil some water and leave the leaves to soak for 5 minutes then wipe dry.
  • Spoon about ½ a cup of cheese into the middle of a banana leaf square and fold the sides over to make a small square packet.  Tie with some banana leaf strings.  Repeat this process until you use up all the cheese and then place the packets in the refrigerator overnight. 

Notes

Don't throw away the whey (milk juice).  It's very good for you and has lots of flavor.  You can use it in soup as stock or even in bread as the liquid replacing water.  If you are not sure when you are going to use it, I would pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze and defrost when needed.