Kesong Puti (Filipino White Cheese)

While I was churning butter my daughter asked me suspiciously and with one raised eyebrow, "You're not going to make cheese next, are you?". I said, "No, of course not, it won't be as easy as butter". But then one of my blog visitors lamented that it's not that easy to find mascarpone cheese in Manila. In my reply I linked a website that teaches how to make mascarpone with heavy cream and tartaric acid. That gave me the bright idea of looking for the recipe for making kesong puti online. The ones I remember being peddled by ambulant hawkers were milky white, soft, slightly salty, and wrapped in banana leaves. I haven't had them since we left the Philippines in 1988 and I was craving for it so badly all of a sudden. I found this which is rather vague and of little help with the amount of ingredients. I borrowed a cheese making book from the library and tried the paneer and farmer's cheese which require no special ingredients, you only need milk (not ultra pasteurized), lemon juice or vinegar, a heat-proof spatula, and a large pot. I combined both recipes using whole milk then soaked the sliced cheese in the salt, water & vinegar bath from the Filipino recipe and voila - kesong puti that is so soft and tasty and almost like the real thing. If I had used carabao (water buffalo) milk, the cheese would have been authentic Filipino kesong puti. Buffalo milk is actually available in Vermont, I think, but the milk is being sold exclusively to mozzarella cheese manufacturers here in the US. BTW, in Italy mozzarella is made from water buffalo milk.

Kesong Puti (Fresh White Cheese)
1 gallon whole milk or a combination of whole and reconstituted instant non-fat dry milk
¼ C white or apple cider vinegar
2 C hot water (optional)

Salt bath
4 cups water
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup salt (add more for saltier cheese)

1. In a large pot, heat milk to a rolling (gentle) boil, stirring often to avoid burning the bottom.
2. Drizzle the vinegar, cook for 15 seconds while stirring.
3. Turn off heat and continue stirring until curds form (whey should be clear and not milky). For softer cheese, stir in hot water now.
4. Once you obtain clear separation of curds and whey, let set for 10 minutes.
5. When the curds have settled below the whey, ladle the curds onto the muslin lined colander. Tie corners into a knot and hold the bag under running lukewarm water to wash off the vinegar. Gently twist the top of the muslin to squeeze out more whey.
6. Shape the cheese in the muslin into a 2½-inch thick log, return to the colander and place a bowl of water or a 5-lb weight on top for 20 minutes.
7. Unwrap cheese, cut into ½-inch slices and let soak in the salt bath for 15 minutes.
8. Store in refrigerator with a little of the salt bath. Will keep for 2 weeks.

the bad plus prog review

I've been listening to this cd prog by my favorite jazz band the bad plus for the past four months now. It's time to write what I think of the songs. I rate this cd A++.

the bad plus is:

• ethan iverson, piano
• reid anderson, bass
• david king, drums
  

1. everybody rules the world (tears for fears) - a wonderful and sweet cover of one of tff's best songs. hushed but beautiful.
2. physical cities (reid anderson original) - very original and exciting music, a jazz purist perhaps will not like it but I LOVE IT! the pounding of all instruments in perfect sync is just magnificent.
3. life on mars (david bowie) - my favorite of the four covers. the bad plus playing a david bowie song = perfection.
4. mint (ethan iverson original) - playful and fun, I wish it's longer than 5:20.
5. giant (reid anderson original) - what can I say, this song makes me hum along with it, which is extremely difficult to do when there are no lyrics and the tune varies. I just love love love this song.
6. thriftstore jewelry (david king original) - easy on the ears with a slight latin beat, I thoroughly enjoy the drum solo, brilliant as well as entertaining.
   
7. tom sawyer (rush) - always a crowd pleaser at live performances. I didn't know this song but when I first heard it live I instantly liked it (I listened to the original song several times after the concert). excellent deconstruction without losing the original tune.
8. this guy's in love with you (burt bacharach) - my least favorite but does not mean it's bad. I just don't like the tune itself.
   
9. the world is the same (reid anderson original) - oh my god! my current favorite song. this starts very very slow, building up as it goes, quickening the pace, becoming more urgent towards the end of this most beautiful song, and the conclusion is almost orgasmic, further emphasized by the fade out of drums and bass, then the coda.
   
10. 1980 world champion (david king original) - what an ending to david's trilogy of medalists (this one is for ski jumping) and anchoring this cd. the song is so lively and fast paced, I can't help but tap my foot or hands each and everytime I listen to it. it has a good mood feel and the champion's speech near the end of the song is a nice touch. I imagine myself right there when the champion made his jump and won. this song makes me happy, want to dance or ski jump.
    

I am in a dilemma right now because the bad plus is coming to Washington, DC in late October but my daughter and I also want to see La Boheme this month. La Boheme is a bit expensive, the cheapest is $100 for a not-so-ideal-seat and I'm sure the tickets for tbp will also be higher than the normal they charge because of the venue. And there is a tribute concert to Jimi Hendrix also in October. Sigh, can't decide.

Peaches in Wine Syrup

fresh peaches in wine syrup

I got the scare of my life today. I was preparing the wine syrup early this morning for the locally grown peaches I bought last Monday when the alarm went off indicating high natural gas level of 228. I opened some windows, went outside with the alarm, reset it, changed its battery, plugged it. It kept going off although I could not smell anything. Finally, I called 911 after 15 minutes and 3 minutes later a firetruck arrived with 3 young [good looking] firemen. They checked the kitchen, the gas fireplace, and the basement and their monitors all got zero reading. It was a false alarm, damn those made in China things!! I was relieved that my house is safe and nowhere near in danger of exploding (as several houses did, not in my community, though). Whew! I was a bit embarrassed to bother the firemen but as the saying goes, it's better safe than sorry. My daughter called to get an update and I told her the good news. She commented that one of the firemen might be the guy she went out with a few times. When I asked her for his name she said "douchebag", 'nuff said.:)

Anyway, every summer I like to take advantage of fresh produce, especially locally grown that I preserve for the off-season. I got a few peaches from Wegmans that were grown in a farm an hour away from my house, they were just picked and arrived at the store early that day, I was told by the produce guy. I let the peaches sit on the counter for 4 days to ripen. They should be a little bit soft to the touch but not mushy.

Peaches in Wine Syrup
fresh peaches
white wine
sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

• In a medium stainless steel sauce pan, combine white wine and equal amount of sugar, add the vanilla bean and seeds and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to medium, simmer for 10 minutes. Remove vanilla, rinse, dry, and keep for later use. Continue to cook the syrup for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the peaches. Boil a large pot of water. Dip the peaches, then remove the skin. Cut in half or into quarters, discard the stones. Add the peaches to the syrup and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Fill pre-boiled and dried jar/s. Let cool completely, then refrigerate.

These sweet and tender peaches are great for breakfast with cereals and yogurt or for dessert/snack with the rennet custard. I will properly preserve more of these peaches, which means boiling the jars with the cooked peaches, therefore no refrigeration is needed so we can enjoy them all winter long.

It is easy to peel peaches when they are fully ripe but not mushy. If the peaches are not fully ripe the skin will stick to the flesh. Also, make sure the water has boiled, then turn off heat, before dipping the peaches.

Rennet Custard

vanilla flavored custard with honey and pistachio halva

While grocery shopping I happened upon some boxes of rennet tablets for making cheese, custard, and ice cream. I remember reading about custard made with rennet from 80 Breakfasts' blog a few weeks ago so I got 2 boxes (8 tablets per box) and experimented with whole, 2% fat, and fat free instant powdered milk. Of course, the whole milk tastes better but if you are on a low fat diet or the only available milk in your area is ultra pasteurized (UP), the powdered milk or fat free milk are not bad at all, as long as the fresh milk is not UP. I also have a large container of Lebanese pistachio halva which I crumbled on top of the vanilla flavored custard and drizzled a little sage honey. You can also add lemon, orange, or almond extract or diced canned fruits like peaches and pears, the recipes are inside the box. I will add ginger infused syrup with the next batch of vanilla custard.

The consistency of the custard is somewhat gelatinous but creamy, I can accurately describe it as more like taho (Chinese-Filipino soft tofu eaten with brown sugar syrup). I love that it is very light but so delicious. I also like that since there are no egg yolks, the custard doesn't taste eggy.

To make custards using rennet you will need a thermometer that reads from zero to 220 degrees F because the right temperature of the milk is essential to make the rennet work.

lemon flavored custard made with instant powdered milk

This rennet is called junket rennet which is fine for making custards and ice cream and also for some soft cheeses but not for hard cheese because it is weaker than regular rennet.
The 2% fat milk is the favorite in my house. It is light, creamy, excellent plain, but pairs very well with ginger syrup.