Hypermart often has an assortment of Cheeses available in the cold section, but as far as brands/varieties etc I have no idea as the Wife only buys the local Cheddar type stuff sitting in the boxes on the shelf...
You have to make it. Proper way is with animal rennet. There is also a vegetable rennet and it works just as well but I prefer the animal. I've never found either here but I happen to have some and will give you enough for one batch if you really want to try to make it. You might want to try Naturally Negros too and see if he has some rennet. His website is Naturally Negros He makes some cheese, or did. You can use vinegar instead of rennet and most people can't tell the difference. You can use lemon juice instead of vinegar but it does give it a very slightly different flavor. You can also substitute cottage cheese for ricotta, which is what I prefer. You have to make the cottage cheese too and it is a similar process. Both cottage and ricotta are easy. About like mozzarella. If you have a candy thermometer to get the temperature right you just cook milk and cream and turn it into curds and whey. Then separate them and the curds left are your ricotta. By the way, Brian, I am thinking about selling my lasagna. I gave some to N**m the other day and he thought it was quite good. I've only been making it for 35 years though, so it is still in development. I'll bring you a pan soon. (as a gift)
Okay; Ando who had the Turkish Takeaway in Dumaguete made Cheese from Goats Milk. He told me he sold his business (now a Mediterranean Takeaway place) but he was going to continue making his Goat Cheese to sell. Anyone looking for him can find him down the side road beside McDonald's (opposite Lee Plaza and Jollibee in the City) where (beside the Light Pole) his wife sells Bananaque. Maybe @hawkeye64 can find what he is looking for by seeking out Ando at that location as I saw him there last Thursday standing by his wife, as far as I know he is there most days and is a very nice guy to speak to... I have to say mate you make a mean Lasagna!
I made it all the time when I was there....it is pretty easy. I would get about 1/2 gallon of full cream milk, (sometimes I would add heavy cream, too) bring to a boil (don't let it burn), turn off the heat and add about 2-3 Tbs. of white vinegar and let set for at least 30min-1 hour while the milk curdles. You then use a slotted spoon and skim the curds off the top and put into cheesecloth or some other similar (I used a thin dishtowel) and close it up very tight in the cloth. Let drain (I placed it in a colander in the sink) until no longer dripping. You can use it right away or place in a container in the fridge. I would add basil, salt, etc...to my milk so that I could have flavored ricotta, too. They say that the whey that is leftover is great for many things, too!
Very informative and correct. Technically, and the reason ricotta has less flavor, ricotta is traditionally made from the whey left from making mozzarella by just adding milk and doing the process described above. Poor folks don't add much milk. The more milk and cream you add, the richer the ricotta.
If you are going to make it then a couple more details. Okiebound is obviously a cook and can "wing it" with temps and things I'm sure. I am not so I have to follow strict directions, so I will just say that the correct temperature to heat the milk to is 200 F. Real cooks just look in the pot and say, " yea it is ready", but not me, I have to use a thermometer. Hyper Mart has them. Also you cannot use UHT, (Ultra High Temp, aka Ultra Pasteurized), milk. Anything you see in the store that is not refrigerated is UHT. Fresh milk is the best and can be had at Silliman some days in the week. Search "Fresh Milk" here on the forum and there are discussions of where to get it. Good luck.
I am not a great cook, and I only eye-balled it when making the ricotta...it really isn't rocket science, just get the milk hot enough to boil without burning it, gotta stir it constantly.
It's good to be modest but you are writing to someone that can't boil water without burning it, much less milk.
