UPLB is the University of the Philippines at Los Baños where the state university’s agricultural courses are offered. DTRI is the Dairy Training and Research Institute. No trip to UPLB is complete without a visit to DTRI for its fresh milk, kesong puti (white cheese) and ice cream. This is a (combined) repost of a couple of entries that I lost when my database crashed last December. I posted a lot of entries after a day’s trip to Laguna and Tagaytay City and even wrote a column about the trip.
That’s the pasteurized fresh milk and chocolate milk in the photo. It has been our practice to buy them, place them in a cooler, bring them to the football field, open a pack or two and enjoy them while flying kites (some photos circa 1991).
DTRI’s kesong puti is not the traditional kind that are sold wrapped in banana leaves. These are square blocks rather than cylindrical and are wrapped in semi-transparent plastic bearing the name of the maker and the expiration date of the product. Is the flavor and texture inferior in any way? Nah, one of those instances when the use of modern technology to produce traditionally hand made products did not ruin its authenticity. Sure, some of the rustic quality is no longer there with the use of modern packing materials rather than banana leaves. But why should the package matter if what is inside is the same kesong puti–soft, luscious and incomparable?
Ah, too bad, there was no ice cream available when we were there last November.
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