Mozzarella Cheese!

Hello again! It's been some time since I've updated this, so I figured I would share a recipe I learned today. So, I have always wanted to make cheese. I didn't realize that it was a job that you could do at home with relative ease. My first batch I used a recipe and totally jacked it up. Didn't work. At all. The second batch, I took a few tidbits from multiple recipe sites and made my own version of the recipe. I hope you enjoy this and have fun making it. Prepare yourself for a mess to clean up afterward, though! The cheese will be good for about a week after making it. There are a number of good videos on how to do this on YouTube, but the recipes vary. Rennet can be pretty hard to find. I was able to secure mine from a Whole Foods Market, but not all of them carry it. There are various online outlets that you can purchase it from if you cannot find it locally. Citric acid can be found at Whole Foods, too. Or, many other places that carry health products.

Mozzarella Cheese

Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cup of Water
2 TSP Citric Acid Powder
1 Tablet of Rennet/1 TSP Liquid Rennet (Do not use Junket Rennet for this.)
1 Gallon of Milk - Doesn't matter the type as long as it's not ultra-pasteurized
A Lot of Sea Salt.

Gear:
6-6+ quart steel/ceramic (IE Non-reactive) pot
Digital Thermometer (That starts at a minimum of 80 degrees)
Measuring Spoon
A Decent Length Knife
Slotted Spoon
2+ Cup Measuring Cup (Two would be nicer, but not necessary)
A Reasonable Sized Fine Strainer
A Like-sized Glass Bowl Filled Up with Salty Ice Water.
Another Pot That Can Hold About the Same Amount of Water. (4-6qt)
Gloves. Thick Cleaning Ones.


First of all, I'm sure if you look around this recipe will look familiar, but I've put my
own bit of learning into this.

1. Prepare the Citric Acid: Measure 1 cup of water. Stir in 1TSP of citric acid until dissolved.

2. Prepare the Rennet: Measure 1/4 cup of water, stir in one tablet of rennet or 1TSP of liquid rennet until dissolved.

3. In another pot, fill it with water and bring to just shy of boiling. (158-160º) Mix in lots of sea salt. If it doesn't taste like the ocean, you're not there yet. You will use this later on.

4. Pour the milk into your non-reactive pot, medium-high heat and stir in the citric acid mix. Sprinkle in another 1TSP of citric acid directly into the milk. Stir while gently until the milk reaches 90ºF. The citric acid gives the cheese its stretchability.

5. Once at 90ºF, remove the pot from the heat and gently stir in the rennet solution, taking no longer than about 30 seconds to do so. Put the lid on the pot and leave it for about 30 minutes. The rennet will coagulate the milk, separating the curds from the whey.

6. Once it has set, check the curd for a clean break with your finger or knife. Using your knife, cut the curds into 1-2 inch squares, making sure your knife is making it to the bottom of the curds/pot.

7. Put the pot back on a medium heat, putting your slotted spoon to the bottom and stirring the whole block of curds slowly. Once the mixture reaches 108º, remove it from the heat.

8. Using your slotted spoon, scoop out the curds into your strainer, making sure all the that can be strained out is strained out. You can also use cheese cloth, but a strainer is just as effective. This should take 5-10 minutes.

9. Using your slotted spoon, scoop out a nice hand full-sized bunch of curds. Submerge it into the salt water pot that you started prior to all of this for 20-30 seconds. This is where you'll need those thick gloves to avoid burning your hands. Pull the curds out of the water with the spoon, pick it up with your (gloved) hands and start kneading it and stretching it over itself. Keep repeating this until the cheese is glossy and smooth texture that stretches easily. (And doesn't break like after the first time or two you do this.) This process can take a number of times. Try not to over-work it.

10. Shape the cheese into a ball and place in the ice water so it will cool evenly. After 20 minutes in the ice water, the cheese will be ready for consumption - unless you choose to marinade it. The cheese will be good for about a week. Place in a container with about a cup of cool salt water in a container, cover, and refrigerate.

A salad of spring greens with freshly made mozzarella cheese, chicken and grape tomatoes. Not pictured - A homemade fig balsamic vinaigrette dressing. This mozzarella was no more than an hour old.