Making Mozzarella

Had my sweet grand daughter Natalie here since Thursday.  She's taken to calling herself Chef Andre whenever she is on the step stool in the kitchen helping me...don't ask me where she came up with that. Today she rode with me to pick up my raw milk and fell asleep a few miles into the ride. When I was pulling back into the driveway an hour later, she woke up and said, "Grandma! What about all the things we were supposed to do?" "You slept through it all!" I told her and she laughed. What a happy kid! She was supposed to help me make cheese, so the stool came out so she could reach the counter. After 2 minutes of nothing happening (milk heating on the stove is not very exciting), she went outside to pretend a stick was a sword. I watched her from the kitchen window, the kid who could have a good time in a paper bag, swinging the stick around and jumping through the air, a smile of pure joy on her sweet face. Boy, she makes my heart sing!

It was a bit different making cheese this week. First of all, putting tools down to photograph the process held things up a bit. But, once again the whole thing was quick and easy with a fabulous finished product. I am amazed all over again. So let's make mozzarella!

Start with a gallon of good milk. Define "good". Well, nothing ultra pasteurized...and did you know most all organic milk is ultra pasteurized? Sad, but true. Have you looked at the expiration date on a gallon of regular homogenized milk and a gallon of organic? The organic date is a week or more beyond the regular milk date, sometimes two! Kinda' seems to negate the purpose of buying organic milk if everything good in it is heated out of it. So don't use commercial organic milk. If you can find raw milk, I really think it is the best. If not, you may be able to find a local dairy that pasteurizes the milk, but not to the degree of ultra pasteurization. Or use regular homogenized milk...whole, 2%, even 1% will work, but try whole milk to start as the cheese will be more moist and flavorful. The other ingredients needed are citric acid, rennet and salt. That's it! Citric acid can be found at some health food stores or you can order it online. I got mine from Frontier Herbs (they sell to many health food stores) and it was pretty cheap-$4.95 for a pound. Since you only use 1 1/2 teaspoons per batch, it will make a lot of cheese! Rennet can be ordered online at http://www.cheesemaking.com/cheeserennets. (Don't use the Junket Rennet you find at the grocery store in the ice cream section. I have wasted milk trying to get this rennet to work. It is cut with other ingredients and is fine-I suppose-for a custard based ice cream, but not for cheese) Once again, rennet is pretty inexpensive- $6.50 for a box of about 10 tablets. You use only 1/4-1/2 tablet per batch.

Your first step is to pour your cold milk into a heavy bottomed 6-8 quart stainless pot.

Next, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid with 1 cup of cool water. Stir it until it dissolves...maybe 30 seconds.

Add this to the milk and stir to distribute. Heat the milk over low heat until it reaches 90-95 degrees.

While the milk is heating, cut one rennet tablet in half.

Drop it in a 1/4 cup of cool water and stir until it dissolves, about 1 minute.

When the milk reaches 90 degrees, take the pot off the stove and, while gently stirring, add the rennet liquid. Stir for about 30 seconds and then cover the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. When you lift the cover off, the pot will look like a pot of milk until you touch it. Wow! It is kinda' solid! You can see in the second picture where my hand left an imprint! The curd will be "floating" in some yellowish liquid which is the whey. Yeah, curds and whey, just like in Miss Muffet.

If it is not this solid, just let it sit a few more minutes. Now, take a stainless steel knife that reaches to the bottom of the pan and cut through the curd in lines one way and then the other to make about 1 inch squares.

   Place the pot back on the stove over low heat and, with a slotted spoon, stir the curds slowly and gently, bringing the curds together over and over. They will start to get somewhat cohesive after a few minutes. You want to heat the curds to 105-110 degrees.

When it reaches 105-110 degrees, take the pan off the heat and stir all the curds towards one side of the pan over and over to form a mass. Then scoop the curds into a glass bowl.

Put on a pair of food service gloves (you can buy a box of these at Costco or Sam's for $4 or so-they are handy for all sorts of jobs) and start kneading the cheese like you would bread. The whey will separate, so pour the whey back in the big pot.

Place the bowl of cheese in the microwave for 1 minute. When you take it out it will be shiny and HOT. Knead it until more whey comes off. The whey that comes off after microwaving is milkier looking. More white than yellow and not clear.

Knead for a minute more and then microwave again for about 30 seconds. When it comes out of the microwave, add the salt and knead it in and then fold it in half and under a few times. The top will be smooth and shiny and it will be quite firm and stretchy. You can pull it into a long rope!

At this point, I usually pinch off some small pieces and fold them into balls for bocconcini, which I then marinate in some good extra virgin olive oil, fresh rosemary sprigs, diced sun dried tomatoes and fresh ground black pepper. These are great over rosemary flatbread or a good crusty french bread. Or pop one on a crostini and broil for a minute until melted and creamy. Top with a sun dried tomato piece and YUM!

The remaining mozzarella can be placed in a tub of water and refrigerated. Eat within a few days. It's great sliced over a home made pizza or diced into tiny pieces and tossed with hot pasta along with some olive oil and fresh ground black pepper. It melts ever so slightly and makes a cheesy, gooey "sauce".

Experiment with the time you spend kneading and draining the whey as you can make the cheese silkier and more moist by kneading off less whey. I might have kneaded off too much this time as it is quite firm, but still delicious. I think I would like it softer like my batch last week.

Here's the recipe:

Fresh Mozzarella

1 gallon milk-fresh raw or homogenized-NOT ultra pasteurized 

1 1/2 teaspoon citric acid

1/2 rennet tablet

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Pour your cold milk into a heavy bottomed 6-8 quart stainless pot. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid with 1 cup of cool water. Stir until it dissolves. Add this to the milk and stir to distribute. Heat the milk over low heat until it reaches 90-95 degrees. While the milk is heating, place the 1/2 rennet tablet in a 1/4 cup of cool water and stir until it dissolves, about 1 minute. When the milk reaches 90-95 degrees, take the pot off the stove and, while gently stirring, add the rennet liquid. Stir for about 30 seconds and then cover the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. When you remove the lid, check to see how "set" the curd is. If it is not very solid, let it sit a few more minutes. Take a stainless steel knife that reaches to the bottom of the pan and cut through the curd in lines one way and then the other to make about 1 inch squares. Place the pot back on the stove over low heat and, with a slotted spoon, stir the curds slowly and gently, bringing the curds together over and over. They will start to get somewhat cohesive after a few minutes. You want to heat the curds to 105-110 degrees. Take the pan off the heat and stir all the curds towards one side of the pan over and over to form a mass. Then scoop the curds into a glass bowl. Knead the cheese like you would bread. The whey will separate, so pour it off back in the big pot. Place the bowl of cheese in the microwave for 1 minute. When you take it out it will be shiny and HOT. Knead it until more whey comes off. The whey that comes off after microwaving is more white than yellow and not clear. Knead for a minute more and then microwave again for about 30 seconds. When it comes out of the microwave, add the salt and knead it in and then fold it in half and under a few times. The top will be smooth and shiny and it will be quite firm and stretchy. Tear off small pieces to make bocconcini or dunk the whole cheese in some ice water to cool quickly and then store in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap. Eat it within a few days for best quality.

I hope you will try this recipe as it is so easy and fun...something you can really get your hands into-and later your teeth! It shouldn't take longer than an hour start to finish. Last week was 45 minutes-this week, with taking pictures and kneading too much-took an hour. Let me know how it works for you! Good luck!