MOZZARELLA CHEESE
This mozzarella recipe makes a fresh cheese, meaning it has not been cultured–worked on by bacteria.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon Milk yields 12-16oz cheese
- 1 tsp Citric Acid Crystals found at grocery stores
- 12 drops Rennet
- Ice Cubes
- 6qt Stock Pot Thermometer, Rubber Gloves, Kinfe, Slo ed Spoon or Spatula
- sea salt about a handful
Instructions
- Mix salt into a bowl(3-4 qt) of ice water to make brine (used to cool finished cheese), set aside
- Pour milk into 6qt or larger stock pot
- Dissolve citric acid crystals in 1⁄2 cup cool water; add acid solution on to the cold milk, stir thoroughly
- Gradually heat the milk to 90F; stir occasionally to heat evenly
- Dissolve ~12 drops rennet in 1⁄2 cup cool water
- Take the milk off the heat and thoroughly stir in rennet solution
- Let milk sit undisturbed for 20 minutes or until the curd sets and breaks cleanly
- Use a long knife to cut the curds into 1 inch by 1 inch squares
- Place stockpot with the curds back onto stove and very gently stir the curds as you heat to 130-140F. The curds will become stretchy and stick together when they are ready(it will look like slightly melted cheese)
- Using a slotted spoon, remove a fist-sized ball of curd from the whey. Using gloves to avoid burning your hands, stretch and work the curd for 5-10 seconds. The more you work the curd, the more dense/rubbery the final product
- Submerse the mozzarella in the brine to cool for 10-15 minutes. Mozzarella will last for up to a week in the fridge if stored in the brine
Notes
Warm milk is made slightly acidic, enabling rennet (an enzyme) to knit together milk proteins (casein), causing most solids (curd) to separate from the liquid (whey).
We use raw—unpasteurized/unhomogenized—milk in the workshop, but store bought milk may also work if it has not been ash or ultra pastuerized (heated to 161F for 15 seconds or 275F for 1-2seconds). Look for “vat pasteurized” milk—meaning the milk was heated to 145F for 30min. This low temperature pasteuriza on retains more avor and, important for cheesemaking, also retains the protein structure necessary for the curd to properly set.