Yesterday, I made Insalata Caprese (with fresh, home made mozzarella) and posted my salad recipe, and pictures on my Facebook page, and this blog. Originally, I did not plan to blog about my cheese making experience, but within 24 hours, I wad received 31 emails inquiring about how I made the cheese.
Follows is my cheese making experience, where I bought my ingredients, the recipe I used, and links to the original source of the cheese recipe.
Enjoy, good luck, and have fun!
Paul's Cheese Making Adventure
On Thursday (July, 20), I saw a posting on Flipboard (an iPad app) on how to make fresh, homemade mozzarella cheese. I was intrigued by the idea, and had contemplated how to make cheese, for quite a while. I began considering the question of "how to make cheese" while attending a wine and cheese tasting at Long's Meat Market; one of the hosts, Keith, had offered his homemade ricotta as one of the cheese pairings. Since then, making cheese was stored away, in the back of my mind.
When I saw the post, "How to Make Homemade Mozzarella," and read the directions, I thought to my self, "this is something I think I can do!"
With that thought in mind, and shopping list in hand, I went to the store to get my supplies. I went to
Market of Choice on Willakenzie Street, in Eugene, Oregon. I chose this store, not only because I absolutely love it, but because they were more likely to have unusual items, and they also have a very knowledgeable staff.
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Citric acid, from the bulk
food section of the market |
First, I looked for citric acid. I found it in the bulk foods section. Next, I looked for the rennet, and it took me a while to find; first I looked in bulk foods, then baking goods, then wandered aimlessly for a while, and wondered who to ask about it. Since I was making cheese, the logical choice was a visit to the cheese counter. The "Cheese Guy" new exactly what it (rennet) was, and had it in stock at the cheese counter!
Finally, it was time to buy milk. I wanted organic, Oregon farmed, GMO free, hormone free, and organic milk. As the recipe directions state, do not buy ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurized milk. I carefully read the labels on all of the whole milk products available, and chose a variety that only said "pasteurized." (Unfortunately, most organics are UHT, and not really understanding this, I unknowingly bought the wrong milk, which resulted in a lot of extra work to salvage the cheese I made).
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Ingredients, clockwise from upper left,
whole milk, salt, citric acid, and rennet tablets. |
With supplies selected, I headed home to make some fresh cheese. It took me a couple of hours, as I would later figure out, the milk I bought was all wrong. Had I purchased the correct whole milk, I think I would have completed making the cheese in less than 45 minutes.
At the end of Step 3 of the recipe, I ended up with a mess, as the recipe's author so eloquently says, "looking like soupy cottage cheese." To remedy the problem, I extended the curd time to 20 minutes, then separated the curds from the whey using a fine strainer. I hand pressed the separated curds in the bottom of the pan, pressing forcefully with my hands, and then carefully poured the whey over the top, and set aside for another 40 minutes, before proceeding to Step 4.
At the end of Step 6, my curds were still bit small and clumpy.
Eventually, I did end up with a flavorful cheese, although the texture was a bit tougher (from overworking) than I would have liked. I rolled by cheese into a log shape, about as wide as my Roma tomatoes, as I was planning to use my cheese to make Inaslata Caprese.
Moral of the story, get the right milk!
In this day and age, where we are so separated from farm and food supply (and dependent on the grocer), I do recommend trying this recipe; especially if you have school aged children in the house. This recipe is fun, relatively easy to follow, will teach how cheese is made, and yield fresh and tasty mozzarella cheese.
Despite my difficulties, I will make this again, but using plain old whole milk.
Note: I do not recommend using unpasteurized milk, as I do not know if the salt and citric acid in the recipe is sufficient to kill any bacteria which may reside in the milk.
Final thoughts:
As stated earlier, I did find this recipe on Flipboard, via www.thekitchn.com. I have included nearly all of the text, and pictures, from the original site (with some minor edits, and formatting). I have also included a link to the original source, so that you may view the original website, which includes a printer friendly version of the recipe.
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| Finished cheese log. |
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How to Make Homemade Mozzarella
"COOKING LESSONS FROM THE KITCHN"
Skill level:
Knowing how to make your own mozzarella is a dangerous thing. Knowing that at any moment, should the desire present itself, you could whip up your very own ball of creamy mozzarella, still warm from the whey from whence it came? Yes. Very very dangerous. Here's how to do it.
Compounding the dangerousness of homemade mozzarella is the fact that it comes together in about twenty minutes. You warm the milk with some citric acid (not as scary as it sounds), add the rennet to separate the milk into curds and whey, heat it again, knead stretch knead, and then you have mozzarella. It's basically magic.
Don't be scared off by the citric acid and the rennet. Both things sound like something Batman might encounter on a bad day in Gotham, but they are actually normal, everyday ingredients.
Citric acid is just a powdered form of the same mouth-puckering acid found in lemons and limes. It's added here to help acidify and coagulate the milk. Rennet can be found in both tablet or liquid form. Its job is to set the proteins in the milk and form solid, stretchy curds.
Both citric acid and rennet can usually be found at a good grocery store or food co-op. If you're having trouble tracking something down, however, take a look at the links below for places to buy the ingredients online.
When it comes to milk, almost anything goes: whole, 2%, skim, cow, goat, raw, organic, or pasteurized. The only rule is to avoid milk that has been ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurized. This particular method of pasteurization denatures the proteins in the milk to the point that they lose their ability to fully solidify into curds. Be careful when buying organic milk as many brands are UHT pasteurized and the packaging doesn't always indicate this. If your mozzarella ends up looking like soupy cottage cheese, try switching to another brand of milk.
Ready to make some mozzarella? Let's do this.
How to Make Homemade Mozzarella
(Makes about 1 pound of mozzarella)
Adapted from New England Cheese making Supply Company
What You Need
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon citric acid
1/4 rennet tablet or 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet
1 gallon milk, whole or 2%, not ultra-pasteurized*
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Equipment:
5 quart or larger non-reactive pot
Measuring cups and spoons
Thermometer
8" knife, off-set spatula, or similar slim instrument for cutting the curds
Slotted spoon
Microwavable bowl
Rubber Gloves
Instructions:
- Prepare the Citric Acid and Rennet: Measure out 1 cup of water. Stir in the citric acid until dissolved. Measure out 1/4 cup of water in a separate bowl. Stir in the rennet until dissolved.
- Warm the Milk: Pour the milk into the pot. Stir in the citric acid solution. Set the pot over medium-high heat and warm to 90°F, stirring gently.
- Add the Rennet: Remove the pot from heat and gently stir in the rennet solution. Count to 30. Stop stirring, cover the pot, and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Cut the Curds: After five minutes, the milk should have set, and it should look and feel like soft silken tofu. If it is still liquidy, re-cover the pot and let it sit for another five minutes. Once the milk has set, cut it into uniform curds: make several parallel cuts vertically through the curds and then several parallel cuts horizontally, creating a grid-like pattern. Make sure your knife reaches all the way to the bottom of the pan.
- Cook the Curds: Place the pot back on the stove over medium heat and warm the curds to 105°F. Stir slowly as the curds warm, but try not to break them up too much. The curds will eventually clump together and separate more completely from the yellow whey.
- Remove the Curds from Heat and Stir: Remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring gently for another 5 minutes.
- Separate the Curds from the Whey: Ladle the curds into a microwave-safe bowl with the slotted spoon.
- Microwave the Curds: (No microwave? See the "Additional Notes" section, below, for directions on making mozzarella without a microwave.) Microwave the curds for one minute. Drain off the whey. Put on your rubber gloves and fold the curds over on themselves a few times. At this point, the curds will still be very loose and cottage-cheese-like.
- Microwave the Curds to 135°F: Microwave the curds for another 30 seconds and check their internal temperature. If the temperature has reached 135°F, continue with stretching the curds. If not, continue microwaving in 30-second bursts until they reach temperature. The curds need to reach this temperature in order to stretch properly.
- Stretch and Shape the Mozzarella: Sprinkle the salt over the cheese and squish it with your fingers to incorporate. Using both hands, stretch and fold the curds repeatedly. It will start to tighten, become firm, and take on a glossy sheen. When this happens, you are ready to shape the mozzarella. Make one large ball, two smaller balls, or several bite-sized bocconcini. Try not to over-work the mozzarella.
- Using and Storing Your Mozzarella: The mozzarella can be used immediately or kept refrigerated for a week. To refrigerate, place the mozzarella in a small container. Mix a teaspoon of salt with a cup of cool whey and pour this over the mozzarella. Cover and refrigerate.
Additional Notes:
- Making Mozzarella Without the Microwave: Instead of microwaving the curds to make mozzarella, warm a large pot of water to just below boiling (about 190°F). Pour the curds into a strainer and nestle the strainer into the pot so the curds are submerged in the hot water. Let the curds sit for about five minutes. Wearing rubber gloves, fold the curds under the water and check their internal temperature. If it has not reached 135°F, let the curds sit for another few minutes until it does. Once the curds have reached 135°, lift them from the water and stretch as directed.
- Milk for Mozzarella: Almost any milk can be used for making mozzarella: whole, 2%, skim, cow, goat, raw, organic, or pasteurized. Pasteurized milk is fine to use, but make sure that it is not ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurized. The proteins in UHT milk have lost their ability to set into curds.
- Melting Homemade Mozzarella: I've found that homemade mozzarella doesn't always melt as completely as store-bought mozzarella, especially if I've overworked the cheese and it has become very stiff. If you're planning to make pizza or something else where melting is desired, use a whole-fat milk and make extra-sure not to overwork the cheese. It can also help to grate the cheese rather than slice it.
