#40 Mozzarella Cheese

The next few posts are going to document my attempt to make an almost completely homemade pan of lasagna. When I started this journey I made ricotta cheese, which is here. I used that ricotta in my lasagna and it was so yummy, it got me thinking that someday I would try to make every ingredient in the lasagna homemade....and I pretty much did that! I hope you enjoy the process as much as I did. I will start with the mozzarella cheese. I was a bit intimidated by this process, but my rennet was going to expire, so I had to just do it!

From: The Homemade Pantry
Mozzarella Cheese
Makes one pound

1 1/2 tsp. citric acid
1 1/4 cups cool water (filtered or boiled)
1 gallon whole milk (not ultra-pasterized)
1/3 tsp. liquid rennet
4 Tbsp. kosher salt

1. Ice a large, heavy pot. Look here for instructions on how to do that. Combine the citric acid with 1 cup of the water in a 2 cup measure.

Add the milk to the pot and slowly pour the citric acid mixture into the milk, gently stirring with a slotted spoon for 15 seconds. Set the pot over medium heat, attach a candy thermometer to the pot, and heat the milk to 90 degrees, stirring every 2-3 minutes. This will take about 10 minutes, and the milk will start to curdle. Remove pot from the heat. Mine did not curdle very much at this point so I was worried it was not working, but it turned out good, so if that happens to you, do not fret.

 

Combine the rennet with the remaining 1/4 cup water in a liquid measure. Pour the rennet mixture into the milk, and gently stir with a scooping motion for 30 seconds.

 



 

 

 

Cover the pot and let sit for 5 minutes.

 

 



 The curds will solidify into one mass that looks like tofu or custard. Press your finger about 1/2 inch into the curd. If it comes out mostly clean, the curd is ready to cut. Otherwise wait and check again in 2 minutes.

Mine looked like this. Not really like tofu or custard...so if yours looks like this...do not fret.

With this curd still in the pot, cut it into 2 inch cubes: place a long knife 2 inches from the left side of the pot and draw it through the curd toward you in a straight line, taking care to cut to the bottom of the curd. Continue with parallel lines to the first in 2 inch increments. Turn the pot 90 degrees, and repeat so that you have a grid. Then make 2 inch diagonal cuts at a 45 degree angle to the side of the pot. Repeat from the other side. Cubes of curd will float in the whey.

Return the pot to medium heat and stir the curds very gently with a slotted spoon as you heat the whey to 110 degrees.

 

Remove from heat. Set a metal colander over a mixing bowl and use the slotted spoon to gently transfer only the curd into the colander. Set curds aside. Don't let the picture below throw you...it looks like cottage cheese, but the texture is much firmer then cottage cheese.

 

Return the pot with the whey to medium-high heat. Add the salt and heat until the whey reaches 170 degrees. About 10 minutes.

 

If there is any whey in the mixing bowl, add that too. Reduce the heat to medium to keep the whey between 165 and 180 degrees for the next step.

Transfer half of the curds to a medium mixing bowl and set them aside. Submerge the metal colander with the remaining curd in the hot whey until they get glossy. About a minute.

 Put on heat proof rubber gloves to pick up the curds and firmly squeeze them into a ball over the pot. The ball will release more whey as you squeeze.

Put the ball back into the whey for 1 minute then stretch between your hands, folding it back onto itself.

 

 

Put the ball back into the whey and repeat the process up to 3 times until the cheese is soft and glossy and holds together when stretched up to 12 inches.

 



The surface of the cheese should be smooth. When you have reached this consistency, you can eat the mozzarella warm, dividing it into little balls if you'd like. Repeat the heating and stretching with the other remaining curd.

If you would like to store the cheese, put balls into a bowl, cover with cool water, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then add ice cubes and keep mozzarella there for 30 minutes.

Remove the cheese from the water and transfer into a covered container.

Keeps in a covered container for 4 days. Do not freeze. I of course used it later that day in a pan of lasagna. More about that in the next post.
It is very obvious that this is a long process to get to one pound of mozzarella, but it was a ton of fun. The process was facinating and it's just one of those "bucket list" things for me. So it was worth the time and effort. Am I going to make it homemade all the time....no way! But I'm still glad I did it!

What about all that whey???

Between the ricotta and the mozzarella that I made on this particular day, I was left with almost 6 quarts of whey. So what did I do with it. I jarred it up and froze it. It keeps in the freezer for 6 months. When in the fridge, it keeps up to 2 weeks. So what do I do with it, you might ask. I use it in place of the water in my bread. But you can also use it in smoothies or soups. It's packed with nutrition, flavor and protein.