Recipe

A few things to note before making this recipe:

– Make sure the milk you use is not ultra pasteurized
– You can use homogenized or non-homogenized milk
– Farm fresh milk is a great option if you can find it locally
– Low-fat milk will work but the cheese will be drier and less flavorful

What You Need

1 Gallon of Milk (Not UltraPasteurized)
1 1/2 Tsp Citric Acid
1/4 Rennet Tablet or 1/4 tsp Single Strength Liquid Rennet
Cheese Salt

What To Do

1. Start by preparing your work area, make sure that you are not preparing other food while making this cheese.

Be sure to have a clean work area, moving everything away and sanitizing your counter, stove and sink with soap and water. Use an antibacterial cleaner to wipe down all surfaces.

2. Now is time to prepare the rennet. Crush a 1/4 tablet of rennet and dissolve in a 1/4 cup of cool un-chlorinated water or add 1/4 Tsp of single strength liquid rennet to the water. Then, set your mixture aside to use for later.

3. Mix 1 1/2 Tsp of citric acid, to a cup of cool water and add it to your pot.
Then pour cold milk into your pot quickly to mix well with the citric acid. This will make sure the milk is at a proper acidity to stretch it well later.

4. Now heat the milk slowly to 90F. You will notice that your milk is beginning to curdle slightly when it starts to come close to 90F, this is because of the acidity and temperature.

You may need to increase the temperature to 95F or even 100F if the milk is having problems with forming a proper curd.

5. Once your temperature is at 90F, remove your pot from the stove and slowly add your rennet to the milk. Stir it for 30 seconds in a top to bottom motion and then stop.

Now cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, check the curd. It should look like custard with a clear separation between the curds and the whey. Let the curd sit for a few more minutes if it is too soft or the whey is a cloudy appearance.

6. Begin cutting the curds into a 1-inch checkerboard pattern.

Now place the pot back on the stove and heat the curd back to 105F while slowly stirring the curds with a ladle. Once at 105F, take the pot off the burner and continue to stir it slowly for 2-5 minutes.

7. Scoop the curds into a colander with a slotted spoon. If the curds appear too soft, let it sit for another minute or so.

Once you have transferred the curd, press the curd gently with your hand, pouring off as much whey as you can. If you wish, you can keep the whey for later use in baking or cooking.

8. Transfer the curds to a heat safe bowl and microwave the curd for 1 minute.

There will be noticeable whey separation from the curd, so drain off all the whey as you did before. Work the cheese with a spoon or your hands until it is cool enough to touch.

Microwave it two more times for 35 seconds each, and repeat the kneading as in the last step to aid in more whey drain off and ensure even heating of the curds. Drain off all of the whey as you go.

9. Now to begin stretching and kneading the curd. Start by quickly kneading the bread dough. Remove the curd from the bowl and continue kneading it until it is smooth and shiny. If needed, return it to the microwave if it begins to cool off before it is ready to stretch. Near finishing time, add salt. The cheese should be soft enough to stretch and stretch however you desire. This is what makes it Mozzarella after all.

10. In this step, knead your cheese back into a big ball until it is smooth and shiny. Now your Mozzarella will be ready as soon as it’s cool enough to eat. If you want to cool it quickly, place it into a bowl of ice water and refrigerate it.