This was one of those "I wonder if I could...." things. I saw it in a magazine awhile back (Mother Earth News, I think) and started thinking of how much mozzarella we use at our house x $4.99 for the crappy stuff at Walmart or even $7.99 for the organic kind at Whole Foods. Economically, it made sense...and I could only imagine that the flavor would be better.
So when I decided to quit my job, that was one of the things on my project list: "Make Fresh Mozzarella???" (And yes, it did have three question marks.)
I have to be honest: I did a pretty bad job of documenting the process since, quite honestly, I wasn't sure it would turn out and I didn't want to waste my time making pictures. (I know...tsk, tsk. So much for confidence, eh?) But I guess a bigger reason was that I was so wrapped up in measuring, timing, etc. that I really didn't have time to take a lot of photos. (However...I promise to next time.)
All in all, it was really easy. About 30 minutes from start to finish, which really surprised me. I kept saying "That's it? Really? I can eat it now?" And eat it I did. Chris and Evan (my husband and 6-year-old) were out for a bit, and I had finished about half a lb of product by the time they got home. :: guilty smile ::
So you start with a gallon of unhomogenized whole milk. This milk is from Rock Springs Dairy, our local Mennonite (or maybe they're Amish, who knows) dairy farmers. It's grass-fed, totally organic. The main thing to remember when making cheese is that the milk CANNOT be homogenized. That rules out grocery store milk. Milk that has been homogenized does not separate and the cream does not rise to the top of the container.
This milk in the picture has a nice thick "cream plug" just beneath the bottle neck. Gross in a way, but it's a sure sign of quality unhomogenized milk.
You dump all the milk (including that flabby little cream plug!) into a really big stainless steel pot. No aluminum. Also, make sure you are using a stainless steel spoon. You heat the milk, add some rennet and citric acid (I have the exact amounts written down somewhere, I swear) and then cover it with a lid.
Then the most miraculous thing happens about 5-7 minutes. You lift the lid and you're looking down at a solid mass of what looks like yogurt. It is a big hunk o' "cheese in the making" floating in a sea of clear whey!
Once it's solid enough to put your hand into and feel resistence (which is actually kinda fun), you take a very long knife and start slicing it into cubes. (Also fun.)
Then you stir the cubes around while you heat it again. Pretty soon, all the cubes start to clump together. (See the picture at the right)
Then you're stirring around a big stringy hunk of mozzarella! Awesome-ness!
The next step is to drain away the whey, which is the liquid stuff. You then don some oh-so-sexy rubber gloves, nuke the mozzarella in the microwave for 30 seconds and pull it like taffy. (Hence, the need for the rubber gloves. That stuff was HOT!)
In about 2 or 3 minutes, it turns shiny. And you have mozzarella. :)
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TA-DA! STRING CHEESE!
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So...to recap...you CAN make mozzarella at home in like 30 minutes. It's delicious, cost-effective...and you know what's in it, unlike the white cubes of Walmart stuff. (Maybe I should make this and sell it? Teach classes for other Domestic Deities? Or maybe just eat it like a pig and be happy.)