Cheese making: Mozzarella

So this was my first attempt at making cheese, it was really easy and turned out successfully. To make mozzarella you need milk, citric acid, and renet (I used a vegetable renet so that vegetarian friends might one day enjoy my creations.) Begin by heating 1 gallon of milk on the stove, I used whole.


Add 1 tsp citric acid to 1/4 cup of water.


Add renet to another 1/4 cup of water. I just followed the directions for the renet I had to determine the amount. The recipe I was following recommended 1 crushed tablet of regular renet.


Make sure the milk is at least 50 degrees before pouring the water and citric acid mixture in. Stir for 1 minute. The added an additional tsp of citric acid, stir another minute.


Slowly heat on low to 80-90.


I have no idea what I'm doing here...


Add the renet.


Cover and let sit undesturbed for 15/30 minutes.


When it is ready You will get a "clean break." Poke a finger in and make a line. In a few seconds the sides will separate.


Slice the curds in squares. You won't see much at first, but leave them to sit a bit and they will separate.


Apply low heat until it reaches 108 degrees. Let it sit off the heat for another 20 minutes, stir occasionally. The curds will continue to shrink.


Spoon curds into a colander lined with cheese cloth.


Let whey separate from curds.


Microwave for 30-45 seconds, then gently separate whey using your hands or slotted spoon. Microwave another 15 seconds and repeat. Microwave 20 seconds, then salt the cheese (who knew it was so sweet at first?) and knead like it were bread.


When it turns shiny, you are done kneading. Now cut it in half. You can eat it immediately or throw it in the fridge. Eat is soon though, because it will go bad in couple weeks. The cheese you see below made it onto a yummy homemade pizza and was perfectly gooey and delicious.


iPhone

Update, Cheese Making Begins!

Well, as I write this, my curds and whey are separating on the stove. I will be sure to have a separate post up on this in the future, but I'll give a brief synopses here. I am participating the cheese making challenge on the blog Another Year Without Groceries. For the January challenge I chose to try make ricotta, but in researching how to do this I discovered that ricotta is usually made from leftover whey, often after making mozzarella. Never one to miss a "two for the price of one" project, I found some resources online for making mozzarella. So while I have been doing some documents for work and writing on this blog, I've been doing my best to photograph my first cheese making attempt.

I got some time to sit down and knit with my good friends Jesse and Amber today. I haven't knitted in a long time, so it was nice. I mentioned one adventure I'd like to take in: Hobgoblin Music, near Redwing, MN. I happened to drive past it a few times this fall. It's a large barn where, evidentially, they hold folk shows and sell instruments. It sounds fun, but I haven't the nerve to go alone. I suggested it for maybe s summer time adventure. Both wanted to see House of Hidden Treasures, which Amber went with me two a few months ago. Jesse also mentioned the Minnesota opera, and sitting in North East Minneapolis at Diamond Coffee house, I'm reminded just how broad and varied "local" can be in Minnesota. The blog is sort of developing itself organically, truthfully I haven't found its complete focus just yet, so we will see what future posts bring. I love local MN music and am a great fan of the arts, so I would love to include more regarding them in the future.