Mozzarella 1
From SackWiki
This recipe is based on Ricki's 30-minute mozzarella. It's a quick version of mozzarella and is one of the easier cheeses to make.
Ingredients: 1 gallon whole milk 1 1/2 tsp citric acid 1/4 tsp rennet 1/4 tsp salt Procedure: Mix citric acid in 1/4 cool water and stir into cold milk. Heat at Med+1 on stove until 88F. Mix rennet in 1/4 cup cool water and pour immediately into milk. Stir thoroughly 60 seconds with slotted spoon. Let sit until temperature is 100F. Turn off heat. Let sit for 10 minutes to set. (Temperature may rise to 105F on its own) Cut curd into 1" cubes. Scoop curds to colander and drain. Transfer curds to bowl and microwave 1 minute. Stir/knead to distribute heat. Microwave 30 seconds. Stir/knead to distribute heat. Microwave 30 seconds. Add salt and stir/knead to distribute heat. Stretch and pull until shiny and smooth. Form into balls and toss into ice water to cool. Store wrapped in plastic wrap in fridge.
Attempt #1 - July 4, 2006
I rewarded myself for getting through the holiday weekend by finally making my first batch of cheese! I had trouble getting this one off the ground, because I didn't really know what I was doing. The temperature control was a big guess and I ended up overshooting by 30 degrees or more. Oops! I learned from it, though, and will be more patient next time. The curds set okay, but were still very soft and fell apart when I scooped them. Heating and kneading the curd was weird, and it took me awhile to get a feel for it, but finally I got a good stretch. I made one large ball of cheese. It tasted the same both warm and cool -- and the taste was not what I was expecting or hoping for. It tasted kind of like cooked milk, and I'm not sure if it's because I overheated it or because I didn't add enough salt. I'll find out next time! I tried melting this on pizza and it was weird... not stringy at all, and it squeaked in my teeth. Ugh! I noticed on about day 5 that the cheese had turned pasty and sour. Lesson learned -- eat this stuff within a few days! I ended up throwing half of it rest away.
Attempt #2 - July 9, 2006
This attempt was a complete bust. The curd was very soft but smooth on top. When I started to scoop it, it all fell apart into shreds. The whey was the right color, but slightly cloudy and full of small pieces. Moving it to the colander took forever. I didn't drain well enough and curd wasn't set enough, so from the first microwaving onward, the curd never pulled together. The book I used warns that if the curds turn into the consistency of ricotta cheese and won't pull together, maybe that brand of milk is heat-treated at too high a temperature at the factory. I feared that was my problem, but as a last resort I tried extra heat and even ice, but couldn't pull the curd together, so I had to scrap it all. I think I tried too hard to improve on the first attempt and made mistakes instead. The results went straight into the trash :/
