Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

I've also heard where people use curd bits on top of pizza instead of bothering to make up the real cheese balls, so maybe you could do that! Apparently it melts in the oven heat and you'd never know.

Tried this, it didn't melt, it just got soft and started browning. I am thinking of just purchasing the curds from here:
Fresh Mozzarella Cheeses Pizza Cheese | Fresh Stretched | Smoked | Mozzarella Curd | Mozzarella Kit & More Made Daily
at $4.59 a lb for curds vs $4 a gallon of milk it seems well worth the cost of shipping just to buy the curds and stretch them myself.

[egalecki]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

That sounds like a plan.

I'm wondering if your milk is treated in some way that makes it not form proper curds. I know that on the New England Cheesemaking site, they have a listing of local milks that are good for making cheese- and that says to me that some milks AREN'T good. Could be overly homogenized or pasteurized?

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

Could be the milk,I've tried different brands though... I can get fresh from the cow milk but that just grosses me out for some reason.

[jbruning]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

We've just started making our own mozzarella using the 30 minute recipe. Generally have had good success, but I've had a couple of batches that were quite soft. To the point that they 'self-leveled' in a bowl. I'm by no means an expert but it could be the milk-- apparently it can vary a lot. Ultra pasteurized will not work. I've also heard that the junket rennet doesn't work as well as cheesemaking rennet, but it might be ok if you use more ( I think it is weaker).

We've used the recipe you described-- add the citric acid to the cold milk heat carefully to 90 degrees, add rennet stir, let stand for about five minutes, cut the curd into 1 inch cubes and used a slotted spoon to transfer the curds to a bowl. The mass of curds is usually quite loose and contains a lot of whey. Each time it is microwaved you kind of turn it the bowl and more whey separates. After a minute, and two or three 30 second shots in the mic you can kneed it like dough. It is pretty darn hot at this point though, rubber gloves help. Form it in a ball and place in ice water for a while to firm up.

So far we've only used whole milk and it produces a pretty nice flavored cheese. Good luck.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

...cut the curd into 1 inch cubes and used a slotted spoon to transfer the curds to a bowl.

See, I have never got it to the point where I had to cut the curds...is this a citric acid problem or a rennet problem? I have used whole milk also.

[jbruning]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

Hi Joey,
I didn't think to take pictures, but I just made a batch tonight. It seems to have turned out ok. I'm not an expert by any means, but it sounds like it could be a rennet issue. I haven't made to much cheese of any sort, but I have read that junket is not as potent. If you can't find cheese rennet you could try doubling the amount you use. I wouldn't think the citric acid would very much. Are you mixing the dry citric acid in water? The rennet as well, do you disolve that in water too? That will help it distribute better in the milk. I just re-read your recipe. You might want to try less citric acid. It may be that the acidity is too high too quickly and the curd doesn't form right.

I used a gallon of whole, store-bought, pasteurized, homogenized milk, 1 1/2 tsp of citric acid (in a cup of water) and 1/4 cheese rennet tablet (in 1/4 cup water). This time, I also used about 1/8 tsp lipase (in 1/4 cup water) to see how that would make the flavor. My curds were pretty soft this time but it still seems to have worked. Your could see some of the shape of the 'cubes' but they break apart easily. After adding the rennet and lipase, I waited about 5 minutes before cutting the curds. You also might try waiting longer if you don't get a clean break. The milk doen't set too firm but when you run a knife through it and either press next to the cut or slightly jiggle the pot you should see a slight separation along the cut. If not, I would try waiting a little longer.

Anyway, much of my curd mass looked similar to yours as I scooped it, the curds are pretty soft. But the heating accelerates the whey separation. If it doesn't come together well heat it for another 30 sec.....and repeat as necessary. It starts out a bit like cottage cheese, but should get shiny and dough-like and stretchy after a few cycles. I add about a teaspoon of salt when I am almost done and knead it to work it in then form a ball and put itn the ice water.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

Hi Joey,
...but should get shiny and dough-like and stretchy after a few cycles.

this is the part that I can never achieve. I did dissolve the rennet, citric acid and lipase in water, I even used non chlorinated water since I read somewhere that this may make a difference.
you may be right about the ph being off. I'll have to try it again, the wifey is getting tired off $4 gallons of milk being wasted, going to have to wait until she's out of the house a few hours.

[stoveup]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

A great site for cheese making instructions is Fankhauser's Cheese Page which has step-by-step instructions for making fresh mozz along with trouble shooting information and a lot of other information.

One thing to consider is the milk you are using. According to Fankhauser, ultra-pasteurized milk will not work so if you are using the ultra-pasteurized stuff that could be your problem.

Fankhauser uses and recommends using Junket, which is merely a brand name, not - as I once thought - a type of rennet. There is also a good discussion of rennet types on Fankhauser's Cheese Page.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

wow, what a great website! very informative thanks!
it has given me the confidence to try it again.

[stoveup]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

Let us know how it works out. Good Luck!

[SDP]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

I know this thread is very old but I thought I would chime in as to maybe help some people in the future.

Rennet Junket will not work. You want to buy animal or vegetable rennet. Cheesemaking.com is where I buy all of my supplies and they have great FAQ's there to learn more if you need further help.

Also make sure that if the milk is pasteurized that it has not been ultra-pasteurized or heated about I think 172 degrees. This will prevent a good curd from forming.

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Home Made Mozzarella for sale?

Heres a video for the Australians or anyone that needs metric measurements.

Katrina Meynink Video | the kitchen coquette | Making Mozzarella