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  • Make your own Mozarella..

    The mozarella obtainable here is pretty average to say the least so I began to research "MYO" topics as a way of getting around this problem. Many of the methods I came across were rather complex methods and looked to be fraught with pitfalls.

    In continuing the research, I just came across what looks like a relatively foolproof method for making mozarella. Check it out here: How to Make Great Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

    An overview:

    Equipment you will need:

    Equipment:
    1. At least an 8 quart pot either enameled or stainless steel. (Do not use aluminum, cast iron or other reactive pots)
    2. Thermometer. (A candy thermometer will probably work but a good digital thermometer is much better for accuracy.)
    3. A couple measuring cups or something to dissolve the Citric Acid and Rennet in.
    4. A big strainer to strain the Curds from the Whey.
    5. A long sharp knife to cut the Curds up with.
    6. A slotted spoon to stir the Curds and dip them out with.
    7. Large bowl for the drained off Whey. (Glass is best)
    8. Small bowl to put the Curds in. (Glass is best)
    9. Microwave

    Optional:
    10. Nylon netting for draining Curds. (I use this with the strainer. You can get this stuff at most fabric stores. It is just nylon netting. Get the plain white and probably not the colored stuff)
    11. Plain white cloth if you want to make Ricotta Cheese with the Whey that is left over.
    12. Small strainer to dip out the curds.

    Ingredients:
    1. 1 gallon Milk. Let the milk set out either in the gallon container or in the pot until it gets to about 50 degrees. (I have only used whole milk, although you can also use 2% or skimmed milk. Do not use ultra-homogenized milk though. If you are lucky enough to get milk fresh from the farm, that's even better).

    2. 1 Rennet tablet crushed. (The Rennet tablet is used to coagulate the milk. You can also use liquid Rennet if you can get it. You can get The Rennet tablets at a lot of specialty or smaller stores and it is usually in the pudding aisle or in the Ice Cream section with the chocolate, nuts and stuff. About $2.00).

    3. 2 teaspoons Citric Acid divided. 1 teaspoon is dissolved in water and the other one is sprinkled directly into the milk. (The citric acid is what gives the cheese it's stretch. Get it at some health food stores for around $4.00 for 4 ounces or at a pharmacy which can cost $12.00 to $14.00).

    4. 1/2 cup water divided in 2. (Do not use chlorinated water. Bottled water is fine.)

    5. 1 - 2 teaspoons salt.
    / Rossco

  • #2
    Re: Make your own Mozarella..

    Heliman:

    We make our own Mozzarella all the time, if you go to our blog you can see how we do it with step by step photos. The recipe is the same! WIth one difference we do not strain the curds and whey - we remove the curds with a chinese spider and reserve the whey and make riccotta cheese with the remaing whey...Chef Phil wastes NOTHING!!

    When you get to the blog click on JULY archives or RECIPIES label and it will bring you to that section. You will need to scroll down to find the post.

    ENJOY!!
    Check out our blog for a glimpse into our hobbies of home brewing, soda, beer and wine, gardening and most of all cooking in our WFO!

    http://thereddragoncafe.blogspot.com/

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Make your own Mozarella..

      Brilliant - thanks very much for the pointer! I'll definitely give mozarella making a go (and will see if I can get cheesemaking supplies from the supplier you mentioned).

      Some other good recipes there too ...

      Rossco
      / Rossco

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      • #4
        Re: Make your own Mozarella..

        Is it possible to say do half the amount you mentioned in the recipe? I would like to start small - it would be a large amount of milk to waste if it went wrong.

        I have located the following cheesemaking products and ordered lipase and rennet:

        Rennet: Vegetarian Rennet 125g. Your pics look like "double strength" so if I use the product listed here - what sort of quantities do I need to use to get the same effect. The site Lists the following info on the rennet: Contains FPC (Fermentation Produced Cymosin), strength 200IMCU/ml.

        Lipase: Lipase 40g

        There is also a starter for mozarella - is this needed? Type C Cheese Starter

        I didn't see citric acid on the site but I should be able to get that at the chemist.

        In relation to the milk - I checked your site out and saw that you appeared to be using standard full cream milk. This site suggest using only un-homogenised http://www.cheeselinks.com.au/infomilk.html ... are there any alternatives? If I have to travel 2 hrs to get the un-homogenised milk (probably at $4-5 per litre) it makes it uneconomical to make this stuff.

        Hopefully you can clarify these things for me ...

        Thanks very much for the info.

        Rossco
        Last edited by heliman; 01-17-2010, 09:17 PM.
        / Rossco

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        • #5
          Re: Make your own Mozarella..

          OK - made a batch of this cheese this evening. Worked out just fine. I fashioned a thermometer to the side of the saucepan to monitor temp. This is a really great recipe for sure and I am itching to try it on some pizza - will do so this weekend. I used 4.8 litres of store bought milk which yielded 450 grams of fresh mozarella. I got rennet and lipase online from a local cheese making shop (delivered today) and found the citric acid in the cake aisle for $2.

          QUESTIONS:

          Some recipes call for sodium chloride to be added - is this necessary and what is its purpose in the recipe?

          The mozarella I made was very form - how can I make it softer next time??

          Rossco
          / Rossco

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          • #6
            Re: Make your own Mozarella..

            Rossco:

            Looks great!! if the cheese is too firm cut back on the rennet - Sodium Chloride is SALT (NaCl).
            Check out our blog for a glimpse into our hobbies of home brewing, soda, beer and wine, gardening and most of all cooking in our WFO!

            http://thereddragoncafe.blogspot.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Make your own Mozarella..

              Thanks Phil - your recipe is fantastic ... thanks for sharing it!!!

              Sorry - it was calcium chloride I meant to say - some use it in the mozarella recipe. Do you recommend adding it too?

              Yes, I may have added too much rennet... I used 1 gallon of milk so went 1/2 on the rennet specified but I "guessed" 1/4 of a teaspoon so perhaps I may have to buy a small syringe to get this more accurately measured. Do you know how much rennet I would require in ml for 1 gallon of milk?

              I will be making another batch tonight - and will allow it to stand to make curds cuttable (which I forgot to do last night). The mozarella is good though but I will have to grate it up as I normally do with shop bought stuff anyway so no prob.

              Also want to have a go making butter tonight...

              Rossco
              / Rossco

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              • #8
                Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                Update on milk to use (available in Perth) - I used Harvey Fresh brand full cream milk and it worked perfectly!!!

                Rossco
                / Rossco

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                • #9
                  Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                  Rossco;

                  Does your renet come in a bottle with a dropper..if so 3-4 drops of rennet should do it for 1 gal of milk

                  skip the calcium chloride

                  home made butter is awesome as well!! you will find pockets of whey (or some liquid) in the finshed product but the taste is wonderful! Gotta blog about homemade butter..its SOOOO easy to make!!
                  Check out our blog for a glimpse into our hobbies of home brewing, soda, beer and wine, gardening and most of all cooking in our WFO!

                  http://thereddragoncafe.blogspot.com/

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                    No dropper with the rennet unfortunately but I will drop by the chemist on my lunch time walk shortly and buy one. Tks for clarifying the amound - I went waaaaay over that during my first attempt so it will be good to see the results tonight.

                    Look forward to getting your butter recipe!!.

                    Rossco
                    / Rossco

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                    • #11
                      Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                      OK after scrounging at a few pharmacies I have scored an eye dropper. Should be able to get a more accurate amount of rennet in the pot now. It is an incredibly small amount that is required. Must be pretty powerful stuff!

                      Will swing past the supermarket on the way home tonight and get another 4 litres of milk to make another batch. Hopefully this will be a softer batch. BTW does one make bocconcini in the same way as mozarella? Seems like they are closely related.

                      /Rossco
                      / Rossco

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                        Had some problems this evening. Using 3 drops rennet the mozarella wouldn't set. Ended up dropping the temp from 105f to 98 and added some more rennet (about 3 more drops). That fixed it and curds formed well. Slightly softer texture than previous but still quite rubbery. I was not able to get it to stretchable texture so something was not quite right.

                        /Rossco
                        / Rossco

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                          Rossco:

                          If you are having trouble stretching you may not have microwaved it long enough. If find the hotter it is the easier to stretch - it has to be so hot you almost can't hold it!!
                          Check out our blog for a glimpse into our hobbies of home brewing, soda, beer and wine, gardening and most of all cooking in our WFO!

                          http://thereddragoncafe.blogspot.com/

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                            bocconcini
                            Bocconcini - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Make your own Mozarella..

                              Thanks Phil - will try and microwave it longer. I zapped it for 1 minute, 30 secs and then another 15 mins. Didn't want to overdo it as I read somewhere that microwaving makes it tough. Making another batch this evening so will see how it goes.

                              On the matter of not setting - could the 3 drops of rennet have been a bit on the light side. Maybe I will go with say 5 drops and see how that looks? Do you think that sounds reasonable. I did a test run of 3 drops of water in a teaspoon and it was a vert small amount - perhaps my dropper is on the small size. It is is one of the medicinal types that screws into the top of a bottle.

                              Rossco
                              / Rossco

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