Make your own Mozarella..

[Giggliato]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

I'm not a cheese expert by any means, but I think by using the microwave you are setting the cheese up to fail. Can you just bring the curds to 160-170 degrees fahrenheit and then stretch?

[chidding]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

I attempted to make the mozzerella last night using 4 Litres of Full Cream Milk, Rennet and Citric Acid.

It all was working great, curded well, even when i strain it, it all looked amazing..
Then i microwaved it, and seemed to get a little better, but it never got stretchy, it was like it was rubbery and wouldnt stretch no matter how much I put it in the microwave, i only did 20-30sec increments, then kneaded.. then back in the microwave.. never got stretchy enough..
I'm sure I overdid the microwaving trying to make it stretchy, and it just tastes and feels like a bouncy ball now..

Question is..

Too much rennet?
Too much microwaving?

Would it be better to try the heating up using the whey method instead of a microwave?

Any help appreciated!!

[mako]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

Clever! I'll have to give that a try sometime. This is directly acidified (30 minute) moz curd you're using? It's not too moist for the pizza? do you dry it ahead of time?

Bacterially acidified moz curd would probably work for that as well, since you can let it dry out and hang as it comes down to that magical ~5.2 pH at which it'll spin (i.e. stretch). Then you can either heat it up and pull or or just cut it up and use it.

I'm getting the itch to make some again. I swore I wouldn't bother until I had a pH meter. (Too many failures). But I guess I can make an exception.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

they just burn on top

Mako, Quite by accident,(I grabbed the curd instead of the finished mozz) I discovered that putting Mozzarella curd on the pizza instead of finished mozz will cook it and make it come out soft cheesy and sweet.... So now I just slice pieces of curd about 1/4 inch thick put it right on the pizza and it comes out great..
Cheers
Mark

[mako]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

I've made mozzarella at home, both from the 30-minute recipe, and from the old fashioned, bacterially cultured, way-WAY-more-than-30-minute recipe. Bot have led to some very tasty, very authentic looking fresh mozzarella. But while they've sliced nicely and made for a killer caprese salad, I've always had trouble with them on pizza.

Stick them under the high heat, and instead of getting stringy and coating the pizza, they just burn on top, almost like a panir would. I believe this comes down to a combination of hydration and pH (fun fact: with cheese, EVERYTHING comes down to pH).

I've only ever attempted fresh moz. Since I've made peace with the fact that I actually prefer dry on my pizzas (one of many sacrilegious food positions I take), I should try to make a homemade dry moz and see how it compares.

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!!

The calcium chloride bolsters the calcium in the milk, helping the rennet work. It can be helpful if you've got marginal milk -- ~1/4 tsp per gallon can help to get a stronger curd formation. If you've got strong curds and no bits breaking off and dissolving/clouding up your whey, I wouldn't worry about it. In my experience, the 30 minute mozzarella sets so firmly it's not really an issue.

An aside, re: homemade butter. Unless you're going to use it real quick, wash it with cold water to get all the whey out. Keep pouring water over it and sort of kneading it (you can use the back of a spoon) until the water runs clear. Butter's very stable and long-lived, but the milk caught in it will go rancid, and your butter will go from sweet, to cultured, to really strong, to inedible, in short order.

[heliman]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

Looks pretty tasty!

I am still battling to make soft mozarella so I think this would be beyond my capabilities!!

Rossco

[larrya1049]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

Has anybody made or tried Burrata? I had some fresh Burrata at a wine tasting a few months ago it was unbelievable. It's mozzarella filled with cream and mozzarella scraps.

Step-By-Step Guide to Making Burrata

[heliman]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

Yes, that report caught my eye too and I posted it a few minutes earlier in the "ingredients" section (where the DOP issue was being discussed). http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f19/...html#post78663

The thing is - they set the standards so have to adhere to them. Simple as that...

Rossco

[Archena]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

Cow's milk is the norm in the US - pretty much a necessity unless you like really tart mozzarella or happen to have a water buffalo in your back yard. But Italian mozzarella is made from buffalo milk unless marked otherwise - or you're buying from crooks.
Buffalo mozzarella watchdog closed after chief's own cheese fails purity test - Telegraph

The preceding announcement has been brought to you by the Committee for Nitpicking Trivia and the Letter Z.

[heliman]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

** CAUTIONARY NOTE **

Make sure that you sterilise the pot thoroughly as the curds won't set if you don't do that.

Temperature is also critical - my thermometer got stuck and gave a false reading and the temp went well beyond acceptable level so it didn't form curds.

Double check those elements so you don't, like me, have to pour 8 litres of milk down the drain!!

Rossco

[heliman]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

Some more mozarella making links which may be of use:

LancasterOnline.com:Recipes:30-Minute Mozzarella

http://www.leeners.com/cheese-recipes-mozzarella.html

A Good Appetite: Making Mozzarella At Home

http://www.life123.com/food/cooking-tips/cheese-making/how-to-make-mozzarella-cheese.shtml

/Rossco

[heliman]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

bocconcini
Bocconcini - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good definition!

I found this "how to" on bocconcini (there doesn't seem to be as much info around as for mozarella).

How to Make home made Mozzarella, bocconcini and stuffed Mozzarella | eHow.com

Rossco

[heliman]

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

[splatgirl]

Re: Make your own Mozarella..

bocconcini
Bocconcini - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Chef]

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!!