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Frugal Tip: Making Mozzarella Cheese
Last week I told you about making Colby Cheese, if you are at all interested in making cheese you should try making Mozzarella. In thirty minutes or so you can have a fresh batch of Mozzarella and you don’t need any special equipment other than some rennet, citric acid and cheese salt.
Cheese Supplies
Ingredients needed:
1 ½ tsp citric acid dissolved in ½ cup cool water
1 gallon milk (you may use skim but the yield will be lower and the cheese drier)
¼ rennet tablet diluted in ¼ cup cool, un-chlorinated water
1 tsp cheese salt (optional)
While stirring, add the citric acid solution to the milk at 55F and mix thoroughly. Heat the milk to 90F, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat and slowly stir in the diluted rennet with an up and down motion for about 30 seconds. Cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Check the curd, it should look like custard with a clear separation between the curd and whey. If the curd is too soft, or the whey is too milky, let set for a few more minutes. Cut the curd with a knife that reaches all the way to the bottom of your pot.
Place the pot back on the stove and heat the curds to 110F, gently moving the curds around with your spoon. Remove from the heat and continue to sir slowly for 2-5 minutes. (Stirring the full minutes results in a firmer cheese)
Gently stir the curds.
Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon and put into a 2 quart microwaveable bowl. Press the curds gently with your hands, pouring off as much whey as possible. Reserve the whey.
Microwave the curds on high for 1 minute. Drain off excess whey. Gently fold the cheese over and over (like kneading bread) with your hands or a spoon. This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese. Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each, add salt to taste after the second time. After each heating, knead again to distribute the heat.
Knead quickly until it is smooth and elastic. When the cheese stretches like taffy it is done. When the cheese is smooth and shiny, roll it into small balls and eat while warm. Or place them in a bowl of ice water for ½ hour to bring the inside temperature down rapidly. Best eaten fresh, but if you must, cover and store in the refrigerator.
Homemade Mozzarella Cheese
Yield: ¾-1 pound
This recipe and my other cheese recipes are from the book Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll. An excellent book for beginner cheese makers.
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You make it look so easy! I love cheese.
Jennifer,
I was amazed at how easy it was to make mozzarella! I can’t wait to make some to eat with fresh tomatoes this summer!
What a fun idea. I need to try making cheese
I’d love for you to come and share your post at Whole Foods Wednesday
Home made is always best, Love to learn making of mozzarella cheese my favorite one. thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop.
You are right, homemade is always the best!
I’d love to share my post!
I do not own a microwave. Is there some other way to heat the curds?
Barb, if you do not have a microwave you can use boiling water instead. Pretty much the same process you just pour the boiling water over the curds, drain and repeat. There are some great videos on YouTube that show the process.
Ha Ha my daughter was just mentioning last night how she wants to one day make Mozzarrella cheese. I have to share this on my blog. Great info.
You have to try making mozzarella it is so easy!!
Visiting from Tuesday Time Out by Reasons to Skip the Housework. I’m co-hosting this month and will be featuring your post on this weeks party on my page. I love learning how to make things from scratch, especially if it saved me some bucks! Hope you’ll stop by! -Lauren
Wow… this looks so good, makes me sad that I can’t eat dairy anymore…
Lauren, thank you so much for featuring my blog! I will definitely stop by!
I used to make mozzarella and ricotta cheeses when we had our milk cow, Gentle.
I don’t use a microwave, so I made my cheese a bit different. I have step by step photos on my blog here… http://ourabundantblessings.com/2011/12/27/make-your-own-mozzarella-cheese/
Thanks for linking up at Homemakers Challenge!
Laurie,
Thank you for the link to your directions, I have since made it without using the microwave but by using boiling water. I’ll have to use your method. We don’t have a cow but I purchase milk from a local farmer.
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
I am going to try this too. I just started atmtepting yogurt, inspired by your yogurt post. My first try I used the keep warm setting on the crock pot – too hot, threw it out. Next try, on top of the warm stove during a day of baking. Came out pretty well, a little runny, but maybe it always would. Not too practical for my main method since rarely do I have the stove on that much. Third try, in an insulated casserole dish with hot pack microwaved to as hot as it can go. It made yogurt, but again, a little thin. Maybe I should get a yogurt maker, or maybe this is as good as it gets? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I did a post on making yogurt, very easy. Put your jars of yogurt in an insulated cooler, fill to brim with hot tap water. Put the cover on and leave for ten hours. Yogurt comes out perfectly!