If you are new to cheese making, please read Beginning Cheese Making carefully. Mozzarella is a challenging cheese and should not be attempted as your first cheese. This is a recipe to make a fresh mozzarella which I have developed from a recipe for pasta filata (a type of cheese of which mozzarella is one example) found on an Kenyan Cheesemaking site.
The modified recipe is more straightforward, easier and dependable than the traditional Italian Fresh Mozzarella I posted on the web in the Summer of 2000. It requires preparation of the curd the night before, allowing the curd to mature in a warm place overnight, and then warmed and molded the next morning.
Stages of Mozzarella
There are six stages to making this mozzarella, many of which follow the general outline of most cheese preparation:
INOCULATION Bacterial starter is added to slightly acidify the milk so rennet works
COAGULATION
Rennet is added which causes acidified milk protein to coagulate
CUTTING THE CURD
Curd is cut to allow the whey (liquid remnant of milk) to be expressed
ACIDIFICATION
Curds are kept warm for 8 hours, allowing bacteria to further acidify
MELTING Acidified curds are stirred with hot water causing them to melt together
MOLDING AND BRINING The soft curd mass is kneaded into balls, cooled and placed in brine
Ingredients
Day 1
1 gallon fresh milk
1/4th cup cultured buttermilk
½ tablet rennet
Day 2
½ gallon 85 C water
½ gallon ice water
1/4 cup salt Equipment
Equipment
Day 1
1 ½ gallon pot with thick heavy bottom and well fitting cover
sterilized by boiling 1/2 inch water covered, 5 minutes
thermometer, 0-110 C (32-230 F)
whisk
long bladed knife
Day 2
1 gallon bowl
½ gallon jar with lid
slotted spoon
Illustrated Stages
Inoculation
a. In the early evening, warm one gallon fresh milk to 35 C (95 F) slowly enough so it does not burn on the bottom. (Note that the pictures were taken when I made the cheese on a slightly different schedule than the one I prefer and describe here.) b. Blend in 1/4th cup cultured buttermilk thoroughly with a whisk. Be sure to use fresh, active cultured buttermilk. Either purchased, or home cultured will work if it is active (bacteria are live and well).
c. Let sit 15 minutes to allow the bacteria to “wake up.”
Coagulation
a. Meanwhile, dissolve ½ tablet rennet in 1/4th cup cool water. It will be slightly cloudy, but no chunks on the bottom.
b. Stir dissolved rennet into inoculated milk.
Whisk to mix thoroughly, cover, place in a warm, protected spot.
c. Let sit undisturbed in a warm place for approximately 2-3 hours until it displays a clean break. (See basic cheese page for demonstration of a clean break . NOTE: If you disturb the milk during this time, you will have problems getting a clean break .)
Cutting the Curd
a. After two hours, test for a clean break. Do not proceed to the next step until you DO achieve a clean break. DO NOT DISTURB… (see basic cheese page step 7 for details. If you have problems achieving a clean break, here is a page to diagnose the problem.)
b. Once a clean break is achieved, cut the curd into ½ inch cubes. (see basic cheese page steps 9 through 11 for technique).
c. Stir up cut curds gently with a clean hand, cutting pieces larger than 1/2 inch cubes into smaller pieces. Let sit 15 minutes with occasional stirring.
d. Pour off whey which has come to the surface (about a quart, save for ricotta if you like).
e. Warm curds to 36 C (97 F) with gently constant hand stirring. It should never feel hot at the bottom.
Acidification
Replace the cover and let the 36 C (97 F) curds (and remaining whey) sit in warm place overnight (at least 8 hours).
Here I have place it on top of a slightly warm wood stove, buffering the temperature with a larger pot of water. I have also had success by placing the curds in front of the refrigerator fan which blows warm air. Be sure the pot is securely covered.
Melting
The next morning, test for proper ‘spin’ of the acidified curd by dropping a few pieces of curd into 85 C (185 F) water, stirring with a fork.
If it breaks apart when you pull it, let the curds sit additional hours until it does ‘spin.’
Once it spins, warm ½ gallon fresh water to 85 C (185 F).
Meanwhile, pour off all the remaining whey from the curds and whey. (Save a pint of the whey for acidified brine (below, step VI.d.) and the rest for ricotta ).
Break the curd mass into small pieces with your hands. (Here I have put it in a colander to ease draining the curd. If you carefully perform the previous step to drain all easily drained whey, a colander is unnecessary.)
With the broken up curds in the 1½ gallon pot, pour the ½ gallon 85 C (185 F) water over the curd pieces, stir with a slotted spoon until it forms a gummy mass. The temperature will drop to about 55-60 C (130-140 F).
Molding and Brining
Stir the curd in the hot water so that it comes together to form a gummy mass, pressing and folding with the spoon.
Pinch off lemon sized pieces of the hot dough-like cheese, fold over and over on itself to form a smooth ball. Briefly replace in the 85 C (185 F) water to soften, and mold to even out the smoothness of the ball. (I could have worked the curd a little longer to meld it together more smoothly in the picture at the left.)
Drop smoothed ball into iced cold water to firm up the ball. Repeat the shaping of balls for the rest of the curd. You should get about four 4-5 ounce balls from a gallon of milk.
Not much to see here… the formed balls are chillin’ in iced cold water.
Prepare brine: in a ½ gallon jar, dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 pint fresh cool water plus 1 pint of whey (from step V.c.)
After completing those steps, be sure to:
Drop the cooled mozzarella balls in the brine, cover and refrigerate.
After 12-24 hours, remove from brine, place balls in zip lock bags until used. (Do not leave too long in the brine, or the surface will soften.)
Use within several days or a week of preparation. Fresher is better.
I modified this cheese from one I learned from “Joyce of KS” on the old Lactobacillus Board on the web (now Countrylife.net). It makes an “American mozzarella” similar to what is used on American pizza. It is very elastic, melts well and strings when hot. (It is not, however Italian mozzarella which is more tender at room temperature and possesses a more subtle flavor.) If you would like to make the Italian version,the recipe for making Italian fresh mozzarella which, as you will see is more complex than this one for “American” mozzarella.
Equipment:
1 cup pyrex measuring cup
2 cup pyrex measuring cup
5 quart pot, stainless or enamel, with cover, preferably with a thick heat dispersing bottom
Thermometer, -20 to 110C
8 inch strainer
1000 watt microwave oven
Ingredients:
1 gallon milk (I used cow’s milk, homogenized, pasteurized, 3.5% butter fat)
1¼ teaspoon citric acid powder (from local pharmacy) dissolved in ½ cup cool water
½ tablet Junket rennet (from local supermarket) suspended in ¼ cup cool water
1) Assemble the ingredients listed.
2) Warm milk to 31 degrees C (88 F) either in a thick bottomed pot, or else in a double boiler (or place the pot over boiling water in a small skillet.)
3) Measure out 1 and 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid, dissolve in 1/2 cup cool water.
4) Dissolve the citric acid.
5) Stir citric acid into warmed milk.
6) Break a Junket rennet tablet in half.
7) suspend the 1/2 tablet of rennet in 1/4 cup cool water
8) Stir suspended rennet solution into warmed, acidified milk.
9) Allow to set for one to two hours, undisturbed, until a clean break forms.
10) Cut the curd as specified in the basic cheese protocol.
11) Stir the cut curds, cut large pieces to 1/2 inch cubes.
12) Over low heat, stir the curds and whey gently to keep the curds separated and temperature uniform until temperature reaches 42 C (108 F).
13) Hold at 42 C (108 F) for 35 minutes, stirring every five minutes to keep curds separated and off the hot bottom.
14) Collect curds by pouring curds and whey through a fine 8 inch sieve over a 1.5 gallon container, let drain for 15 minutes. Save whey to make ricotta (You bring the acidified whey to 95C, cool, filter particulates).
15) Place curds in a stainless steel bowl.
16) Add one teaspoon salt
17) Mix in the salt into the curd.
18) Place 1 cup salted curd into 2 cup measure. Microwave on high (1000 watts) for 45 seconds (adjust the time so that you get the desired elasticity).
19) Separate hot curd from container with the back of a fork, knead with hands to distribute heat evenly.
20) Stretch and fold to make smooth and elastic, shape into a soft ball, pinch, place in refrigerator to solidify.
21) Three four ounce balls of mozzarella are produced from this recipe.
David Fankhauser 