Make Your Own Mozzarella

Make Your Own Mozzarella Ingredients 1/2 rennet tablet* 1/4 cup cool,chlorine-free water (most bottled waters are chlorine-free) 1 gallon milk (2%,1%,or skim) 2 Tsp citric acid Directions Crush the rennet into the water and stir to dissolve. Pour milk into a large non-reactive pot - do not use aluminum or cast iron. Place over medium heat and sprinkle the citric acid over the milk and stir a few times. Heat milk to 88 deg.(Note that milk will begin to curdle). At 88 deg, add the rennet solution and continue stirring slowly every few minutes until the milk reaches 105 deg then turn off heat. Large curds will appear and begin to separate from the whey (the clear, greenish liquid). With a slotted spoon or mesh strainer, scoop the curd into a large glass bowl (If it's still too liquid, let it set for a few more minutes). Press the curds gently with your hand and pour off as much whey as possible (leave whey in the pot). Microwave curds on high for 1 minute, then drain off all the excess whey. With a spoon, press curds into a ball until cool. Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each, and continue to drain the whey and work cheese into a ball. In the meantime, place the whey over medium heat and let it heat to about 175 deg. When cheese is cool enough to touch, knead it like bread dough until smooth. When you can stretch it like taffy, it is done. At this point, you can sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons salt into the cheese while kneading and stretching it. The cheese will become stretchy, smooth and shiny. If it is difficult to stretch and breaks easily, dip it into the hot whey for a few seconds to make it warm and pliable. Then pick it up again,stretch it into a long rope,fold over and stretch again, repeating this process until the cheese is smooth and shiny (dip it in the hot whey as needed to keep the cheese pliable). At this point, it is ready to eat. Shape it into a log or golf-size balls and store in a solution of 2 Tsp salt to 1-cup water. *Note: Citric acid and rennet are available through mail order, some pharmacies or health food stores. [BACK]