No Whey!

I think it was even before starting the Real Food Experiment that I decided I was going to try to make mozzarella cheese.  I had seen it on a cooking show and was curious to see if I too could do it at home.  Granted, the show I was watching was "Anna and Kristina's Grocery Bags" (where they test cookbooks) and it was a dismal failure on there. 

I had higher hopes for myself.

The recipe seemed easy enough...  I did however, have to order some supplies online, namely rennet tablets and citric acid.  Once they arrived I was good to go.

1/2 rennet tablet

1/4 cup non-chlorinated water

Crush the rennet between two spoons, (At this point I had flashbacks to when my mom would do that with tylenol when I was sick as a kid) and dissolve it in the water.  Luckily we have a well, and a reverse osmosis system, so there is no chlorine in our water, but distilled water would work.  I recommend against rainwater.

1 4L jug of milk

2 tsp citric acid

Put the milk and citric acid (stir to dissolve) into a pot on medium heat and bring it up to 88ºF.  (I used whole milk, but apparently you can use any percentage, even skim). At first I was using a deep-fry/candy thermometer, but when it started to curdle and was nowhere near the right temperature, I quickly grabbed a different one.  The milk will start to have small curdles as it approaches the right temperature.

At 88ºF, add the rennet and water, and continue cooking until it reaches 105ºF.  At this point you will be getting really large curdles.  Turn off the heat and using a slotted spoon or a mesh skimmer, transfer all the curdles to a glass bowl.

Yes, it would be easier to use a collander and dump the whey, but you may need it later.  In fact, put it back on the heat and keep it nice and warm.

Using your hands, squeeze out as much of the whey as possible.  Then, stick the bowl into the microwave on high for one minute.  When it comes out, squeeze again and discard the whey.  Microwave again at 30 second intervals until the curds are just wet and starting to stick together better. 

Add some salt at this point.  I didn't add enough, and it ended up tasting a bit bland  (at least 1 teaspoon, if not a bit more).  Drop it out onto the counter and knead until it gets smooth and shiny and plastic-y

If it's still brittle, or doesn't stretch well, dip it into the hot whey for a few seconds to soften it up again.

Once it's done, form it into a log, or small balls.

I should have stopped kneading earlier, that's why mine isn't very smooth, but hey, it was the first try, and I didn't really know when to stop.  Still tastes good.

For storage, make a brine using 1 cup water to 2 tsp salt  (I needed double this).  Put the cheese in a container and pour the brine over to cover.

Even Husband ate some, and he refuses to eat anything that I curdle by myself.  (I made yogurt once a while back and he wouldn't touch the stuff).  Doing your own is definitely cheaper than buying fresh mozzarella.  It cost me a total of $4.25 for almost double what you would buy in a package for $5-6.   All in, it was maybe half an hour of work. 

Now get me some fresh tomatoes, some basil and some balsamic vinaigrette!