Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Yesterday, DC schools had a snow day! By the end of the day, we had about 4 inches of snow, which is more than we have gotten here since I moved to DC. It actually wasn't that bad out, but I will always take a snow day when I can get it!

My friend Lauren also had the day off, so we decided to have her over to help us make some homemade cheese from a kit that I bought a couple of days earlier. We read the instructions carefully, and jumped right in. I used a gallon of milk that I bought at the grocery store, and I didn't have any bottled water on hand, but it still worked.

The process of cheese making was tons of fun; Lauren even made a snowman out of cheese (because I didn't want to go outside to make a real snowman!). The cheese itself was tasty, but under seasoned and a little bit tough. If I were to make it again, I would add more salt and would try to stretch the cheese longer than we did.

If you have a day off and are feeling adventurous, give this recipe a try!

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Courtesy of Roaring Brook Diary Homemade Mozzarella Kit

Ingredients
1 gallon pasteurized, whole, or 2% milk (NOT ultra- pasteurized; as fresh as possible)
1 1/2 level teaspoon citric acid
1/4 rennet (enzyme) tablet
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Equipment
Thermometer
Rubber Gloves
Measuring spoons
Stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon
One or Two quart microwave safe mixing bowl
Colander
1 gallon stainless steel pot or any non-aluminum pot

Preparation
1. Wash your hands
2. Make sure your equipment (pots and utensils) are completely sterilized and clean
3. Have a timer near your stove
4. Prepare the rennet water solution by dissolving 1/4 tablet of rennet in 1/4 cup cold water (chlorine free/bottled). Set aside. Wrap the remaining pieces of tablet and store in freezer for future use.
5. Measure 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid into 1 cup of cold water. Stir to dissolve completely and set aside.

Heating the Milk
1. Gently pour the milk into the pot
2. Heat the milk over a medium-low flame. Using the cooking thermometer, check the temperature of the pot. At 85 degrees F (it could take about 10 minutes to heat up), add the citric acid. Stir with a slotted spoon or whisk slowly for 20 seconds.
3. When the milk reaches 100 degrees F (this could take about 5 minutes), stir in the rennet-water solution and add it to the milk. Use a slotted spoon to gently stir the milk in an up and down motion for approximately 30 seconds.

Developing the Curds
1. Heat the milk a little more to 105 degrees F and then turn the heat off. Cover the pot and let it sit for 10 minutes. You should see signs of coagulation. The curds should look like shiny yogurt and begin to pull away from the side of the pot. The whey should look like it has a yellow tint to it.
2. To check if the curds are ready gently press the back of a teaspoon into the curds. If it leaves a dent, the curds are ready. If it does not, allow the curds to sit undisturbed for another 2 minutes.

Draining the Curds
In the following steps, the goal is to drain as much whey as possible from the curds. Always handle the curds gently.
1. Place the colander over a large microwaveable safe bowl.
2. Using a strainer or a slotted spoon, gently lift up the curds and let the whey drip back into the pot. Then place the curds in the colander.
3. When all the curds are in the colander, gently press the curds with the palm of your hand to push out as much whey as possible. When there is almost no whey coming out of the curds (this could take a few minutes), place the curds in a microwaveable bowl.
4. Again, using the palms of your hands, press down gently on curds and remove as much whey as possible.

Cooking and Kneading the Curds
1. Microwave the curds for 1 minute.
2. Put on the pair of gloves to protect your hands from the heat. Remove the bowl of curds from the microwave. Drain the whey and then gently fold the curds over to distribute the heat. Continue to drain out the whey.
3. Microwave the curds for an additional 30 seconds. Drain and knead the curds again. If it is still too hot to touch even with the gloves on, use a large spoon to fold the curds over. Knead the curds until it begins to look smooth, shiny, and is firming up (this can take 3 minutes or so).

IF you don't have a microwave.... (like me!), substitute the following directions for the Cooking and Kneading section:
1. Heat the reserved whey to 175 degrees. Shape the curds into several small balls, rolling them between your palms. Put them, one at a time, into a ladle and dip them in the hot whey for several seconds. Then gently fold the cheese over and over (as in kneading bread) with a spoon or your hand. You will want to wear gloves at this point because the cheese is extremely hot. This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese, which will not stretch until it is too hot to touch (145 degrees inside the curd).
2. Repeat this process several times until the curd is smooth and pliable; mix in salt after the second time. When the cheese stretches like taffy, it's done. If the curds break instead of stretch, they are too cool and need to be reheated.

Stretching the Cheese
1. Try to stretch the cheese now. It must be 135 degrees to stretch properly. If it isn't hot enough, microwave for another 30 seconds. Add the salt and any other herbs and begin to work into the cheese by stretching and folding, and repeat this movement. Holding the cheese up, let it fall on itself. If you prefer a softer texture, don't stretch cheese as much. As soon as it is smooth and shiny (will feel and look like taffy), shape it into a ball. You can separate the cheese and make two mozzarella balls.

Forming the Cheese into a Mozzarella Ball
1. Form a ball by pulling and tucking the edges underneath the cheese and smoothing the top and sides. If you want to eat it warm, just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Or, if you want to keep the shape, place each ball in a large bowl of ice water for about 15 minutes.
2. Remove from the ice water, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.