Homemade Mozzarella

[freshflour]

Anyone else make their own mozzarella at home?  I've recently started, with some pretty good results.  I've been a devotee of Polly-O Whole Milk cheese for a long time, but wanted to get something a bit dryer that held up better at higher temperatures.  I also wanted to control the amount of salt, as I seem to be ending up with some pretty salty pizzas using the Polly-O.  Once I started thinking about it, I noticed a particular iodized salt flavor in that brand.  I prefer a sea-salt, which has a smoother, more mellow flavor.

Making my own mozzarella turned out to be a good solution.  It's not any more difficult than making the dough, and gives you a lot of control.  I haven't used the whey as the water for my dough yet, but that's the next step.  I'm also going to try making a mozzarella with 1/4 goat's milk.  That'll be either very good or a disaster.

[piroshok]

Please do tel us about your technique sounds interesting.
BTW what do you use rennet to coagulate the curd?   

[Bill/SFNM]

Anyone else make their own mozzarella at home?

Yes, I make mozzarella from scratch, usually as part of an "extreme pizza experience" with dough made with natural starter, topping with tomatoes and basil from my garden, baked in a brick oven, etc.

Bill/SFNM

[freshflour]

Please do tel us about your technique sounds interesting.
BTW what do you use rennet to coagulate the curd?   

I'm using vegetable rennet tablets to coagulate the curd.  Right now I'm using citric acid to curdle the milk, but I'd also like to experiment with vinegar in one of my upcoming batches.  Overall, it's a pretty mild cheese, but it works well for my style of pizza.  One change at a time, though, and the next one will be to try the goat's milk.

[chiguy]

Hi, Freshflour and fellow cheese makers. I have been interested in learning to make Mozzarella. I have seen some recipes online and had some questions to ask. The first is where can i find citric acid & vegetable rennet tablets?? The local store?? I also understand that non-pastuerized milk is needed. Is this true?? I can find organic but it is always pastuerized. Has anyone tried making Ricotta cheese, i heard this is an easier process for beginners. I need a little direction please,  Chiguy

[freshflour]

The easiest way to get started is to pick up the 30-minute mozzarella kit from www.cheesemaking.com.  It's very straightforward.  Most children over the age of 8 would probably have pretty good success at it.

Pasteurized and homogenized milk is just fine.  I've never used anything else.  It's ultra-pasteurized or ultra-homogenized milk that must be avoided.  I have noticed that my local stores are somewhat inconsistent about what they stock.  Sometimes it will come in ultra-p or ultra-h, sometimes it doesn't.  Organic milk is rather pricey.  We drink organic about the house because we're concerned about the kids exceeding their USDA recommended allowance of bull hormones, and whatever else they put in.  My local stores seem to sell only ultra-pasteurized organic milk.  I'm not that concerned about pizza cheese, since it's only once every couple of weeks, so I just go with the regular stuff.

[David]

I found that I could get most things here at Leeners,and it is much more cost effective buying in bulk rather than a kit if you intend to continue with your cheese making:

http://www.leeners.com

I've only just begun on this path ,but did successfully make my first satisfactory batch without any problems.Good luck.

[Bill/SFNM]

As with all cheeses, the quality of the milk determines the quality of the cheese. Unpasteurized milk can make the best cheese, but is hard to get. In my state, it can only be purchased for animal consumption, but if you know a dairy farmer ...

I've been using the pasteurized, unhomoginized creamline milk from Trader Joe's for making mozzarella with very good results.

Bill/SFNM

[bicster]

Sounds like something I would like to get into.  After having recent success with some italian and San Fran starters I would like to add another notch in my belt.  Bill, if you have the time could you point us in the right direction as where to begin, or even tell us how you go about it?

[Bill/SFNM]

A good place to start is the book "Home Cheesemaking" by Ricki Carroll who also is the owner of New England Cheesemaking Supply which is a good source for supplies: www.cheesemaking.com. The book is perfect for beginners, especially for simple fresh cheeses like mozzarella. As you advance into more advanced cheeses (e,g. bacteria and mold ripened cheeses), there are probably better sources.

Another good source for beginners: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML

Bill/SFNM

[piroshok]

This is your strating point for cheese making in Australia http://www.cheeselinks.com.au/
very helpful mob