My family has a running joke about how much I love cheese… I see no joke about it! I LOVE CHEESE! And I don’t try to hide it one bit, so when I heard June was National Dairy Month I knew this was my opportunity to finally put my passion into action!
I have several books on how to make cheese at home that to be honest, are currently being used more for decor on my coffee table than in the kitchen for their cheese recipes. All of that is about to change. I am going to learn how to make homemade mozzarella cheese {with more varieties of cheese to follow}!
Like every great dish, in order to get the best end result you must begin with the best basic ingredients, in the case of homemade cheese, milk is the star of the ingredient list so selecting fresh quality Florida Dairy Farmers milk at the market is a must. Fortunately we have a local farm in town so I headed over and lucky me, 10 day old “Honey” was just beginning to see visitors and I got to love on this special little brown miracle.
The remaining ingredients read more like a science experiment than pantry items. Liquid vegetable rennet, citric acid and non-chlorinated water. Sounds scary to me however, from what I have read making cheese really is more of a scientific formula but not scary at all. I think the scariest part is going to be that I will now have the power to create my favorite food right in my kitchen!
Unlike my usual recipe posts I have included the images within the recipe for how to make mozzarella – my reasoning being this is a slightly more difficult process than most recipes make it seem. Worth it, but more complex than simply following a recipe. There are details that can only be explained using visuals.
So let’s begin…
How to Make Homemade Mozzarella
Makes about 1 pound of mozzarella
Adapted from Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin
What You Need
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup bottled water, non-chlorinated
1 1/2 teaspoon citric acid
1/4 rennet tablet or 1/4 teaspoon liquid vegetable rennet
1 gallon milk, whole or 2%, not ultra-pasteurized, not homogenized
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for brine
Equipment
5 quart or larger non-reactive pot
Measuring cups and spoons
Digital read thermometer
Non-reactive knife, off-set spatula, or similar
Slotted spoon
Rubber spatula
Non-reactive whisk
Cheese cloth
Rubber Gloves
Instructions
1. In a non-reactive stock pot heat milk to 88 degrees over a slow heat over the course of 15-20 minutes.
2. Measure out 1/4 cup of water in a separate bowl. Stir in the citric acid until dissolved.
3. Measure out 1 cup of water in a separate bowl. Stir in the rennet until dissolved.
4. Pour the milk into the pot. Stir in the citric acid solution. Set the pot over medium-high heat and warm to 90°F, stirring gently.
5. Remove the pot from heat and gently stir in the rennet solution. Stir for 1 minute. Stop stirring, cover the pot, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, the milk should have set, and it should look and feel like soft silken tofu – although under the whey. If it is still liquidy, re-cover the pot and let it sit for another five minutes. Using your knife, cut the curds into 1 inch cubes and let sit for another 10 minutes.
7. Place the pot back on the stove over medium heat and warm the curds to 105°F over 15 minutes. Stir slowly as the curds warm, but try not to break them up too much. The curds will eventually clump together and separate more completely from the yellow whey.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring gently for another 10 minutes.
9. The curds should now feel springy and stretchable, if not leave the curds for 10 minutes then test again.
10. Line a colander with cheese cloth and scoop curds into it with a slotted spoon. Let drain for 15 minutes, reserve the whey.
11. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to the whey and stir. Slowly heat over 30 minutes to 175 degrees.
12. In the meantime, wrap curds in cheese cloth, place on cutting board, flatten out and allow to dry out for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, open cloth and cut into 1/2 inch strips.
13. Once the whey is up to temperature, place sliced curds on slotted spoon and dip into mixture to melt curds. Using gloves, begin to knead or pull the curds several times until shinny and stretchable, repeat dipping and melting as needed. Form curds into balls and place into a bowl of ice water to chill.
14. The mozzarella can be used immediately or kept refrigerated for a week. To refrigerate, place the mozzarella in a small container filled with whey brine. Cover and refrigerate.
Please note, this recipe was adapted in my kitchen, with my tools, in my given environment, I want you to know that each of my three attempts turned out three slightly different textures of cheese. It seems cheese making is a true science {and art} and minor factors greatly impact the outcome. Be kind to yourself and try, try again if your first batch isn’t worthy of appearing on the cover of Bon Appetite.
Since June is National Dairy Month I want to share a few interesting facts about the amazing community of Florida Dairy Farmers with you.
Did you know that for generations, Florida’s more than 130 dairy-farming families have remained true to their values & committed to producing a fresh supply of wholesome, quality milk. These hardworking men & women are caretakers of their cows, stewards of the land, & leaders in their communities. The state’s more than 130 dairy farms are primarily owned and operated by second and third-generation farmers.
And just as interesting, there are about 123,000 dairy cows in Florida, each dairy cow produces about 6-8 gallons of milk each day and is milked 2-3 times per day that collectively produces about 2.34 billion pounds of milk a year.
Don’t live in Florida? I am sure your state has a just as interesting group of farmers, take this month to research organizations or individual farms in your area.
Follow Florida Dairy on their social media accounts :: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest
Meet our Farmers links: http://www.floridamilk.com/on-the-farm/meet-our-farmers/
On the Florida Dairy Farm: http://www.floridamilk.com/on-the-farm/
Florida Milk in the kitchen: http://www.floridamilk.com/in-the-kitchen/
Florida Milk in schools: http://www.floridamilk.com/in-the-schools/dairy-101/
Florida Milk in the news: http://www.floridamilk.com/in-the-news/blog/#page=1&sort=start_time&order=desc
Disclosure Statement: This post is sponsored by Florida Dairy Farmers in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.
Please take a moment to visit the other Sunday Supper family contributors and check out their tasty recipes, all including milk!
Milk in the Morning:
Milk during the Day:
Milk in Desserts:
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement
