How to Make Great Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Step 10 Turn off the heat.

Turn off the heat and continue stirring every few minutes for an additional 20 minutes. The Curds will keep shrinking.

Comments

[michael.griffith]

I tried this recipe using raw milk a friend of mine got from the creamery. I had liquid rennet and was unsure how much to use, so I used 14 drops (twice what I thought I should need) in 1/4 cup of water. I never got a clean break, and it looks like i have much more whey than in the pictures. Is it because I used too little rennet, or because using raw milk is different? I am proceeding to the drain step, there does look like some whispy curd like stuff -- not like cheese. Any comments would be appreciated.

[Step3]

It could be that you did not let it set for long enough. With liquid rennet, you generally need 1/4 of a teaspoon for 1 gallon of milk.

[michael.griffith]

I completed the process and ended up with 11.5 oz of Mozzarella cheese. Picture attached. My cheese never looked quite as firm during the first part of the process and when I drained the curds they setup quite firmly. After going through the last two steps of shaping the cheese, I put it in the refrigerator with a little of the milky whey. This AM its hard as a baseball. I am wondering what I might have done differently to make the cheese less hard and rubbery.

Also, I followed the Ricotta cheese recipe which seemed like a no brainer, but I basically ended up with a cloth that looked like a calf sneezed in it.

[Thoth]

Refrigerating the cheese is what caused it to turn rubbery. Soaking it in warm salted milk for an hour or so would help bring it back.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/04/the-food-lab-can-you-rescue-poorly-stored-mozzarella-cheese-refrigerate-or-no.html