Turn off the heat.

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.

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michael.griffith says: Mar 4, 2012. 5:03 PM

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 in reply to michael.griffithMar 20, 2012. 10:17 AM

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 in reply to michael.griffithMar 5, 2012. 6:12 AM

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 in reply to michael.griffithApr 29, 2012. 2:26 PM

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