Mozzarella is an Italian cheese which is quick, easy and fun to make. We enjoy eating it fresh, as well as on pizza and in lasagna. Made fresh, it stores in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks and in the freezer for several months.
Unlike other cheese making processes, the curd is heated to 170F and then stretched like taffy. This pulling and stretching gives the mozzarella the stringiness it is famous for.
Use milk that is at least 3 days old. As milk sits, the acidity increases which allows the cheese to stretch.
Before beginning, please read Cheese Making Basics.
Homemade Mozzarella
2 gallons whole or skim milk (whole milk gives a larger yield than skim)
3 tsp citric acid powder
1/4 tablet (or 1/2 tsp liquid) rennet dissolved in 1/4 cool water
4 tsp salt
Pour milk into pot, sprinkle with citric acid and stir well. Milk must be cold or the citric acid does not work well.
Heat milk to 88F – 90F over medium heat. If you overheat – just let it cool back down!
Pour dissolved rennet into milk while stirring.
Turn off heat.
Stir slowly and after a few minutes, the milk will begin to thicken. Globs of white curd will separate from the liquid (whey). If it doesn’t coagulate immediately, let the milk sit for about 30 minutes.
Once the milk has coagulated and the whey separated, turn heat to high and heat milk to 110F.
Place a colander over another pot and pour or spoon out the curds into the colander.
Continue to heat the whey.
Press whey out of the curds in the colander.
Place curds back into the pot of whey and heat until 120F.
Now for the fun part!
With a spoon, lift the curds out of the whey – cool a few seconds, if necessary, and begin pulling and stretching it into a rope. The cheese will break apart at this point if it is not hot enough – just put it back into the whey and let it heat further.
After stretching it into a rope, return it back into the whey to heat back up.
Once heated again, stretch it again. Continue this process several times until it takes on a shiny, soft and smooth appearance. It should be ready by the time the whey reaches 150F – 160F. If the whey gets too hot, the cheese will melt into it.
Once stretched enough, pour 4 tsp (may use more if desired) salt on the counter. Remove mozzarella from the whey and place it on the salt. Knead the salt into the cheese but work quickly as it must be hot to absorb the salt. Place the cheese back into the whey briefly until it is hot. Remove and roll into a log or place in the desired container.
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Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
I make 4 gallon batches and place it into a rectangular dish similiar to a loaf pan. Once chilled, we either eat it fresh with crackers or grate and freeze it.
