Homemade Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

The whole idea behind making your own cheese completely messed with my husband’s head. He was amazed by the idea that you could start with a gallon of milk and end up with a pound (or so) of incredibly delicious, homemade cheese. And who can blame him? I mean, is it something you see a lot of these days? Have you ever called a friend, asked what they were doing, and had them reply “Oh, not much, just making some cheese.”

That’s why you’ve simply got to try it. There isn’t much out there more satisfying than being able to say you’ve made your own cheese, from scratch. And the best part is, the ingredient list is very short, and once you buy the things you need they will last you many batches, so you can do it whenever it suits your fancy! Amazing, right? Plus it doesn’t take very long. Be warned, however: cheesemaking is fun and addictive, so don’t try this at home unless you plan to make it a fairly regular family activity!

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Ingredients:

1 Gallon of Milk

Citric Acid

Rennet

Salt

Step One: Prepare!

At two points during this recipe, you will be stirring at the same time that you are required to add ingredients. It is thus prudent to prepare these add-ins ahead of time, and save yourself the trouble of only having two hands.

First, dissolve 1 ½ tsp of citric acid in 1 cup of cool, filtered water. (You absolutely cannot use tap water. If there is chlorine in it, it will ruin your cheese! Cheese contains active, live components. Chlorine kills active, live components. Get some filtered water.)

Next, dissolve ¼ of a tablet of rennet in ¼ cup of cool, filtered water. Rennet comes in several varieties. There is animal based rennet and plant based rennet, and there is liquid rennet and tablet form rennet. The tablets will store for a very long time in the freezer. If you use the liquid, you will need about ¼ tsp. It doesn’t matter what kind you choose, but it IS a vital ingredient: your milk cannot form curds without it.

If you cannot find rennet or citric acid, try a specialty store, health food store, or even just amazon.com. They have plenty of choices on there! Whatever you do, make sure you are getting non gmo citric acid. Citric acid is extracted primarily from corn, most of which is, unfortunately, GMO!

Step Two: Begin!

Now pour your milk into a large pot. (We used our 5 quart cast iron and it was the perfect size.)

NOTE: You absolutely CANNOT use ultra pasteurized milk for this recipe, so make sure that you’re using only raw milk or regular pasteurized milk. For health reasons, we recommend raw milk. The reason being that once milk is ultra pasteurized, it cannot form a curd because its coagulating factors have been destroyed. Most national brands of milk are ultra pasteurized to increase shelf life, because they travel such great distances to get to your grocery store shelves. Try to find a local brand, and if at all possible, buy from a local farmer!



Stir with vigor, man!

 Now add the citric acid, stirring quickly as you do. Turn on your burner (medium or medium high is fine) and, stirring constantly, bring your milk up to 90 degrees. You can use a meat or dairy thermometer to make sure you get it right J

 

Step Three: Add your Rennet

Once you reach 90 degrees, turn off the heat or remove your pot from the boiler. Moving your spoon up and down in the liquid, add the rennet solution. Stir in this up and down fashion for 30 seconds. Don’t stir longer, or you will be cutting the curd as it forms, and your cheese will end up more ricotta textured then mozzarella textured and be ruined.

Step Four: Leave it alone

You heard me! Cover the pot and leave it for five to ten minutes. Come back and check it after that. It should be a custardy consistency, and if you gently pull it away from the side of the pot, the liquid around it (whey) should be clear. If these two conditions aren’t met, leave it a little longer.

Step Five: Cut and Reheat

Using a large knife (it has to reach to the bottom of your pan at least) cut the curd first one way, then the opposite way, and then on a diagonal. The goal is to make a bunch of small pieces of curd instead of one large one, to ensure even heating in the next stages. Do your best, it doesn’t have to be pretty. 

Please note that you’re doing this cutting right in the pan, don’t drain it yet. Next, you want to heat the curds back up to 110 degrees (grab your thermometer!) stirring gently all the while. Then turn off the heat again and stir it for about five minutes, gently.

Step Five: Waterbath time!

Now you want to drain your curds. Grab a large mixing bowl and put it in  your sink underneath your colander. Pour your pot slowly over the colander so that it drains into the bowl. Now save that whey! You can use it for lots of different recipes, and even if you don’t want it right now, you can freeze it for later. It packs a powerful protein punch and is delicious in things like pancakes, pizza crusts, or breads.

Fill your pot back up with filtered water and 1 tsp of salt. (IMPORTANT! If you haven’t read my rant on salt, do so now! If you refuse to use a good salt, you must at least make sure the one you have doesn’t say ‘iodized’. Iodine will kill your cheese making process as quickly as chlorinated water will.)

Heat your water up to about 185 degrees, and then dunk your curds in. You can do this all at once or in small batches. Your goal is to heat the curds up to around 135 degrees, but you don’t have to use the thermometer here. You are just trying to get it hot enough that it becomes stretchy. If it’s breaking instead of stretching, stick it back in for a bit. The best way to put them in is right in your colander, but you can also put them in a ladle.

Sometimes, by this point, your curds have reformed into one large lump. If you are quick and careful, you can just throw this whole lump straight into the water, stir it a bit, and pull it out with a big wooden spoon.

 

Step Six: Knead it like you mean it

My husband has nerves of steel- no gloves!

Now this part can be a bit tricky. The best way to go about it is to put on two pairs of latex gloves, or some rubber kitchen gloves (make sure they’re clean and new, not ones you’ve been scrubbing the floor with!) to protect yourself from the heat of the cheese. You can only work with the cheese at this temperature- if it’s cool enough to be touched it may not be hot enough to stretch and knead! Pull and fold the cheese over and over, until it becomes nice and shiny and you’ve worked out any lumps. Put it back in the water bath as needed to heat it back up. During this stage you can salt the cheese to taste, working the salt in as you knead. Form it into whatever your heart desires: a ball, log, or lots of small little balls like you see in containers in the store mixed with oil and basil.

 

Step Seven: Ice it, baby!

Fill a mixing bowl with ice water and place your finished product in it for about ten minutes. This will harden it enough to keep its shape, though it won’t be completely hard until the next day. Don’t forget to sneak a chunk of warm yummy cheese in for a taste test before you throw it in the ice bath!

That’s it! It’s ready to eat or refrigerate, and should keep for up to a week. Your yield per gallon of milk is about ¾ of a pound of cheese. Serve it however you’d like, whether straight up on a tomato slice, topped with basil and some balsamic vinegar, or go crazy and try my recipe for almond-crusted fried mozzarella sticks!