It's Cheese! (Picture heavy)

[The empressof all]

For those of you following this group, I've been wanting to make cheese now for a while. I ordered a mozzarella making kit from cheesemaking.com after seeing Emeril do it on one of his shows. I figured if he could do it so could I.

Well, I finally did it this morning and for a first time attempt I must admit, I'm proud of my result. I think the hardest part of the process was finding milk that was not ultra-pasteurized. I was a little nervous because the container didn't even say it was pasteurized but it was the only one I found out there that didn't say it was ultra pasteurized. So until things curdled there was a great deal of suspense in the kitchen waiting to see if it would work at all.

Anyway here's what I started with


A gallon of milk (not ultra pasteurized), Citric acid, rennet, Cheese salt (I don't know what makes this different from any other salt).

Using a large pot, I added the citric acid and heated to 88 degrees


While heating I crushed 1/4 a rennet tablet in 1/4 cup of cool water and dissolved


When the milk reached 88 degrees I added the rennet and stirred gently for about a minute. Turn the heat to low and let the curd set for 3 to 5 minutes

after 5 minutes


Cut the curd with a knife into 1 inch square pieces and ladle curds into a microwaveable bowl pressing the curds together gently. (since I wasn't going to save the whey today I just drained in a colander and placed in a bowl)


After pressing the curds together and pouring off as much whey as possible, Microwave on high for 1 minute


Knead quickly (I donned the rubber gloves because it was hot!)
I microwaved again for 35 seconds twice more until I could form a ball--kneading in between heatings.

(Here's the ball)



At this point the cheese becomes very stretchy



And I stretched it several times like taffy.


My camera ran out of memory at this point but the resulting ball was about the size of a man's fist (about a pound of cheese)

It tastes very, very mild and bland. I will probably marinate it in some olive oil and red pepper and serve with tomatoes and basil tonight for dinner.

It was a fun process which was very quick to do. It came together very fast. I don't know if I'll be relying on this for all my mozzarella needs in the future but it's something I'll do again.

Next time I will save the whey to use in pancakes or bread.

Next week I'm making Ricotta!

[NMDemDist2]

1. awesome! thanks for all the pics

it sure looks like it took no time at all

wonder if you can add flavor in the process somewhere?

thanks again for sharing your cheese :)

[The empressof all]

6. Next time

My next go around with this I think I will add some chopped sundried tomatoes and fresh basil during the stretching process.

Right now I have the ball sitting in a baggie of olive oil, crushed red pepper and Italian spice blend. I'll be serving it later with cherry tomatoes and prosciutto

[bearfan454]

2. Neat !

That looks like fun.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

3. How fun!

This is actually the first picture heavy thread I stuck out. Usually if I click & see there's lots of pictures I back out fast.

It looks great. You did a fabulous job.

As far as the blandness goes, the only thing I can think of (& I'm no cheese expert) is that cheese gets a lot of its flavor from the milk used. You know, cheese experts natter on that the best time to eat blank cheese is in blank time when the cows, ewes, goats, ducks, etc are eating flowers, grass, hay, sunflower seeds. Depending on where you live the cows might be eating hay which may make the resulting cheese blander. Just a guess.

You've inspired me to try.

best

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. From " A Gourmet's Guide to Cheese"

Fresh cheeses are simply non-aged cheeses which depend solely on lactic fermentation for their character. This group includes cottage cheese, cream cheese, curd cheese, feta, mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta, etc.

I'm really not sure what lactic fermentation is. LOL

[eleny]

4. Great pictures!

This is so different from the other process of dealing with hot cheese in icy water. This process looks so much easier. As for the bland flavor, fresh mozzarella that I've had from the Italian grocery is pretty bland. I like it served the way you planned. Our Italian grocery uses cherry tomatoes in it's fresh mozzarella salad. They're full of flavor and add a lot of punch to the dish.

Nice to see you had fun!

[Warpy]

5. The flavor of cheese sharpens as it ages

but aging it in a home setting can be tricky. Refrigerators are too cold, and the average household temperature is conducive to both mold and rot. That's why most home cheesemakers stick to young varieties like ricotta and mozarella, which are generally spiced up with whatever you're cooking it on (or in) or embellishing it with. The only thing I can think of that would allow a home cheesemaker to age cheese successfully would be a wine cooler.

I've tried yogurt cheese, which needs no rennet or other coagulant, and ended up with a slightly tart product that made a wonderful spreading cheese when mixed with garlic, cracked pepper, and scallion.

Just sprinkle that mozarella with oregano or basil, and you'll find it has the perfect amount of flavor. Good job!

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Wowie Dooo! Good on Yooooo!

That looks great! Take off your rubber gloves and give yourself a pat on the back!

As to the bland issue ... think of these young cheeses as the tofu of the lacto world!

[politicat]

9. Cheese Salt, the explanation....

from http://www.cheesemaking.com/

This salt melts easily, does not cake, contains no iodine. Iodine will kill the lactic bacteria in the aging process, it is this lactic bacteria that is so important to the proper aging of your cheese.

I just had to know.