Goat milk mozzarella.

[Ringwood]

Hello all,

I am new to cheese making and just started out trying some mozzarella. I have had good luck with making it from store bought pasteurized milk. I have tried some of the 30 minute recipes I found online and have had great success using citric acid and animal rennet.
 
 I decided to try some fresh unpasteurized goat milk that I was able to get at a local co-op. I followed the same recipes that I had been using for cow's milk and everything looked perfect right up to the point of the final stage to cook the curd.

As soon as I started warming it up it begin to separate and I ended up with a small clump of curd in a bowl of what looked like milk. It never got smooth and shiny, it just remains a lump of cheese curd in milk.

I have been using liquid animal rennet.

I'm not sure what goes wrong with using unpasteurized goat milk or what I need to do to change it up.

Thanks for any help.

[Sweet Leaves Farm]

Using raw goat milk, you need to have a pH meter and get the milk pH to 5.9. Everything else is the same, but because goat milk is such a fragile thing, you really have to have the pH correct at the beginning. Also, do not over heat the curds, even by a few degrees.

[Ringwood]

Thanks for the reply. I have not checked pH on any of my batches of mozzarella yet. I plan on picking up some test strips. Of what I have been reading, a ph of 5.2 - 5.4 is ideal for mozzarella. This may be related to pasteurized cow's milk. I will try 5.9 on my next batch of raw goat's milk. You mentioned not to overheat. What do you find ideal temperatures to be?
 Thanks again for your help.