Help...my 1st batch of Mozz has no taste at all...almost tastes like play-do?

[jph1207]

just made my firsy batch ever of mozzarella using ricki's 30 minute recipe...it all seemed to go as planned except the cheese tastes totally bland?..almost no taste at all?..kind of like eating play-do....i used about 1/8 tsp of lipase and added about 1 tbsp of flake salt?....any suggestions?

[caciocavallo]

that's what mozzarella is when it is fresh. Let it age for 2-3 months and you will see a difference. But then it won't be a mozz.

Cacio

[jph1207]

that doesnt make much sense..every mozz i ever had has some flavor...years ago a freind made his own for his pizzeria in ny and he would give me pieces right out of the hot water and it was amazing...why would people rave about spmething with no taste??

[MrsKK]

The 30-minute mozz is basically what your result was. 

Your friend probably used cultures to get the great-tasting mozz you remember.  The 30-minute recipe is a good one for learning technique, but isn't of much use as anything other than grated on pizza and similar dishes.  It will rot before it will age, too, so don't try to keep it in the fridge for more than 4-5 days, as it will go moldy.

If it will be longer than that before you will use it, simply grate it and freeze it up in ziploc bags.

[jph1207]

how would i make it with cultures? any recommendations for making it better than the 30 minute way?

[MrsKK]

Fankhauser's website has a great recipe for making mozzerella using buttermilk as a culture (http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Pasta_Filata/Pasta_Filata.html).  I've made this one successfully, although you do have to be patient and figuring out when it "spins" properly is a feel thing.  The results taste great. 

I have cultured the milk in the evening, but only warming the milk to 80 degrees, then putting the lid on it and waiting until morning to re-warm it, then adding the rennet.  If you warm it more than that initially or put a towel over it (as I did the first time), the culture will work too well and you will end up with clabbered milk (basically, a huge batch of yogurt) overnight.  That can be used to make a low-fat version of cream cheese when drained, but will be ruined for making rennet-thickened cheese.

[linuxboy]

I just want to add that the type of acid used to acidify the milk makes a great difference. Citric acid or acetic acid makes mozz taste rather bland. It's used commercially for direct vat acidification, but usually in combination with cultures, just as a way to speed up the process. The better directly acidified commercial cheeses use bulk lactic acid for acidification. It's still not as good as all cultured mozz, but it certainly has more aroma and flavor. Meaning for us home cheesemakers, we should stick with cultures if we want a good product.

I've never been able to get a good mozz using citric acid, and I've gone through a lot of gallons of milk trying. Fankhauser has two great recipes, as already mentioned. I think mozz is a cheese where you can't take shortcuts.