Author Topic: Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Turned to Sticky Goo Overnight  (Read 4869 times)

Lucie

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Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Turned to Sticky Goo Overnight
« on: June 12, 2016, 11:25:27 PM »
Hi everybody,

I recently started making cheese and my first few attempts were making fresh mozzarella. My second batch turned out pretty well, and I stored most of it in a plastic zip bag in the fridge. Next time I checked (a day or two), not only did it completely flatten out on the fridge shelf, but also had an extremely gooey consistency and was sticking to the plastic bag.

Has somebody else ever experienced this or has any clue what could have happened there?

Cheers
Lucie

Kern

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Re: Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Turned to Sticky Goo Overnight
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2016, 03:59:44 AM »
Here is my WAGNER*:  This is a soft cheese and needs to be supported or turned during its short aging period so that it does not flatten out.  Moisture was migrating from the center of the cheese and hit a brick wall at the plastic bag, accumulated there and made the outer shell of the cheese gooey.

* Wild Ass Guess Not Easily Refuted

AnnDee

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Re: Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Turned to Sticky Goo Overnight
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2016, 04:59:07 AM »
Hahaha on the wagner  ;D

Offline Fritz

  • Mature Cheese
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  • Location: Toronto
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Re: Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Turned to Sticky Goo Overnight
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2016, 06:30:21 AM »
Hi Lucie, welcome to the cheese forum :)

We hope you hang out with us and make some cheese. Hopefully you'll fill out your location particulars in your profile so we can get to know you better.

I fear you were lead to believe that through the colourful marketing of some boxed cheese kit, that mozzarella was a great cheese place to start....yaaaaaa.... It's actually an initiation test of your patience and frustration level needed for such a wonderful crazy hobby....  Lol

If I had to started over I'd probably make a nice little havarti, Gouda or Queso Fresco before tackling the dreaded mozzarella ... But alas ...here we are.  My suggestion, skip the 30 min mozzarella and do the cultured (long version) one instead... Much more yummy. Don't rush it and do the famous curd "stretch test" before making those shiny smooth balls of goodness and popping them into ice water .....you DID USE ice water ...right?

 Enjoy :)

MrsKK

  • Guest
Re: Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Turned to Sticky Goo Overnight
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2016, 02:53:03 PM »
My mozzarella always morphs into the shape of the container I've got it in...with a plastic bag, there is no structure to help it hold any kind of shape.

Ice water to firm it up first is always good.  And it can take longer than you think because the interior of the cheese is going to be quite warm from the stretching.  That warmth will move outward, so even if the exterior feels cold after a few minutes in the ice water, there's still heat to come out.  When it is warm, it will change shape.

Mozz is one of the most challenging cheeses to make, so give yourself a pat on the back for being successful with your 2nd batch!

kmanaga

  • Guest
Mozzarella becomes soft, slimy and melted in brine
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2018, 06:35:23 AM »
Hi.. I've been reading from this forum and learned a lot making mozzarella. Here is my problem. We currently rolled out our product mozzarella balls in brine in the market (thanks to this forum I got the answers to my problems in making mozza) and we encountered problems with our last two batches to be delivered in the market. The balls melted and made the brine looks like milk. We monitored carefully the pH of the brine as well as the pH of the whey/cheese to ensure that it is the same/balanced. We also added recommended volume of calcium chloride solution(30%) into the brine so that calcium will not leech out of the cheese. However, the product still becomes soft, slimy and almost melted while in brine. What could be other possible causes of this aside from the pH and calcium? Please help me address this problem. Thanks so much! :)