Another Mozzarella Post! (Cultured and Non-Cultured Questions)

[Rain Frances]

Will do Matthew. The PH meter arrives today, I'm very excited! Fifth time's a charm? I'll be making the Mozza tomorrow.

[mobius]

Hey there Rain wishing you all the best! Here is a video that I thought might help a bit...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr0rDW5j1KU

It is kinda funny cause he is fairly experienced and even he screwed up in the middle with the pH. I think he has a nice way to keep the curds warm though!

[Rain Frances]

Hi Mobius Your link goes to a Cat Stevens video! All I could think of was "did Cat Stevens make Mozzarella???" Lol...

[mobius]

grr let s try this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CluOhy1zu9Q

[Rain Frances]

That's so funny Mobius, I watched that video over and over during the last week to see his technique! I was going to follow his recipe, but decided on the Caldwell version. I do like how he shaped his cheeses though and it's got me interested in making a Calciocavallo cheese in the future.

The PH meter I bought is working pretty well. It's slightly messy, but gives (what I hope to be) accurate readings. As I type this at 10:15 EST, I'm waiting on my 5.2 PH...it's at 5.6...I'm getting sleepy!

[mobius]

woo hoo! good luck!

[Rain Frances]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to tell you I finally got a Mozzarella! 



I used Gianaclis Caldwell's Traditional Mozzarella Style for Aging  recipe from her blog.

If I didn't have my PH meter, I'd be flying blind following the recipes word for word. Even Caldwell herself said that most recipes out there assume you are using raw milk so most folks can succeed without a PH meter because the raw milk is the most suitable for pasta-filata cheeses.



I bought this PH meter at Amazon for $19.99 (for some reason, I'd previously mentioned it was more expensive, I guess I was thinking of something else).  It was easy to use and came calibrated. I just shoved the curd into the sensor and it pulled out quite easily with a gentle nudge of a toothpick! Since I wear contact lenses, I had the appropriate cleaner too. It'll work very well for now, but one day I would like to get the PH meter with the spear. One day I'd also like to have a proper cheese cave and wine cellar!!! One thing at time! 

I wrote down EXTENSIVE notes...I will definitely try this cheese again, but I think I might take a break for a while! After six tries, I used up 48 liters of milk in all of my attempts...that sounds crazy to me. At least I got it this time!



I let my curd sit on Friday at 8pm in a bowl over the warm whey. The temperature hovered between 92F to 110F...it was up and down since I kept falling asleep, then having to heat the whey to get the curd temperature up again. This is the stretch test at 6pm on Saturday. It took 22 hours to reach a PH of 5.22. I think I was in shock at this point lol!! My bf was taking pictures and I kept saying "I can't believe it, I can't believe it" haha.



Rookie mistake: I didn't have the proper gloves and even with a double layer of "dishwashing" gloves, omg, my poor hands were burning. Though I got a good stretch, it could have been even better if I could have kept the whey at around 180F. It was around 140F and that's all I could tolerate. Next time I'll do better!



Here are my three little Mozza-balls Oh, and I also made a Colby yesterday too. Now I have to read up on how I can properly store the Mozza.

I am THRILLED. Thanks to everyone for their advice and support! I conquered the Mozza-Man!!!

Rain 

[mobius]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on reaching your destination after a long and arduous journey! Next up: Taste test?

[awakephd]

Congratulations! And a cheese for you (thumbs up)!

[Gregore]

Wo hoo.

You could try using a wooden spoon to stretch it , many videos on line show this way.

A cheese for you for your persistance

[gathwaegl]

Congrats on your first mozzarella!

As far as the ph meters go, they fluctuate in price quite frequently on amazon. Whenever i'm looking for something, I put it in my basket for a while and then it'll give me notifications as the price changes, I save up in the meantime then purchase it when the price is at a low

[Rain Frances]

Thanks all of my cheesy friends!! 

What a thrill, I'm still on a cheese high lol...I will keep an eye on the PH meters, I found one that I liked and put it in my shopping cart as suggested Justifiedgaines!

I've seen the wooden spoon method Gregore, I even tried it, but I had a hard time doing it, maybe I need more practice!!!

Mobius, the taste test was great! It was mild and fresh, but the texture was that of a brick-style cheese. Very nice! I added it to our "Pizza-Ghetti" night and it was one of the most rewarding meals (and fattening!!!) I've had in a long time.

[Hansadutta]

What a journey!
That looks fantastic. I have had some problems with mozzarella as well and it made me feel awful because some people make it look so easy. Mine turned out to be yellow rubber balls. I found out that I left the curds too long in the hot water. Which I did because the recipe told me....

[Rain Frances]

Hi Hansadutta!

Thanks! I haven't yet tried to make anymore, and even though I've been told that Mozzarella isn't meant to be aged...I'm trying any way I'd divided the Mozza in three. One ball is gone. The other is in the freezer, and the third looks like this now:



Looks tiny next to my Colby! But it's changing colour rather nicely and I'm going to seal it tomorrow after 8 days of drying. I don't know how long I'll keep it aging, but maybe in a month or so, I'll defrost the second ball and we'll do a taste test!

I can't tell you how many recipes I followed...it can be frustrating!

[Gregore]

Mozza is not aged but there are some cheeses made in some what the same manner that are then aged ,  thus they have a different name .

Look up aged pasta filata