Author Topic: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident  (Read 2173 times)

danbrellis

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Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« on: September 10, 2017, 01:09:17 PM »
Hi all, first time on the forum. I'm a novice cheesemaker, only having made chèvre and mozzarella a handful of times. I was making mozzarella last night from a gallon of our goat milk using a traditional method and a kefir culture. The recipe says to let the curds ferment in the whey, let drain for an hour in molds, then submerge back on the whey to ferment for 8-12 hours. Unfortunately when I went to drain in a cheese cloth it was 1am and in my stupor forgot to resubmerge the balls in the whey, so instead they hung in a cloth overnight.

My question: should I put them back in the whey and let ferment another few hours or just move ahead with the stretching and storing?

Any quick hello is appreciated as I ponder my next step.

Thanks!

Offline FooKayaks2

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Re: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2017, 07:12:34 PM »
Hi Dan

I would do a curd stretch test on some curd and see if it is ready to stretch. If a small piece stretches stretch the curd, if it doesn't submerge in the whey.

Good luck
Mathew



Offline awakephd

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Re: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2017, 04:08:37 PM »
Agreed. The key is the target pH - if you are too high, wait longer; if too low ... nothing to do but turn it into Feta! :)
-- Andy

Offline Rain Frances

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Re: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2017, 06:30:17 PM »
I wish you luck on your Mozza. It took me 6 attempts to get it right, but I did invest in a PH meter, because I found it too challenging otherwise to get the right stretchy PH point. But even when I reached the right PH, I did the stretch test just to be sure - I lacked so much confidence lol...The first 5 attempts just went into salads and on poutines!

Offline Fritz

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Re: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2017, 11:35:11 PM »
Welcome danbrellis,
I like setting timers with alarms at critical times (in case I fall asleep) to wake me up during late night cheese makes :) obviously it's too late to help you with your mozzarella issue ... but totally recommend getting a pH meter... They aren't too expensive and your cheesemaking skills will grow and with much more precision.
Despite popular cheese kit claims and opinion... Mozzarella is NOT an entry level cheese to make... there's a lot of science going on there to understand and make it work well...

The good news is you found us! Ask away, give us some details and specific questions (hopefully with some pics) and let's get you making some cheese...

Fritz

Offline Gregore

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Re: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2017, 05:38:19 AM »
There is nothing about mozza that makes it a perticularly hard cheese to make other than the fact that timed recipes are off unless your in the same kitchen using the same milk and same bag of culture as the author of the recipe.

Mozza  and other pasta filata just so happens to be the cheeses that show how off the mark  the other cheeses made by timing really are .

I think that unless you have some one right there showing you what to look for in all the steps  then you really need a ph meter , to make  cheeses that match the type intended .  But once you have dialed a recipe in , assuming you do not make changes in process or ingredients then the meter becomes much less useful .

Offline Fritz

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Re: Mozzarella Making: let hang in cloth overnight by accident
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2017, 12:00:33 PM »
...errr..ya...... Sticking to the topic of giving advice to a novice cheese maker as described in the OP... I'd like to still recommend getting a pH meter for one to see where they are at.. for any cheese, not just Mozza.