Author Topic: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella  (Read 1480 times)

AeonSam

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1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« on: December 12, 2017, 03:09:07 AM »
Hello all,

I tried making Traditional Mozz last night using Caldwell's recipe (Let me know if I should post it)

I used 4 gallons of Raw Milk

She doesn't provide a floc multiplier so I used 3.5 and cut the curds at 1/2 inch.

Also, I only had TA61 and LH100 on hand so I used an 1/8 of a tsp of both

I found that the ph was very slow to drop until being warmed over the whey

I run into different ph goals on the Web. Some say 5.2 and some say 5.0(Linuxboy) I went with 5.18 and I got a decent stretch. I would say an 80% stretch. It wasn't perfect.

So I put the curds in 170F whey with 6 tsp of salt nevertheless, the mozz came out bland and tough. I believe that everything went correctly until I heated the curds in the whey bath. I was also pretty rough with the stretching and kneading which I will correct next time.

Does anyone have a decent plan for how much salt and whey/water to heat the curds in? Also, I placed these knobs in a light brine but I'm not sure if that's the best choice. Any tips?

Sam
« Last Edit: December 12, 2017, 03:17:25 AM by AeonSam »

Offline Scarlettbri12

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Re: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2017, 09:29:26 PM »
From what I've read, 3 oz of salt per gallon of water. After using that to stretch during my make, it still seemed light on the salt so I dry salt to add more. Since it is a fresh cheese, it really isn't functionally necessary (or so I've read) and it is best to salt to taste!

I've seen recipes call out for brining after post stretch cooling as well. I've tried that method, but the salt didn't go all the way through and just left them not so great.

I've also tried the light brine and didn't care for it, so I go with plastic wrapping them (another method of storage in different recipes).

All of these are purely from experience, so take any and/or all of it with a grain of salt....  (get it?)  ;)

Offline awakephd

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Re: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2017, 11:54:21 PM »
Sam, I'd call that a great first effort on a very difficult cheese - AC4U!
-- Andy

AeonSam

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Re: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2017, 02:48:42 AM »
Thanks Scarlett and I do get it  ;)

You're in the right place for puns and wordplay. Andy is a forum pun-smith here so you're right at home.

I saw a video with a master mozzarella maker and he just throws salt on top of the curds. I just wonder about the ratios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU_VoyWfLfY

Thanks Andy, I was expecting a bigger failure but was pleasantly surprised. Next time I will start in the morning as I went to bed at 6:30 am and had to get up at 7:30  :-\

Offline awakephd

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Re: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2017, 03:52:40 PM »
Ouch - 1 hour of sleep does not sound like fun! Yes, definitely need to start earlier. Or another option is to cool down the curds to slow the acid development - not sure how well this works, but at least in theory it is a possibility!
-- Andy

MrsKK

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Re: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2017, 04:01:17 PM »
 I use one cup of kosher salt per gallon of whey.  I heat it to about 165*F and use a strainer basket with handles to put the cubes of curd in for heating.  I pull them up to check whether they are ready, gently pulling them apart so that the heat reaches all the way to the center.  I join them together and do a few test pulls and if there are any firm spots, it goes back in the whey until it is all softened.

Pull and fold, pull and fold the curd.  DO NOT knead it, squeeze it, or otherwise treat it roughly.  Doing so presses out the butterfat, which is probably part of why it turned out bland, and overworking the curd will leave it tough.

Once the curd is shiny, roll it into a ball, submerge in the hot whey just enough to make the ball nice & tidy, then submerge in ice water to firm it all up.

Let us know how your next batch turns out.

That tough, bland batch will still melt nicely for pizza, lasagna, etc.


AeonSam

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Re: 1st whack at Traditional Mozzarella
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2017, 10:08:20 PM »
Thanks for tips!

Do you find that the curds start to stick to the strainer? Are you using a plastic strainer or steel mesh? I guess it would be plastic.

Do you put yours in brine after cooling? If not - is it still salty enough?

Sam