Author Topic: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese  (Read 4919 times)

Tom Turophile

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30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« on: December 10, 2009, 04:03:22 AM »
After months of thinking, planning, researching and...well...procrastinating, my wife kicked me in the butt and promised to people that I would have homemade cheese at our Christmas party.  I went to find the recipes which were the easiest -- those with the least equipment and ingredients.  I settled on cream cheese and Ricki's 30-minute mozzarella (after I found the kit locally.

After talking with the store owner, we were concerned about milk sourcing.  I went to Whole Foods, and talked to their manager, who assured me that the whole milk was pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized).  Only one way to prove it!

Bringing the milk up to 90 degrees:


Testing the break -- I was completely unsure if this was good enough:


When I started mixing the curd, it started breaking up on me.  I had always imagined the pieces would all stay together -- definitely not!  So, I was concerned at that point.  Moving on, I was stunned how much whey I was pouring off.  As I did, the curds looked good -- like they were sticking together.  I wasn't able to really "pull" it together -- it was more of a folding.  And while one side did become smooth, it wasn't the perfect sphere or oval that I was imagining.

18 ounces of mozzarella:


So...taste?  FANTASTIC!  I couldn't believe it -- I would've sworn it was buffalo milk, because it was so creamy.  Such a relief that 1) I was able to find "good" milk and 2) that the result was so great.

Question: does anyone's curds actually "stretch"?  If I were to do that, it would snap.  Also, is it possible to create a "seamless" cheese?

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2009, 04:22:59 AM »
Congrats Tom. Looks like you've done it. This is a tough cheese for some people.

Yes they do stretch. It does take a bit of heating and reheating but they will stretch. As far as for the seams I thnk you are talking about the stringyness between the layers of the cheese. I should be that way. That is the type of cheese it is. I do not know what they do to store bought cheese that makes it so bland and  solid but you should be able to peel mozzarella.

Hope that helps.

justsocat

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2009, 05:56:50 AM »
Congratulations, Tom!
I think there are very few things contasting with a pleasure of feeling a good taste of the cheese that you've made by yourself. Nothing similar to one you've got in store :)

Offline Boofer

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2009, 08:02:08 AM »
Wow, Tom, good looking mozz. Now that you're on track, I can bet you'll be making at least one more kind to share at the party. It would have to be a young cheese type though.

I have yet to give mozzarella a try. Perhaps soon.

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Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Tom Turophile

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2009, 02:47:31 PM »
If I had access to goat milk, I would try some goat cheeses next week, but the only thing available in stores is ultrapasteurized (which I understand, since I'm sure it needs a longer shelf life).

I'm looking at other pictures, and I'm seeing how shiny those are.  My cheese definitely is not.

I'm going to try it a few more times, and see if I can get it to stretch without breaking more (as seen in a video that someone posted).  Still, I would certainly repeat this method again, as the creaminess was great.

MrsKK

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2009, 03:43:55 PM »
From your picture, it doesn't look as though you had gotten to the point of clean break yet.  The curds should break away to either side of your finger, rather than just sliding off and leaving some behind. 

I'm not sure what the process is with the kit that you have, but if you could give it more time or perhaps a bit more of the citric acid and achieve a better break, you would probably end up with more curd and losing less with the whey.

You did achieve good first results, though!  Although most of us make mozz as our first cheese (nice because it is used fresh), it isn't the easiest cheese to get good results with.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2009, 05:08:50 PM »
If your Mozz is snapping instead of stretching, then the pH probably wasn't low enough (not enough acid). Try adding a little more citric acid next time. With a bacteria ripened Mozz, you just wait a little longer for the bacteria to produce more acid.

Tom Turophile

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2009, 05:34:05 PM »
If your Mozz is snapping instead of stretching, then the pH probably wasn't low enough (not enough acid). Try adding a little more citric acid next time. With a bacteria ripened Mozz, you just wait a little longer for the bacteria to produce more acid.

Now you've done it...plenty of questions coming :)
1) When do I measure the ph?  What ph am I looking for?  Or maybe I will just experiment.
2) I waited 12 minutes for the curds to set (instructions say at least 5, maybe more).  Is there any harm is waiting longer?  Say, 30 minutes?
3) "With a bacteria ripened Mozz" -- ah, that's enlightening.  I suppose that you know how much acid you have if you are using an acid (duh)...as opposed to bacteria, which is dependent on time, quantity, and the reaction thereof.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2009, 05:58:43 PM »
Mozz should end up with a pH around 5.2-5.3 whether you use citric acid or ripening bacteria. Mozz, and other "pasta filata" types will not stretch if the pH is not low enough. If you are doing the "30 Minute" method, test pH right after you add the citric acid. I usually shoot for 5.3 to 5.4 because there always seems to be a little pH drop naturally. If you don't have a way to test pH, then yes, you will have to experiment a little. With bacteria ripening, you test at the end. Just let the Thermophilic starter bacteria do their thing until the pH gets to target.

Curd set can vary considerably, but your picture was definitely not a "clean break". Tons of info if you search the forum. You may need to add CaCl2 (calcium chloride) to get a better curd set. Again, search the forum.

Did you make Ricotta from your whey?

Tom Turophile

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2009, 06:17:14 PM »
Thanks.

I would've measured the pH, but that's something I didn't think about until late yesterday, and thought I could live without.

Thanks for the confirmation on the clean break -- I didn't feel that it was.  Thankfully, it still worked out (nice to know that this can be somewhat forgiving).  OTOH, perhaps I found a way to create a really creamy mozzarella :)

As for the ricotta, I didn't want to add to many more steps (as I was doing this at 9 pm).  I may this weekend, though, and use it for desserts.

As I mentioned, I have done tons of reading/research, but until you actually do it, you don't have a grasp on certain aspects.  For example, I've read about pH and calcium chloride and starters, but now I have some experience to work from.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2009, 08:17:09 PM »
Tom - Here's a brain teaser for you to consider. In general, if you let curds set longer the finished cheese will be more moist. If you want a drier cheese, don't let the curds set as long. So, cutting before a good clean break doesn't necessarily mean a creamier cheese. Search on flocculation and you will find a lot of info.

justsocat

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2009, 12:41:26 PM »
In general, if you let curds set longer the finished cheese will be more moist. If you want a drier cheese, don't let the curds set as long. So, cutting before a good clean break doesn't necessarily mean a creamier cheese.
Yes, I saw that but can you, please, explain why? I just want to understand how it works?

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2009, 08:48:47 PM »
Firmer curds retain more whey in the matrix, which means that the finished cheese will be moister. Search on flocculation.

Tom Turophile

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2009, 03:43:58 PM »
I made the 30-minute mozzarella again last night.

The only change is that I added CaCL -- 1/2 tsp for the 1 gallon of milk.  There was no discernible change to the end product, or the curds.

I will say that the more that I heated the cheese, the better it stretched.  Still, it reached a point where it would cool down and snap.

Oh, and I added a bit more salt, which was definitely needed.  I could've brined it with whey and salt, but it was late and I didn't feel like doing more research :)

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Re: 30-minute mozzarella -- my first attempt ever at making cheese
« Reply #14 on: December 18, 2009, 03:45:16 AM »
I don't know if I misunderstood this but mozzarella will snap when cold - it only stretches when it's hot.