My Mozz #2

[Boofer]

I shouldn't really be giving my first attempt at mozzarella full credit since I only did it half-heartedly. But that was then, this is a new chapter.

This time I am following an older recipe of linuxboy's (as a basis) and, so far, the product seems to be on target. I heated 1 gallon of P&H whole milk to 95F in a double boiler, then added:

• 1/32 tsp Thermophilic
• 1/32 tsp LH   (uh oh, he didn't use LH!)
• 1/32 tsp Lipase that had been rehydrated
• 1/2 tsp CACL2
• 1/32 tsp dry calf rennet

It floc'd at 10 minutes. I cut it at 30 minutes and let it rest for 15 minutes. Then I gently whisked the curds to attempt bringing them down to pea-size. Well, that didn't really happen quite right. The curds were very delicate and shattered, but I was undeterred because linuxboy said in the recipe that shattering could happen and this recipe would still work (fingers crossed).

I then heated the pot to 120F over the next 45 minutes, stirring gently from time to time to keep the curds from matting too badly. Then I let the pot sit for 15 minutes so the curds could settle. I put vinegar and CACL2 in boiling water and poured it over muslin in my colander. The curds went in; I wrapped up the corners, squeezed a little whey out, and put the curds in the muslin back into the cleaned, dry pot. The pot went back on the double boiler and I heated the outside water bath to 110-115F and maintained it for 6 hours. I tried to take a piece of curd at the 1 hour mark and microwave it, but that just ended up being rubbery.

So the curds stayed in the pot over that six hours (because I was fixing dinner and doing other things) with me periodically turning the cloth-covered cheese ball, draining the accumulated whey, and returning the ball to the warmed pot. At the end of the 6 hours, I removed the flattened ball of cheese curds and placed it in a ziploc bag and into the fridge. The texture appeared to be more akin to what I expected mozz to feel like. Tomorrow I will heat up the saved whey and add salt to it. The curd ball will be cut up into 1 inch cubes and placed in the heated whey. That's another place where my process differs from the older linuxboy recipe. He says to nuke it, but I want to try the traditional method in the warmed whey first.

Yes, I know there's a newer recipe. I've attached it. I just happened to find the older one in my computer files first. That, and I had all of the ingredients for this recipe not the attached one.

For the record, I didn't touch my pH meter. This is all by the seat of my pants by touch and sensing the curds. Rather an holistic experience....

Hopefully I will find some success tomorrow. I have a recipe for baked spaghetti and fresh mozzarella. I need to have this available for dinner prep. I'll probably put on some Dean Martin to help me stretch my mozz, and pour a little cooking wine to lubricate the process (Cooking wine is defined as anything that you like to drink while you're cooking!  )

Yes, you're probably wondering why I added everything all at once. I know I was, but I figured that acidity and flavor would be developed in the time after the curd ball was formed and while it sat at 100F temp for 2-4 (or 6) hours. Linuxboy, if I've called that wrong, please set me straight. I think I'll have a fairly definitive answer tomorrow when I attempt to complete this cheese make.

-Boofer-

[Boofer]

After cooking the curds, I gathered them together in a piece of muslin and drained the whey. I cleaned the kettle and placed the cloth-covered curd ball inside, and then placed the kettle back in the double boiler to maintain a temperature of 115-120F. I sampled a piece of curds at 1 hour to see if it would stretch. No...into the microwave for a bit. No...I tried that quite a few times and then gave up on that piece, figuring the curds weren't "ready" yet (acidity not right?).

The next day I cut up the curd ball into cubes and placed them in a salted whey bath (to which I had added some CACL2) that I had heated to 180F. I massaged the cubes in the hot whey trying to coax them into a malleable and cohesive mass. That partially worked, but I could never get the curds to melt and come together. I formed three balls of curd and placed one in the microwave to try to force it to melt so that I could stretch it. No joy.

I ended up with three crumbly balls of white curd that didn't come anywhere near to becoming transformed into a wonderfully smooth, shiny, stretchy mozzarella.

I will try this again, but I think I see a couple problems in my process. Can anyone spot them?

-Boofer-

[linuxboy]

Boof, which milk? Here, only raw or all of the various pasteurized rebranded milks (Whole foods, trader joes, etc)  from the Sunshine plant in Portland, #41-35 produce a consistent mozz.

[MrsKK]

I'd say that it wasn't acidified enough yet.  I don't refrigerate my curd, but allow it to sit out at room temp overnight before stretching it.  Even then, I always test a small piece of curd for stretch before attempting the whole batch.

[Boofer]

Boof, which milk? Here, only raw or all of the various pasteurized rebranded milks (Whole foods, trader joes, etc)  from the Sunshine plant in Portland, #41-35 produce a consistent mozz.

Unfortunately I stepped outside my normal milk realm (Darigold) and bought a gallon of QFC whole P&H milk.

I'd say that it wasn't acidified enough yet.  I don't refrigerate my curd, but allow it to sit out at room temp overnight before stretching it.  Even then, I always test a small piece of curd for stretch before attempting the whole batch.

I had thought that 6 hours would be time enough to acidify the curds. What about the fact that I put everything in at the same time without allowing ripening time? That's probably one place where I screwed up. That, and not using my tried & true Darigold milk. Can you over-acidify the curds? That would be allowing ripening time (an hour or so) plus having the curd ball sit at room temp overnight? There again, room temp or slightly warmed?

-Boofer-

[linuxboy]

Unfortunately I stepped outside my normal milk realm (Darigold) and bought a gallon of QFC whole P&H milk.

Darigold is not terrible, but has been hit and miss for me. Try going back to Darigold, or try trader joe's or whole foods rebranded milk in the white plastic from plant 41-35. Not too bad of a price, 2.50/gal.

I had thought that 6 hours would be time enough to acidify the curds.

Sometimes it is, most time it's a little short. Depends on culture age, milk quality, etc. It's a little tough to gauge without a stretch test or pH meter. When a small piece stretches, then it's ready.

 What about the fact that I put everything in at the same time without allowing ripening time? That's probably one place where I screwed up.

The ripening time is important, but more so, you need to give the bacteria a chance to go through their log phase and enter into a growth phase. When you use bulk culture, that bacteria are in a growth phase almost as soon as they are in the milk. For pellet culture, similar story. For freeze dried, it takes time for them to wake up. They also need to be distributed evenly in the milk, and that also takes time. So what may have happened here is not enough culture, and also the culture is not evenly distributed.

 That, and not using my tried & true Darigold milk. Can you over-acidify the curds? That would be allowing ripening time (an hour or so) plus having the curd ball sit at room temp overnight?

Yes, of course, the curds can overacidify. But it's usually not a big problem with those culture amounts and the curd held overnight.

There again, room temp or slightly warmed?

At those amounts, start with room temp. If you raise the temp, the acidity will develop faster, and with an overnight rest where you don't check on it, there's a higher risk of overacidification.

[Boofer]

Good stuff, linuxboy. I can see a lot of areas to improve my process.

Thanks to you too, MrsKK.

Next up...Mozz #3. 

-Boofer-

[MrsKK]

Room temp varies so much in my house that I can only go by a stretch test to know for sure if the curd is ready.  Earlier this year, I had a mozz that took me four days to get finished - not because it took that long to acidify, but because life got in the way.  Not wanting to waste the time I already put into it, I put the drained curd in the fridge after only about six hours at room temp (probably about 60 degrees at that point in time) and it was two days later that I stretched it.

This cheese stretched better than any mozz I had ever made before, which tells me that I probably haven't acidified my curd enough before that.  I think it would take an awful lot to overacidify mozz curd, unless you were warming the curd up to speed up the process.

Let us know how the next batch goes.

[DeejayDebi]

Hi Boofer nice effort there. Give it the time it needs and as Karen said ALWAYS test a small piece frst before throwing it in the pot.