first Mozzarella

[yeri]

Hi Guys,
i make mozzarella using this recipe :

   
Ingredients :
1 US gallon cow’s milk.
Thermophilic Starter Culture.
Rennet, amount as per package directions or your experience.
Litmus paper or digital pH.
Directions :
Heat the milk to 90 F / 32.5 C.
Add 2 oz. thermophilic culture.
Ripen the milk for 45-60 minutes.
Dissolve the 1/2 tab rennet into 4 tablespoons water and then stir into the milk for at least 5 minutes to ensure even distribution.
Let the milk set for 60 minutes.
Once the milk has set, cut it into 1/2 inch cubes.
Let it cook at 90 F / 32.5 C for another half hour.
Over the next half hour slowly raise the temperature of the curds to 105 F / 40.5 C.
Let it cook at 105 F / 40.5 C for another 5-10 minutes.
Drain the whey by pouring through a cheesecloth lined colander.
Place the curds into a double boiler with the bottom pot filled with water maintained at 105 F / 40.5 C.
You’ll need to periodically drain the whey while the curds are cooking.
Flip the curds periodically so they are evenly heated. They should mat together.
Let the curds cook at this temperature for 2-3 hours.
When the curds are done cooking test the pH, it should be 5.2-5.3.
If the pH isn’t 5.2-5.3, it won’t spin. Allow it to cook a little longer.
Cut the curd mass into 1/2 inch cubes.
Drain off any excess whey.
Place the curds directly into water that is 170 F / 76.5 C. Don’t overheat!!
Use two large wooden spoons and work the curds by pressing them together.
A ball of cheese will begin to form.
When the ball is the right size, take it out and work it with your hands, stretching the mass over itself.
Do this several times with each ball. If necessary the ball can be put back into the water to warm it up so that it can be stretched further.
Then immediately dunk the cheese into a cold saturated brine solution.
Let the cheese soak for 60 minutes.
The cheese can be eaten fresh, kept in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for about 10 days or frozen for several months. The cheese does taste better if it is allowed to rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours before eating.

i use 4 liter of milk, i dont know if this normal or not but this 4 liter of milk only give me about 0.5Kg is this normal guys?

[Spoons]

Yes. Typical yield for 1 US gallon or approx 4 liters of milk is about 500g or about 1 LBS.

[cheesie]

I'll probably be making mozza cheese this week... I have a question about the recipe since I've never done this before... It says to heat the milk then add the thermo starter and then ripen the milk... Can someone please explain what "ripen" means?? I tried googling it and could not find any answers... does this mean I leave the milk in the heat at 90 degrees or take it off the heat??

After this it says to let the milk set for 90 minutes... again does this stay at the same temp of 90 degrees?

Finally it says to put the cheese in the brine solution is there any alternative to this? I know for a fact I won't have that brine for this week so any alternatives out there?? or a brine recipe that is easy to make?

Thanks!

[tananaBrian]

I'll probably be making mozza cheese this week... I have a question about the recipe since I've never done this before... It says to heat the milk then add the thermo starter and then ripen the milk... Can someone please explain what "ripen" means?? I tried googling it and could not find any answers... does this mean I leave the milk in the heat at 90 degrees or take it off the heat??

After this it says to let the milk set for 90 minutes... again does this stay at the same temp of 90 degrees?

Finally it says to put the cheese in the brine solution is there any alternative to this? I know for a fact I won't have that brine for this week so any alternatives out there?? or a brine recipe that is easy to make?

Thanks!

Wow!  Questions that I can answer!  (I'm a newb)

1) Ripening is the process of acidification.  This occurs as your culture grows and multiplies in the milk.  Ripening is complete when the pH has dropped to the appropriate level.  Cultures and acid levels are different for different types of cheese (see your recipe)

2) Yes, keep the milk at 90 F while ripening.  I find it easiest to keep your cheese pot in a larger pot of water so it'll take a lot longer for it to cool.  If the water is a few degrees higher than the milk temperature, then your milk will absorb heat while it is also losing heat, e.g. through radiation and convection off the top surface ...hence the reason for covering your milk while ripening (or curding).

3) Yes, keep the milk at 90 F while letting it curd (after adding rennet).  The water pot method works well too.  In both cases, you may find that if the process is taking longer than expected that you may want to add hot water to the water batch while you are waiting.  I keep an electric tea pot (full) hot just in case... and I monitor the water bath temperature to keep it a few degrees above my target, say 95 F to keep the milk at 90 F.  Size of the water pot and milk pot varies from kitchen to kitchen, so experiment with what temperature you should keep your water at.

4) You can do your final heating in plain hot water instead of a brine, but mixing salt into it will help prevent the outside of the mozzarella from getting slimy feeling.  If you use plain water, then you'll want to sprinkle the salt dose onto the cheese during your stretching/folding phase of the process.  Personally, I think using a salt brine is easiest.

Brian

[cheesie]

Thank you Brian... I understand the process a bit better now 

The only problem is that I don't have the pots you mentioned; in fact I was just wanting to do this on a direct heat... that is my pot with the milk in the direct heat.. I am not sure if that is a very bright idea since the temp will most likely go up if I leave it so I think I might just have to check the temp often and turn the stove on and off is that how you do it if you have limited pots???

[MrsKK]

I use my utility sink and hot tap water to warm my kettle of milk, which takes away the need for an extra kettle.

I stretch my mozzarella in a gallon of whey taken from the cheese making process, adding about a half cup of kosher salt to the whey.  It makes really good flavored mozz.

[tananaBrian]

Thank you Brian... I understand the process a bit better now 

The only problem is that I don't have the pots you mentioned; in fact I was just wanting to do this on a direct heat... that is my pot with the milk in the direct heat.. I am not sure if that is a very bright idea since the temp will most likely go up if I leave it so I think I might just have to check the temp often and turn the stove on and off is that how you do it if you have limited pots???

As MrsKK stated, there are several ways to skin the cat when it comes to heating (or maintaining the temperature of) the milk or curds.  We have a gas stove which is nice since it doesn't tend to scorch foods as easily as an electric stove does.  I use a large canning pot for the water bath, e.g. the cheap porcelain-coated steel type that most grocery stores sell in the canning department.  I will also place a large fluffy bath towel over the two pots (lid on the milk pot) as well to further slow the loss of heat off the top of the milk.  The main reason for the water bath, for those not using it to heat the milk or curds, is to act as a big thermal reservoir so the milk or curds will maintain their temperature nicely.  Everyone probably has slight variations on how they go about things, so you should experiment and see what works best for you in your kitchen.  It's all good...

Brian

[cheesie]

Thank you Brian... I understand the process a bit better now 

The only problem is that I don't have the pots you mentioned; in fact I was just wanting to do this on a direct heat... that is my pot with the milk in the direct heat.. I am not sure if that is a very bright idea since the temp will most likely go up if I leave it so I think I might just have to check the temp often and turn the stove on and off is that how you do it if you have limited pots???

As MrsKK stated, there are several ways to skin the cat when it comes to heating (or maintaining the temperature of) the milk or curds.  We have a gas stove which is nice since it doesn't tend to scorch foods as easily as an electric stove does.  I use a large canning pot for the water bath, e.g. the cheap porcelain-coated steel type that most grocery stores sell in the canning department.  I will also place a large fluffy bath towel over the two pots (lid on the milk pot) as well to further slow the loss of heat off the top of the milk.  The main reason for the water bath, for those not using it to heat the milk or curds, is to act as a big thermal reservoir so the milk or curds will maintain their temperature nicely.  Everyone probably has slight variations on how they go about things, so you should experiment and see what works best for you in your kitchen.  It's all good...

Brian

So then you put your pot with the milk (converting to cheese) inside another pot of water (water bath) on the heat on the stove?? Do you leave the stove on while this is happening.. I am just curious because the recipe I am using today (D-day says it has to stay at 90 degrees... I am just concerned that I won't be able to keep it at that temp and will go over one or down one degree I am not sure if that will make a difference in the cheese??

Any help and tips within the next few hours will be great!

[cheesie]

Also another yet important question; the recipe from this site tells me to add 2 ounces of thermo culture; but I am NOT using yogurt as my culture I am actually using a thermo culture DS bought from new england cheese company... it says the culture will set two galloons of milk I am only using one galloon should I only add HALF the culture??

[tananaBrian]

Cheesie,

  1) Yes, I have turned on the burner under the water pot (water and milk pot inside) for small adjustments to the water temperature ...but I have a gas stove that produces a very small soft flame on its lowest setting (which is what I use).  Normally, the water bath starts out warmer than 90 F, say 95 F, and that's good enough to maintain the milk (or curd) temperature while it is waiting ...no additional heating necessary.  If you need to turn on the burner under the water bath however, then it would be best to raise the milk pot off the bottom a bit ...some pots can hang by their handles inside of another, or a trivet could be placed under the milk pot etcetera.  This effectively makes the system into a double boiler that won't scorch the milk or add heat too fast (yes, swirl the water when heating and use a looow temperature on the burner).

  2) Yes, I believe you should use the amount of culture that the instructions on the direct set package says rather than what the recipe says.  If someone knows of an exception to this rule, I'd like to hear it, say if a particular type of cheese or method uniquely needs a higher or lower dose of a culture (I'm still a newb  )

Brian

[cheeseinmymouth]

I think I'll make this cheese this week!  It's Chinese New Year Week and I have lots of time to have fun.  I have some questions first.

Thermophilic Starter Culture.

Can I use yogurt for this?  If so can you recommend or speculate how much?

Place the curds into a double boiler with the bottom pot filled with water maintained at 105 F / 40.5 C.
You’ll need to periodically drain the whey while the curds are cooking.
Flip the curds periodically so they are evenly heated. They should mat together.
Let the curds cook at this temperature for 2-3 hours.

I'm a little unclear as to what this setup looks like.   You say the when needs to be periodically drained.  Do you have the cheese in a strainer set inside a boiling pot?  Or do the curds sit on the bottom of a pan and the whey separates over time and then needs to be drained?

Thanks for your time and responses!

[MrsKK]

As to your first question, yes you can use yogurt for thermophilic culture.  I use it at the rate of 1/3 cup of yogurt to 1 gallon of milk.

I don't use this method of making mozz, but assume it means that you can ladle or pour off the whey.