Not getting curd formulating in 30 mins mozzarella recipe

[kyliecoast]

I followed the Ricki Carroll 30 min mozzarella recipe but I did not get curd forming. It's been over 5 hours now. All I have is the curds and whey separated but the curds are all tiny little particles. Is there anything I can do to recover this milk to use it for mozarella? Is it over-acidified? How do I fix that? Thanks. Newbie.

[Sailor Con Queso]

The tiny particles probably indicates that the curds just shattered and the milk is not suitable for cheesemaking. If it is over acidified, there is nothing you can do about it for Mozz making. LOTS of people fail with the 30 Min Mozz because of milk or acidity problems. A true cultured Mozz tastes better and is much more forgiving.

So take what you have and drain it into cheese cloth. You will end up with a fresh cheese that will still be edible.

[cnorth3]

Interesting.  I just did Ricki's 30 min. Moz for the first time this afternoon.  It worked out fine, in the end, but the curd was grainy, as described by the OP.  I'll use the traditional method next time!

[kyliecoast]

Thanks Sailor. I drained it into cheesecloth and have some sort of ricotta I guess. Should I use less citric acid next time and maybe more renet? Note that I did use lipase last time. Do you think I should use calcium chloride to assist with curd formation. I know Ricki says not to use it but I had no problem making my cheddar the other day using the same milk, same rennet but with calcium chloride and I got great curds that time.

Hmm, based on what cnorth3 has said, I might take a small batch of my ricotta and continue with the microwaving steps and see if I can stretch it?

[Sailor Con Queso]

You should not use CaCl2 with Mozz. Ironically, milk is much more forgiving when making hard cheeses. Just because a particular brand of milk "works" for cheddar does not mean that it will work for Mozz. I would use less citric acid, but don't change the rennet. It's hard to tell you exactly what to do without testing your pH. If it doesn't work next time, try a different brand of milk.

[cnorth3]

You should not use CaCl2 with Mozz. Ironically, milk is much more forgiving when making hard cheeses. Just because a particular brand of milk "works" for cheddar does not mean that it will work for Mozz. I would use less citric acid, but don't change the rennet. It's hard to tell you exactly what to do without testing your pH. If it doesn't work next time, try a different brand of milk.

Out of pure ignorance, I used CaCl2 in my moz, and it worked out anyway.  Dumb luck I guess! 

[MrsKK]

I concur with Sailor.  I regularly use milk 4-6 days old for making Colby or Havarti, but tried making a mozz from 4 day old milk and ended up with nothing but a flakey curd-like substance in my cheesecloth.

[kyliecoast]

Next time I'm going to try Rikki's powdered milk and cream version.

[Tobiasrer]

Why does the 30 min mozza use the microwave and would \i have to? I have read online and seen that most use heated saled whey to melt and stretch the curd in, why couldnt this be done with the 30min mozza recipe.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Heated whey is better than a microwave.

[Tobiasrer]

So could I follow the 30 min mozza, but not use the microwave and it still work.. perhaps better? I am not crazy about using the microwave.

[cnorth3]

So could I follow the 30 min mozza, but not use the microwave and it still work.. perhaps better? I am not crazy about using the microwave.

I've done the 30 min moz w/out microwave (don't even own one).  Worked just fine.

[tananaBrian]

Heated whey is better than a microwave.

One thing the recipe should say, if using the microwave, is that you should use a steep-sided bowl.  In shallower bowls, the moz will be rather thin towards the edges and will overheat.  In the steep-sided bowl, the heating from the microwave is still not consistent through the cheese, but at least you are not overheating it.  Another idea for the microwave might be to use a lower power, say 50%, and then heat longer.  The shorter cycle heating should allow heat to redistribute a bit better.  You also want to use online version of the recipe ...it's been modified to work better with milk that has been pasteurized at warmer temperatures.  The online version leaves out the salt, mistakenly, but just use 1 tsp as stated in the book.  The modifications are a) cut larger curds, b) less and more gentle handling (no kneading) to remove whey, and c) heat to only 135 F.  After several failures, I got this recipe to work ...by combining a better choice of milk with using the online recipe.  My milk was pasteurized at 170+ F and it still worked... ultra-pasteurized milk won't however.

Brian