OK, this is an old topic, but as far as I can see the problems with store-bought milk are worse now than a year ago.
So, here what I found:
a lot of stores sell dead milk.
Raw milk, straight from the cow, is illegal to sell in IN - I'd have to join a herd-share club and then pay about $7 per gallon of milk.
My goal was to make mozzarella (which I eat a lot of) "cheaper" than store-bought.
Pretty disappointing, but I didn't give up easily.
I found one brand of milk that is available in stores at my location for a reasonable price:
Prairie FarmsThe reason why their milk works for making mozzarella is probably because they don't have to transport it all across the continent.
If you don't have Prairie Farms in your town, you may be able to find another local dairy.
Look for the closest manufacturer of dairy products in your town and buy their regular whole milk.
I also simplyfied the 30-minute-mozzarella recipe to eliminate some of the handling (potentially over-working) of curds.
Here's how I do it now:
add 1.5 tsp. of citric acid, dissolved in 1/4 cup of (filtered or bottled) water,
to 1 gal. of cold (Prairie Farms) milk
heat on medium, constantly stirring, until it reaches 90°F
remove the pot from heat
dissolve 3/4 Junket rennet tablet (or 1/4 tsp of liquid animal rennet) in 1/4 cup of cold (fileterd or bottled) water
slowly pour rennet into the warm milk and stir very slowly for about 15 seconds
let sit undisturbed and covered for 10 minutes
put the pot back on medium heat and warm up to 110°F, stirring very little or (better still) not at all
turn off heat, cover the pot, let sit undisturbed for another 5-10 minutes
using a slotted spoon fish the curd out of the whey and put in a microwaveable dish
microwave for 60 seconds
kneed with your hands (in rubber gloves) until the curds start bonding, almost melting
microwave for another 35 seconds
kneed and stretch, don't overdo it
form balls or strings, drop them into icewater
done