Wet Behind the Ears and Its Not Whey

[Quesa]

Oh why oh why?

Of seven cheese varieties I've made, I found Mozzarella to be the most difficult. Like others have said, the temperature has to be high enough to make it melt, and there's also that PH thing that has to be checked.

For me, the Gouda and Colby were the easiest to make. I cannot believe how easy they are to make and how perfect they turn out.

The Baby Swiss was easy to make, and it looks and smells terrific. The problem was to keep it dry while curing.

The Havarti is easy to make, too. There was some oozing and smelling during curing, but that went away after three weeks, not sure why that happened.

Mascarpone was a challenge, but finally got it going with Flora Danica culture. Now I gotta work on the flavor, which I think I got it figured out.

With your chemistry background, you should be cheeseing in no time.

Have fun on your cheese adventures.

[Lennie]

I figured out pretty quick that mozzarella wasn't the easiest cheese to make after reading some of the posts in that section.

Debi I cooked the curds at 108 for about 30 minutes but that apparently wasn't enough.  And I didn't drain them all that long so that didn't help.  I waved the stuff multiple times last night and eventually got it thickened up and made into a ball.  It still wasn't shiny or stretching but it held together at least.  I wrapped it in plastic rap and put it in the fridge and this morning it was very hard.  I cut a piece off and it kind of broke off, a little like a hard mozz.  Tasted good.  Thanks for the advice to stay with it, this will at least be edible now.

[justsocat]

Welcome Lennie!
I'm chemical engineer and i do believe you will make excellent cheeses with all your knowledge

[Sailor Con Queso]

Moz has to be pH 5.2-5.4 before it will stretch. If it's high, it won't stretch. If it's too low, it becomes brittle.

[Lennie]

Mine is mushy, and a little grainy in the sense that the curds never completely melt together into a uniform mass.

I just need to practice more.

[DeejayDebi]

Well it is a learning experience. At least you managed to save it sort of.  When that happens it never recovers perfectly but  will be edible if you hang in there. I hate to see food go to waste.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Grainy and grey is probably over acidified. However, sometimes certain brands of milk just won't work. Avoid ultrapasteurization.

[Quesa]

Mine is mushy, and a little grainy in the sense that the curds never completely melt together into a uniform mass.

Does it look like a cauliflower?

Mine did on my first attempt.

[Lennie]

Like a creamy soup with cauliflower bits.   

[Quesa]

Like a creamy soup with cauliflower bits

That's funny, though somehow it sounds a little yummy.

A good suggestion I got when I started was to keep a notebook of what methods and recipes worked for me, so that I develop a favorite recipe.

Keep us posted on your endeavors.

[Lennie]

I forgot to mention that I am getting some assistance from an article on mozz making that showed up in the Jan'10 Brew Your Own magazine, a magazine devoted to homebrewing.  They have good instructions and pictures, and the references include the two books my wife bought for me (Carroll and Smith).  They used a kit from New England for the mozz.

I'm coming to the conclusion that my curds are somehow too wet when I try to melt them.  This is just something I need to get the feel for.  At least the time spent isn't great and milk is under $3/gal here.  I'm eating my mistakes as a farmer's cheese, grind a little pepper and sprinkle some oregano on it and even the mistakes are decent eating.

The wife tried to use my first mozz ball on an eggplant parmesan dish (this was the stuff I microwaved to death) and it didn't melt, just browned and was dry.  My ricotta was excellent though.

[DeejayDebi]

I will have to go find my copy of BYO I haven't even read the last several issues - too blinded by cheese right now to even read my brew mail.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Moz curds can't be too wet to melt (stretch). The classic technique is to soften the curds in hot water (or whey) to make it pliable enough to stretch.

It's either your pH or a milk brand that will NEVER work. Try a different milk.

[Lennie]

I've used three brands of storebought milk now.  I've ordered some citric and will try that, maybe my acid blend is putting the pH out of whack (although the pH paper seems to show it is in the right range).

Can overcooking also mess things up?  Or not getting the curds hard enough before cutting?  I may have done both of those in the last two batches.

[DeejayDebi]

Not getting the curds firm enough before cutting is defianalely a problem you could end up with mush if you stir them when they are to soft.

So can overcook the curds but I don't think that was your problem.