Mozzarella - High MilkFat

[linuxboy]

Most cow's milk is PF .6 - 1.0. Depends on the breed.

I don't know what the best PF for your situation is. A wide range works for mozz, but you have to match it up to your milk. What kind of mozz do you achieve by using the milk alone?

I suggest you try the minimalist possible approach, using milk, and directly acidifying it. Then when you understand how your milk works, do a very basic cultures recipe. And when you have figured that out, modify it to see the changes. Do 1-2 liter batches so you don't waste milk.

[AlanM]

Alright.  I'll try whole milk with no additions of cream.  Do you think that I should start with a 3 x flocculation multiplier to be on the safe side, or should a 4x multiplier be safe as well?

[linuxboy]

For regular milk, 3x with a 10-15 min rest/heat with 2-3" curds, then cut again to 3/4"-1". To get the most moisture retention, you have to do this hybrid approach with a longer rest. A 4x + heal tends to give uneven moisture in the curds. But a 4x should work, too, just a little more tricky to do.

[AlanM]

Well, my third try with whole cow's milk and no other additions was a near success.  I pretty much did everything the same, with a 3 x floc multiple.  The cheese finally stretched, but I think that my pH might still have been high.  I'm using pH test strips, and they aren't the easiest to read.  I knew that I was close, and after doing a small curd test, saw that it was stretching, but having never experienced a perfect result before, I wasn't sure whether it was stretching enough.  I was also worried about over acidification and damaging the texture, so I just went with it and tried stretching the whole mass.  I think that the curds, despite stretching some, might still have been underacidified.  Can someone tell me exactly how easily the mozzarella curds should become stretchy and meld together in a good quantity of 175 F water? 

Is there a good Youtube video that shows how to work the curds and about how long they take to come together?  I've found lots of videos, but I get the impression that some of these people are overworking the curds and losing too much butterfat and moisture, which is not definitely what I want to do.

Also, one last question: Can someone recommend an accurate and affordable (under $100) pH meter?

I think that I just need to break down and buy one.

Thanks,

Alan