How to get better fat retention in Mozz?

[Aris]

When i made Mozzarella, there is too much butterfat that got removed from the curd because of the hot water when you start stretching. So how do you get better fat retention in Mozz? And is 350g yield right for 4 litre raw cow's milk?

Thanks in advance,

[Aris]

I guess the only way to get better yield is to use state of the art machinery like this http://paragonpsl.com/brochures/FusionCookerBrochureFinal22Aug07.pdf  or use special fungus like in this article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17032998

[eric1]

I'm the last one that should be trying to offer advice here, because I'm really inexperienced, and a significant part of what little experience I do have is failure.  So if everything I say is completely wrong, please someone save the list from my ignorance!  With that warning, I've found two things to be apparently helpful.  One is to take an immersion blender to the surface of the milk right before I add the rennet.  I figure that's the closest I can come to homogenizing on a home scale, and I want to incorporate the fat as best I can into the milk so that it gets incorporated into the curd.  The other thing that seems to make a big difference is how quickly the curd sets.  I assume this is largely a factor of using enough rennet for a quick set.  My impression is that when the curd sets quickly that the fat is better incorporated into the curd and less is subsequently lost to the whey.

[Aris]

Using an immersion blender to incorporate the cream of a warm raw milk is a very bad idea because lipase will be activated and will turn the butterfat rancid. http://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(43)92814-0/abstract read that article for more details. I no longer have a problem with yield, i was able to get 550 g of Mozzarella with 5 litres raw milk last time i made one, i think that is a very good yield. Anyway, your reply is still appreciated.

[eric1]

Thanks for that pointer.  How should I incorporate the cream then?

[Aris]

Gently stir with up and down motion. I think 10-15 strokes should be enough.

[eric1]

Do you think the less vigorous incorporation of the cream will entail a compromise in terms of how quickly it separates back out again?

[Aris]

I think no matter how much you stir a raw milk, the cream will always separate and float unless you homogenize it. That's why i always stir right before i add rennet so that the cream is properly distributed throughout the milk.

[DeejayDebi]

Playing with the curds to much and not chilling quickly after stretching will allow more butterfat to be released.  Also cutting larger curds will help keep from loosing butterfats.