It's the familiar problem; the mozz curds don't stretch when heated, but break up into tiny curds. :-\
I thought that I had mozz figured out. MrsKK's 2 day recipe worked wonderfully for me twice. The third time though, the curds just won't stretch. They should have been ready about 24 hours ago, but broke when I tested them then. I've tested them 4 times since and if anything, the problem is worse. I'm ready to give up. Does anyone have any constructive suggestions for the curds? There's about 2 gallons worth. They do taste a bit bitter. I don't have a way to test Ph.
Haven't tried mozz yet. I get the feeling it's a tricky cheese. Play with another type of cheese for a while if you're frustrated, but goodness don't give up!
Oh no, I'm not giving up making cheese. :) Or even giving up making mozz. Just giving up trying for sweet little mozz balls with this set of curds. If I had a pig to toss them to, they would be gone already. ;) But absent an animal with an uncritical palate, I am wondering if there is anything to be done with the curds.
Too much acidification can be just as bad as too little acidification. Do you have a pH meter?
No pH meter here. Mozz may drive me to getting one. I do suspect that it is too much acidification. It was a bigger batch than my first two, so probably retained more heat overnight and was ready sooner than I realized.
The 2 successes were so, well, successful. Everyone liked them. We had mozz on sandwiches, roasted peppers, pizza, lasagna, and best of all, smoked a few in the new little smoking cabinet. We are smoking a pork roast today and I was hoping to put in some mozz balls after the roast came out. Alas, it is not to be.
I've found a big difference in how long it takes my milk to acidify at different times. It may be the milk. Sometimes it works quite fast, other times very slowly. I'm very glad I got my pH meter, it's helped my game a lot.
When I've had this happen to me, it is usually when I try to use older milk. The milk starts out more acidic and it just tips over from not ready to too acidic to stretch in a very short time.
You could just try pressing the curd and use it as a fresh cheese. Not sure how it will taste or what the texture would be like, though.
I did that with a batch my daughter was making that went too slow, and ran out of time. I just threw the curd into the press and called it queso blanco. Tasted quite good, we used it on salads all week.
The raw cow milk I use was 6.4 pH for a month after freshening. I wouldn't have caught that, or made adjustments for it, without my pH meter.
I tried pressing, but there were huge voids. The curds have been set aside to take to some chickens.
The milk was a mixture of fresh (warm from the cow) and warmed 2 to 3 day old milk. The same as the successful makes. Yes, I think it is time for a pH meter.