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I don't have an answer for you on the curing salt, but am bumping this up in the hopes someone in the know will see it.

Thanks for sharing the results of your salting experiments.

I have been out of touch for a while, but my mozz still is not right, but I am using whole milk and when I stretch some parts stretch really well, and some don't? Do I have some kind of uneven ripening? Is there anythign special you do with the fresh curds?

Also I end up with this like creamy white (I am assuming the good tasting stuff) ends up in the stretching water or whey depending on what I use. ?

How long are you ripening the curd?  And are you ripening at room temperature at least 10-12 hours?

I cut my curd into approximately 2 inch cubes to stretch it, then put several cubes into a basket in the whey to heat.  It takes several immersions to get all of the curd hot enough to stretch, so I take it out and pull it around, then back into the hot whey to get the middle part hot enough.  If I leave it in the hot whey long enough for the center of the curd to be stretchable, it would all just melt right through the basket and I'd lose all the curd.

The whey does end up rather white, so does lose some of the cream, etc., during the stretching phase.  When I'm done stretching the mozz, I pour the whey through a fine sieve to remove any stray pieces of  mozz and then reheat the whey to make ricotta.  That way, I recycle what was lost from the mozz.

Minamyna you may not be texturing your curd well enough after draining and before putting in the fridge overnight or waiting for it to acidify at room temperature.  That can cause uneven stretching and also proper texturing may help with the loss of cream during the stretching phase.

What do you mean by "texturing your curd"?

After draining the curds, I flip the curd slab or redress every 15 minutes or so and then cut in half and stack again flipping a couple of times and changing position, over warm whey so that the individual curds knit together.

That sounds like cheddaring to me and I've never done anything like that with mozzarella, yet have had near 100% success with the recipe I have included with this thread.

My curds do knit together while they are draining overnight in the colander.

Well I think that it is a bit like 'cheddaring' but my experience is that it helps the acidity and the curd to knit by removing the whey, which is why 'cheddaring is done I guess.    I find that this helps both with wheying off into the stretching water and the stretch itself.  I too make mozz over two days  just do it this way and have found it to be a help.   

Mrs. K (et all) I let it sit at least 2 days at room temperature. I have even done it where I try it at 12 hours, 1 day and 2 days. My curds meld together in the in the colander and then they go straight into a ziplock to ripen. It is so dry here in Wyoming that everything dries out really quickly.  Maybe I shoudl try texturing?

I would also like to know, how do they get the "blocks" of mozz for shredding? Also I never have managed to get provolone to turn out right......to me it seems like the recipe is just aged mozz? Shaped into a cylinder?

Thanks again

I wouldn't put it into a ziploc bag, as that would hold in any residual whey and might be making parts of your curd too acidic.  I leave my colander sitting over the kettle that catches the whey and put a lid on the colander.  It keeps the curd from drying out at all and I think would be the solution for you as well.

I'm guessing that the blocks at the store are either formed that way (maybe they use molds) or they have huge wheels of cheese that are cut into the block form for store packaging.  Rather than putting balls of mozz into cold water to firm up, you could put the warm, stretched cheese into a rectangular plastic container and set it in the fridge to firm up, then just pop it out for use.  Wa-la,  a block of mozz!

I've never made provolone, so don't have any info on that for you.  You may want to start a new thread to ask about that.

Provolone needs the addition of lipase, which of course is added to the milk at the start.  Once the  curd is stretched I shape it, then age it for 6 weeks minimum.  It is a favourite here.

I just happened across the cultured mozz recipe from Jim Wallace on the New England Cheese- making site. It's pretty similar to Karen's recipe but has some good pics.
I've been making quite a bit of mozz lately. A couple of times, after 2-3 days in the fridge, when I couldn't get around to stretching, I put the curds in the freezer. After thawing, they stretched great! A good thing to know when my schedule gets in the way.

Thanks for your recipe, Karen!

Unfortunately, I don't have any raw milk available, it's not available in Michigan unless you by shares; can't afford to go that route.

so, i've resorted to buying whole milk and adding calcium chloride.  I followed your recipe, but added the calcium chloride, and it has been draining for 6 hours now (i, too, put it in a colander which fits inside a catch pot, with the pots lid over the cheese).  this is the first time i've used the calcium chloride and the first time i've used your recipe, but one of the two has given my actual curds.  previously, all my curds looked like ricotta.  despite looking like that, they did stretch once melted in the microwave.

unfortunately, i didn't read the part about rinsing before draining.  :/

we'll see what happens.  Thanks!

it's been 30 hours, and no stretch  

still waiting

I hope this worked for you, Salty.  Sorry to take so long to reply - I;ve been away from the 'Net for awhile.

I've never had any luck getting curd formation, even with calcium chloride, so you are ahead of me there.  I was trying veggie rennet, though, so I think that may have been a big part of my troubles.