Winter is a slow time for the urban and rural gardener alike. Many of us turn to other wholesome activities. I’ve been busy making bread (and failing at it), cooking soups, and most recently, trying my hand at cheesemaking. Before anyone gets the illusion of smoked gouda or aged cheddar coming forth from my kitchen, let me quantify this statement by saying I’m trying mozzarella cheesemaking. mozzarella is a wonderful cheese to begin with because it is very straightforward to make. If I can do it, so can you! First off, I need to tell you that the knowledge I’ve gained comes directly from The New England Cheese Supply Company. If you aren’t familiar with this website, you should be. Ricki Carroll has more knowledge of cheese than I ever want to so I suggest checking her out. When making my mozzarella, I used a starter kit from her store and highly recommend you purchase one too!
Choosing your milk
I’ve done mozzarella a few times now and have had various levels of success. I’ve used both raw milk and pasteurized milk. Either will work, though the raw milk tends to be fresher, creamier, and more delicious. Still, the pasteurized milk was tasty too, as long as it isn’t ULTRA pasteurized. Ultra pasteurized milk means that it was heated up to a very high temperature (above 174 degrees F) which damages the calcium component of the milk. If this happens the curd will not form properly and you end up with a ricotta cheese like texture. (See my mistake at below).

Interestingly enough, most organic milks are ultra pasteurized and therefore inappropriate to use when making cheese, so read the label carefully. I used non-organic whole milk from Trader Joe’s and had it confirmed that their non-organic milk was not ultra-pasteurized. Check out the New England Cheese Supply website for more milk suggestions, or just find yourself a cow (kidding).
Instructions for Mozzarella Cheese
Total time: ½ hour
Yield: approx ¾ pound
Ingredients
1 gallon milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 ¼ cool water (chlorine-free)
1 ½ tsp. citric acid
¼ rennet tablet
1 tsp. cheese salt (optional (alt substitutes and/or herbs make a delicious alternative)
Equipment
1 gallon stainless steel pot or any non-aluminum or non-cast iron port
Dairy thermometer
Colander
Slotted spoon
Long knife
Microwavable bowl if using a microwave oven
Rubber gloves (optional)
*Directions were taken from The New England Cheese Supply Company. Are you sensing a trend yet?
Directions
1. Pour milk into a large pot
2. Dissolve ¼ rennet tablet into ¼ cup of cool chlorine-free water. Stir and set aside. Wrap the remaining pieces of tablet in plastic wrap and store in the freezer
3. Mix 1 ½ teaspoons citric acid into 1 cup cool, chlorine-free water until dissolved.
4. Pour citric acid in while stirring your milk vigorously.
5. Slowly heat the milk to 90°F while stirring.
6. Remove the pot from the burner and slowly stir in the rennet solution with an up and down motion for approximately 30 seconds.
7. Cover the pot and leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes.

8. Check the curd. It should look like custard, with a clear separation between the curd and the whey. If the curd is too soft or the why is milky, let set for a few more minutes. If your milk did not form a curd at all, please see p. 3 in booklet about choosing your milk.
9. Cut the curd with a knife that reaches to the bottom of your pot.
10. Place the pot back on the stove and heat to 105°F while slowly moving the curds around with your spoon.
11. Take off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5 minutes.
12. Pour off the floating whey. Notice how the curd gets firmer as the whey drains.

13. Drain the whey from the curd while gently pressing to aid whey runoff.
Microwave Method
Ladle your curds into a large microwaveable bowl and drain off as much of the why as you can without pressing the curds too much. Place the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute
Remove and drain off the whey as you gently fold the curds into one piece
Microwave for another 30 seconds. Drain again and knead the curd. Begin to GENTLY knead the curds. If you overwork it your cheese will be rubbery and tough.
Add your salt (1 tsp more or less) and/or herbs and work into the cheese.
Begin to stretch the curd. It must be 135°F to stretch properly. If it isn’t hot enough, microwave for another 30 seconds.
Stretch the cheese until it is smooth and shiny
(Note: the more you work the cheese, the firmer it will be. As soon as it is smooth and shiny, shape it into one of more balls)
Storing your cheese
When your cheese is done, you can braid it, make it into bite-sized morsels, or even make it into string cheese. Simply create it and submerge in ice water. This will cool it down and allow the cheese to hold its shape. You can also roll it out into a log and add prosciutto or herbs and other combinations to it.
If you are not up for making your own shape, your cheese will take the shape of any container you put it into. Cover and plunge the container into ice water.
If you are not ready to eat this cheese on the spot, you can store it in the fridge for up tot two weeks. It can be wrapped in saran wrap or stored in an air tight container. You can also freeze it and reheat when ready to use.

For the record, we originally did not knead the cheese and so it ended up more lumpy than desired. I’m happy to report that when I tried again the following week, the cheese came out smooth and shiny. Still, even with a weird texture, this cheese was delicious! For more troubleshooting help go to (you guessed) The New England Cheese Supply Company. Want to share your experience? Email me a picture of your cheese and I’ll put it up! sloomis@dehort.org.



































