Fresh Homemade Organic Raw Milk Mozzarella Food

FRESH HOMEMADE ORGANIC RAW MILK MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Wash thoroughly all equipment in hot soapy water and rinse well. Dish washer is good using the sani rinse cycle.
• In a small glass bowl or measuring cup, dissolve citric acid powder in 1/4 cup lukewarm water, stirring with a stainless-steel spoon.
• In a large stainless steel pot, combine raw grass fed milk and dissolved citric acid, stirring to blend well with an up and down motion.
• Place pot over medium heat and warm milk mixture to 90ºF, stirring gently to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.
• Dilute rennet in 1/4 cup cool water. Add to milk and using up and down motion, draw rennet down into milk until well blended. Cover and let set for 45 minutes. Check for a clean break. It will look like a block of tofu. If the curd is still too fragile, cover and let set for another 15 minutes or until a clean break is achieved.
• Using a long-bladed knife cut curd into 1/2 inch cubes. Let stand for 5 minutes to firm up the curds.
• Place pot over low heat and slowly warm curds to 106ºF, stirring gently and continuously, adjusting the heat as necessary to make sure it takes 15 minutes to do so. As the curds warm try not to break them up too much. The curds will eventually clump together and separate more completely from the yellow whey.
• Remove when temperature reaches 106. Stir for 5 more minutes of the heat.
• Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in another pot, bring 2-4 quarts water to a low boil.
• Turn off the heat.
• Drain off whey through colander. Let drain for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile place 2-3 tablespoons kosher salt into a cup of hot water to dissolve then add 1 quart of cool water.
• Set up three bowls one with the hot water, one with cool water and one with the brine mixture.
• Place 1/6 of the curd mass in bowl of the hot water just to cover.
• Wearing heat resistant gloves or using a long handled wooden spoon, work curds under the hot water (the cheese will become very soft), lightly stretching them. The curd will begin to stretch. Pulling the cheese and folding it back on itself and stretching again until it is smooth and shiny.
• Adding more hot water to the curds to to help the cheese stretch.
• The more you work the curd at this point the drier the Mozzarella will be.
• Use your hands to shape the cheese into the single ball or pinch off pieces for small bocconcini size cheeses.
• When the cheese turns smooth and shiny place the cheese in a bowl of cool water not cold water for 5 minutes.
• Then add to the brine for a couple minutes.
• Remove and drain on paper towel. Use immediately or wrap and refrigerate.

RICKI CARROLL'S 30-MINUTE MOZZARELLA - HOMEMADE

Steps:

• Remember if you are using fresh, raw milk, you have to pasteurize it first (found above in the 'Description').
• Slowly heat the milk in a stainless steel pot to 55 degrees. While stirring, add the citric acid solution to the milk and mix thoroughly.
• Heat the milk to 88 degrees over medium-low heat. The milk will begin to curdle. (A NOTE that I found -- The bit about milk not curdling at 88F is wrong, since it curdles just fine at 68-72F for chevre, and 88F is a standard setting temp for cheddar cheese. When I make cheese from my raw farm milk this is where I set it to coagulate. I may raise the temp a bit due to high buttterfat or other seasonal changes to get the whey out but not by much. However, if you are using store-bought milk, we do find that it needs to be heated a bit higher for coagulation (93-97F) after setting, and then a bit more after that to release the whey.).
• Gently stir in the diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion for 30 seconds. Then let the milk sit still while heating it to between 100 and 105 degrees. In about 5 to 8 minutes, the curds should be pulling away from the sides of the pot. Turn off the heat.
• The curds will look like thick yogurt and have a bit of shine to them, and the whey will be clear. If the whey is still milky white, wait a few more minutes before turning off the heat. Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon and put into a 2-quart microwavable bowl. Press the curds gently with your hands, pouring off as much whey as possible.
• Microwave the curds on high for 1 minute. (Without a Microwave follows below.).
• Drain off all excess whey. Gently fold the cheese over and over (as in kneading bread) with your hand or a spoon. This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese, which will not stretch until it is too hot to touch (145 degrees inside the curd). You may want to don rubber gloves at this point, as the cheese will be extremely hot to the touch.
• Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each; add salt to taste after the second time. After each heating, knead again to distribute the heat.
• Knead quickly until it is smooth and elastic. When the cheese stretches like taffy, it's done. If the curds break instead of stretch, they are too cool and need to be reheated.
• When the cheese is smooth and shiny, roll it into small balls and eat while warm. Or place them in a bowl of ice water for half an hour to bring the inside temperature down rapidly; this will produce a consistent smooth texture throughout the cheese. Although best eaten fresh, it can be stored in the refrigerator at this point.
• Note: If you are using store-bought milk, and your curds turn into the consistency of ricotta cheese and will not come together, switch brands of milk. It may have been heated at the factory at too high a temperature.
• *How to Make Quick Mozzarella Cheese Without a Microwave*.
• Follow the recipe for 30-minute Mozzarella until Step 5.
• When you get to Step 5, reserve the whey. Then put on heavy rubber gloves.
• Heat the reserved whey to at least 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Add 1/4 cup of cheese salt to the whey.
• Shape the curd into one or more balls, put them in a ladle or strainer, and dip them into the hot whey for several seconds.
• Knead the curd with spoons between each dip and repeat this process several times until the curd is smooth and pliable. When it stretches like taffy, it's done.
• Roll the cheese into small balls, and serve warm. Or place them in a bowl of ice water for half an hour to bring the inside temperature down rapidly. This will produce a consistent, smooth texture throughout.
• If you have any cheese leftover (highly unlikely!), cover and store in the refrigerator.