How to Make Mozzarella Cheese: Recipe and Video Tutorial
Raise your hand if you or someone in your family loves dairy?
I am obsessed with cheese, so when I received an invite to attend a local dairy farm tour followed by a class, teaching me how to make mozzarella cheese in celebration of National Dairy Month, I immediately signed up.
While many cheeses require hours to make and longer to age, you can make mozzarella faster than you can drive to the store and buy it. What busy mom doesn't love learning that hidden fact? We sure did!
How to Make Mozzarella Cheese
While learning how to make mozzarella cheese doesn't take long, it does require specific ingredients and tools, a few you may not have laying around the house. Pay specific attention to the details. Having a stainless steel pot, for example, is critical in helping avoid picking up extra flavors. And ultra pasteurized milk get you the results you are looking for.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Citric Acid
- 1 Gallon Milk (whole, 2%, or raw, not ultra pasteurized)
- Uniodized Salt (to taste)
- 1/4 Teaspoon Rennet (liquid not tablet)
- 1 1/4 Cup Water
Tools
- Glass Bowl
- Plate
- Small Bowl or Cup
- Stainless Steel Cake Decorating Knife
- Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Stainless Steel Pan
- Stainless Steel Slotted Spoon (flat)
- Thermometer
Instructions
While you will want to follow the steps below carefully, make sure to also watch this video as well. The first half of the video takes you on a virtual farm tour of Canyon View Farms in Midway, Utah and the second half shows a demonstration of mozzarella cheese making in action at Heber Valley Artisan Cheese. Some of the steps may sound a little complicated, but the video shows how simple it really is to make mozzarella cheese.
- In a cup or small bowl, measure 1 cup of water. Pour in citric acid and let dissolve. Measure 1/4 cup of water and pour into a separate bowl. Stir in the rennet until dissolved.
- Pour milk into the pan and heat to 60 degrees.
- Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to keep from milk burning and getting stuck to the bottom.
- Turn heat up to 90 degrees and keep the milk boiling, stirring the entire time.
- Take the pan off the burner once it hits 90 degrees.
- Put in rennet mix and stir slowly.
- Let sit 5 minutes to wait for it to coagulate.
- Test it by cutting with a stainless steel cake decorating knife or the side of the flat slotted spoon. If it shows a curvy line after cutting, let it sit 2 minutes longer. If it shows a straight line after cutting, it's ready. Be careful not to let it sit too long or it will become rubbery.
- When it's ready, cut all the way to the bottom of the pan, creating a grid. Cut columns and then rows (see the video for a demonstration of how to cut).
- Remove the curds from the whey, placing the curds in the glass bowl. Use your flat slotted spoon for this.
- Knead the cheese, removing the whey and keeping it in one mass in the glass bowl.
- Heat the cheese in a microwave for 1 minute. Afterward, knead it some more and stretch it around the knife as if you are making salt water taffy.
- Heat the cheese for another 30 seconds. Afterward, add salt to the cheese.
- Heat the cheese for another 30 seconds. If you want to add flavor to the mozzarella, do so after you have added the salt.
- Roll the cheese into a ball and store or flatten into a pancake shape, cut into squares, and eat immediately.
What is your favorite kind of cheese or other dairy product?
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