Those who run a homestead of their own are always on the lookout for better ways to make ends meet. Mozzarella is a potential income or trade generator that will allow you to use the produce of your cattle to make another outlet for your creativity…and for your farm.
Join us, as we discuss how you go about making Mozzarella for yourself. Homemade cheese is seriously underrated. Try some of your own and you won’t even think of disagreeing!
Making Mozzarella – Minus the Microwave!
Prepare to set aside around an hour and a half for the actual making of the mozzarella cheese. It ought to only take you an hour, but we all know those first few times are always the slowest!
To make Mozzarella from home (the easiest way) minus the microwave, you will need:
- ½ teaspoon of citric acid.
- 30ml boiling water.
- 1 liter of your finest milk! Farm fresh is best, raw milk is needed for the bacterial content.
- 1 tablespoon of salt.
- A pinch of rennet.
- A bowl of iced water – best keep this in the freezer until it is needed!
You will also need access to a stove, a sieve, a colander spoon, a chopping board and a sharp knife.
Once you have all of the elements gathered, get ready to make some of the best homemade mozzarella cheese you have ever tasted!
Making the Mozzarella!
Now it’s time to get stuck in! Start by dissolving that half teaspoon of citric acid in your boiling water. If you don’t have citric acid lying around the house then a little lemon juice will do a similar job.
While the lemon juice or acid is dissolving in the heated water, pour the liter of milk into a large saucepan. You want the stove to be on a gentle heat, so no higher than 2 on an electric stove, or a quarter on a gas stove. You do not want to bring it to simmer as that will be too hot. Mix the dissolved acid solution in with the milk and stir once in a while.
After a while the curds and whey will begin to separate. At this point remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. As it cools, the acid will push more and more curd out of the milk. When you are satisfied that you have all of the curds that you can, scoop them out of the pan with the colander spoon and sieve them lightly.
Take the curds, a ¼ cup of the whey, and the salt, and mix them together in a fresh pan. This time you want to heat the stove to approximately 80 degrees. Once you reach this temperature, remove the mix onto your chopping board and cut them into ball-sized chunks.
At this point you can use the bowl of iced water to keep your fingers cold while you work the cheese. It isn’t used in the recipe; it’s simply there to cool your hands against the roasted curds. Once made, your mozzarella balls can be stored in a solution of cold water for up to five days.
So go ahead – try mozzarella making for yourself and let us know how you get on! If it sounds a little complex then practice on some basket cheese first! You can find an easy basket cheese recipe right here on our blog.
Happy cheese-making!
