As I write this post, I'm having a hard time resisting the ball of mozzarella sitting next to me in a bowl of ice water. My fingers keep pinching off little pieces and popping them in my mouth while I'm trying to decipher my whey-splattered notes. Needless to say, this experiment in cheese-making was an undisputed success!
Weekend Project: Make Your Own Mozzarella!
I ended up ordering "Ricki's Mozzarella & Ricotta Kit" for my cheese-making starter kit. Included in the package is everything you see above (clockwise from left): a recipe booklet, citric acid to help separate the curds and whey, cheese salt for seasoning, vegetarian rennet tablets to coagulate the proteins into curds, cheese cloth, and a thermometer (not pictured).
I started off by dissolving 1/4 of a table of rennet in 1/4 cup of water, and in a separate bowl, dissolving the citric acid in 1 cup of water. I set the rennet aside for later, and combined the citric acid solution and milk in a 6 quart dutch oven (it needs to be a non-reactive pan).
Stirring slowly, I heated the milk and citric acid up to 90-degrees - this took about 5 minutes. Off the heat, I added the rennet, stirred the mixture, and let it sit for 5 minutes. I didn't feel like my curds were solid enough, so I let it sit for another 5 minutes as the instructions suggest. You can see how solid they became in the pictures below; it felt like cutting through very soft tofu.
The neat squares of curd fell apart as I scooped them out of the whey, as you can see in the left-hand picture below. I wasn't sure if this to be expected, but it didn't seem to make a difference in the end. After separating the curds, I microwaved them for a minute. More whey separated out, and the curds were noticeably firmer. The picture on the right shows the cheese after it was microwaved. At this point, it felt spongy and wet, but held together in a solid mass.
I microwaved the cheese twice more, stirring and then kneading in between. Once the cheese registered 130-degrees, I turned it onto the counter and kneaded until it was smooth and shiny (below, left). This only took a few minutes and the cheese cooled rapidly as I worked with it. While it's still warm, you can roll it into small individual balls, braid it, or shape it into a log. Once it's cooled in an ice bath, the cheese will hold it's shape.
The fresh cheese is delicious - as our pinching fingers can attest! It's softer and more springy than the store-bought mozzarella I've had. The flavor is rich and mild - I can't wait to experiment with using other kinds of milk and adding ingredients like dried herbs and flavored salts. We'll be enjoying it in sandwiches and on pizza later this weekend.
This first time making cheese felt a little awkward. There were discrepancies between the instructions in the packet and instructions on Ricki's website, but I feel that making this cheese is fool-proof enough that it didn't make a huge difference in the end. Now that I've made it once, I feel that I can - and will! - confidently make it again.
Ready to try your hand at cheese making?! What questions or advice do you have?
• The 30-Minute Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheesemaking Kit is $24.95 from New England Ceesemaking Supply Company. The alternate instructions are under the "More Information" tab on the order page.
Related: DIY Recipe: Homemade Paneer Cheese
(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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Projects, Cheese, D.I.Y. Recipe, cheesemaking, cheese making, mozzarella, homemade cheeseRelated Links
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- Weekend Project: Make Your Own Mozzarella!
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how much cheese can you make for the price of the $24 kit?
view spossberg's profile
I thought mozzarella and *especially* ricotta are pretty easy to make at home without the need for a $25 kit. Isn't ricotta basically just heated milk with some lemon juice thrown in to make it curdle?
view mh330's profile
Spossberg - There's enough supplies in the kit for 40 batches of mozzarella. (the packaging material says it's enough for 30 batches, but I counted enough for 40). Each batch makes roughly 3/4 pounds of mozzarella, as demonstrated above. The kit is just to get you started with all the supplies. Once you know how to do it, you can order things like rennet separately and in more bulk.
mh330 - yes, you can make ricotta using just lemon juice, though I've found that the curds aren't as thick or chewy. But for mozzarella, I'm pretty sure you need rennet. I'm researching another post on what exactly rennet does and why it's necessary for cheese making. Stay tuned for that!
view EmmaC's profile
neat :)
view sally599's profile
I ordered this kit a couple months ago and I'm obsessed! I've made mozzarella a bunch of times and am now trying to convince my boyfriend to make me a cheese press so I can move on to hard cheeses! Woo hoo!
view spanky104's profile
I recommend Ricki's book for more cheesemaking ideas. I've made her mozz recipes a few times (without the kit) and I've made ricotta from the leftover whey. The ricotta was amazing.
view cara in brooklyn's profile
Cara - Ricki's directions say that you can't make ricotta from the whey for the rennet-based mozzarella because it's not "cultured." This makes me sad because I have quarts and quarts of whey in my fridge. How do you make yours?!
view EmmaC's profile
I have GOT to try this! Thanks!
Emily
view Emily Sneds's profile
Rennet causes coagulation of the milk solids. It is an enzyme derived from a cow stomach. In fact, cheese-making was supposedly invented in ancient times when someone put milk in a bota bag-type container (animal stomach pouch) and then traveled with it. When traveler opened the pouch to drink, he discovered curds and whey. Who knows if this is really true - I read it in a children's encyclopedia when I was little!
Vegetarian rennet is available and ovo-lacto vegetarians should see if this product complies with their dietary requirements.
view jgphotomom's profile
I really want to try this! Can you get a smaller kit?
view misamel's profile
this sounds like a lot of fun. But I'm wondering...How does it taste compared to all the delicious mozzarella that is now available in grocery stores? And what is the cost comparison to just buying already-made mozzarella
view fischbowl's profile
Rennet is *not* vegetarian. I was wondering if vegetarian "rennet" would work in this recipe or not. Anyone know? I miss fresh mozzarella desperately, but cannot bring myself to eat anything made with the stomach lining of baby cows.
view Jezebella's profile
I just ordered this kit and am looking forward to making cheese!
view amyd99's profile
Fischbowl - the fun thing about making your own mozzarella is that you can tweak the recipe to get the the exact flavor you want and play around with different types for different recipes. I felt like this batch I made was creamier, richer, and chewier than store-bought, which I usually find bland and rubbery. As compared to artisan-made mozzarella, it's probably pretty equal!
The cost-comparison is interesting - Once you've bought the kit, the only other thing you need to buy is a gallon of milk. At my grocery store, a gallon of milk is about $4.50. Tack on another 75-cents or so for the kit ($25/40 batches) and this home-made mozzarella is about $5.25 per batch. How does that compare to what you've been
buying? For the mozzarella I've seen, this is about equal.
Also, the rennet that comes with Ricki's kit is vegetarian, FYI. I don't think she offers a smaller kit, though other places might. You could also get several friends to go in on a kit together to make experimentation cheaper.
P.S. I used the whey instead of water in a batch of no-knead bread this weekend. FABulous.
view EmmaC's profile
You can definately get vegetable rennet. Some commercial cheeses are even made with it.
My question is do you have to have a microwave to make this? I would love to try it.
view SleepyDweller's profile
I'm also wondering how to alter this recipe if you don't have a microwave.
view IzzyIzzy's profile
no you dont have to have a microwave! you can use a hot water bath and the thermometer that you get in the kit!
view spanky104's profile
does anyone have any information about making cheese (specifically mozzarella, but i'm open to other types) without using rennet?
view Jennifer Squires's profile