Why would anyone make their own cheese? | Mozzarella recipe | Pizza series

Is making your own Fresh Mozzarella hard? Not really. Can it be frustrating? Absolutely! But that shouldn't stop you from trying. The benefits are well worth the effort and the pizza that you make with this mozzarella is outrageously delicious! And you just got better at something that was challenging. That's got to feel good.
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- Table of Contents -
00:00 Intro
02:49 Citric acid and first heat
04:15 Problem solving
05:10 Adding rennet
07:10 Cutting the curd and second heat
11:01 Draining
12:54 Portioning and forming
17:38 Cooling and cutting
18:47 Tasting
19:34 Keys to success | Outro
20:14 Bloopers
Fresh Mozzarella recipe:
- 4 KG milk (~1 US Gallon)
Add milk to a large pot, ideally one with a heavy bottom as prevention against burning.
- 7g citric acid
- 50g water
Dissolve citric acid in water. Add acid solution to milk while stirring. Place pot on burner over low heat. Heat until temperature reaches 32°C (90°F), stirring occasionally to prevent scorching on the bottom, about 5-10 mins.
While the milk is heating, prepare the rennet solution.
- 1 rennet tablet (most tablets are designed to set 4 litres of milk, but check first)
- 30g water
Mix together until rennet disperses in the water. Once milk reaches 32°C (90°F), take off the heat and slowly stir in rennet solution while stirring continuously. Stir gently for 30 more seconds, then place a lid on the pot and wait at least 15-20 mins.
Check to see if curds have formed by gently inserting a thin knife or spatula blade down the edge of the pot and pulling gently toward yourself. The raft of curds will offer a bit of resistance and you’ll see liquid form in the void. If curd raft hasn’t formed yet, wait another 5-10 mins and test again.
Once raft is formed, it’s time to slice the curds into cubes. Using a thin knife or spatula, slice into 25mm slices (1”). Rotate pot a quarter turn and slice again to form cubes. Place back on medium-low heat and raise temperature to 41°C (106°F). While heating, carefully stir the cubes back and forth, agitating them gently. This process helps the curds to form together more cohesively and expel some whey. Once up to temperature, place the lid on and lest rest just few more minutes, then drain them.
My favorite way to drain is to place a cooling rack, spider or your hand over the pot and hold back the curds while you pour out the whey. I alternate side to side, as the will curds form a dam and prevent easy draining. This side to side agitation also helps the curds to form together into one mass, which doesn’t seem to be traditional but makes the next step easier in my opinion. Pour the curd mass out onto a half sheet pan. Make sure you retain the whey if you want to make ricotta..
4g salt, flaky or kosher
Sprinkle the top of the curds with salt. Separate into 4 to 8 rough batches on the tray, depending upon what size cheese balls you want.One at a time, place a batch of curds into the bottom of a large, shallow, heat safe bowl. Pour enough boiling water into the bowl to cover curds. Let sit for 30 seconds to begin the process of melting the curds. Using clean dishwashing gloves or a double layer of latex/nitrile gloves to protect hands, gently form curds together, lifting and pulling as needed to form into one mass that stretches. Gently stretch curd mass several times (dipping back into hot water as needed) until the mass looks a bit shiny. Form into a ball by stretching the top of the mass with the palms of the hand while tucking the underneath with your fingertips. This process is difficult to explain in words but is pretty easy to achieve. Watch my pizza dough video or search CZcams for ‘dough ball forming’ process and follow the steps, as they are basically the same.
Once cheese balls are formed, place immediately into ice water. It’s important that this water is very cold, as it tightens the cheese proteins rapidly, allowing the ball to hold its shape and to hold up better in storage. If not cooled quickly, the balls will flatten out and the outside will be soft, dissolving over time if left in water. Leave in the ice water to chill completely.
Store in plain water, not whey or brine, as the salt will cause the skin to soften and dissolve over time. Lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge.

[@atk8825]

I will 💯 be trying this!

[@maker_food]

I wish there was a way you could show me your results. I'm always eager to see what others have come up with. I want a platform where we can all learn together.

[@w2dv436]

I would love a plant based version so we can have cruelty free pizza

[@maker_food]

I've thought quite a bit about a vegan cheese and a gluten-free base. If I ever come up with something I am happy with, I'll make a video. Thanks for watching:-)