I have learned to make cheese, and it is yummy! You can do it too!
A few
months ago, I went to Switzerland to visit my Kids. while there we went on a
tour of a cheese factory and enjoyed some fabulous dishes at the factory
restaurant. There was much discussion regarding the process and the fact that
many cheese products you buy retail now-a-days have ingredients such as celuose
in them. Well a few weeks later my kids sent me a cheese makeing kit from a
place called the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, I am including a link
for them here in case you want to check them out. www.cheesemaking.com.
My first
thought was that I needed farm fresh milk, not so you can make this with store
bought pasturized milk. I also thought it would take a long time but the recipe
is a quick recipe taking only 30 minutes.
30 Minute Mozzerella
Ingredients:
1 gallon
of cold milk
1 &
1/2 tsp. Citric Acid diluted in 1 cup cool water
1/4 tab
or 1/4 tsp of rennet diluted in 1/4 cup cool water
1- 1 1/2
tsp. Cheese salt (Optional)
Make sure the milk you use for this
cheese is NOT ULTRA- PASTEURIZED
--Homogenized milk will work
fine.
--Fresh farm milk will also work well but we encourage you to try with
1 gallon of store bought whole milk first.
--Low fat milk will work but the
cheese will be drier and less flavorful
Equipment you will need:
--A 6 to
8 quart stainless steel pot. Aluminum or cast iron will not work.
--A
stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon.
--A two quart microwave safe
mixing bowl
--A thermometer which will read between 80 - 120 degrees
F.
Prepare your work area:
Do not prepare any other food while you are
making cheese.
Put all food products away. Move all sponges, cloths and
dirty towels away from your work surface, wipe your sink and stove with soap and
water. Finally use your antibacterial cleaner to wipe down all
surfaces.
Process:
Crush 1/4 tablet of rennet and dissolve in 1/4 cup
of cool, unchlorinated water and set aside to use later.
Add 1.5 tsp. of
citric acid, diluted in 1 cup cool water, to 1 gallon of cold milk and stir
well.
(Add the citric acid solution to the empty cold pot - the photos show
adding this dry but do mix with water).
Now, pour cold milk into your pot
quite quickly to mix well with the citric acid . This will bring the milk to the
proper acidity to stretch well later. Next, heat this milk to 90F. As you
approach 90F, you may notice your milk beginning to curdle slightly due to
acidity and temp.
NOTE: If having problems with milk forming a proper curd,
you may need to increase this temp to 95 or even 100F
At 90F, remove the
pot from the burner and slowly add your rennet (which you prepared in previous
step) to the milk. Stir in a top to bottom motion for approx. 30 seconds, then
stop. Cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Check the curd, it
will look like custard, with a clear separation between the curds and whey. If
too soft or the whey is milky, let set for a few more minutes.
Cut the curds
into a 1" checkerboard pattern (as in photos above) and, if a drier cheese is
desired, carefully cut and stir this curd to release more whey.
Place the
pot back on the stove and heat to 105F, while slowly stirring the curds with
your ladle. (If you will be stretching the curds in a hot water bath heat to
110F in this step.)
Take off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5
minutes. (More time will make a firmer cheese)
With a slotted spoon,
scoop curds into a microwave safe bowl. (If the curd is too soft at this point
let sit for another minute or so.)
You will now press this curd gently with
your hand, pouring off as much whey as possible. Reserve this whey to use in
cooking.
Next, microwave the curd on high for 1 minute. You will notice more
whey has run out of the curd. Drain off all whey as you did before. Quickly work
the cheese with a spoon or your hands until it is cool enough to touch (rubber
gloves will help since the cheese is almost too hot to touch at this
point.)
Microwave 2 more times for 35 seconds each, and repeat the kneading
as in the last step. Drain off all of the whey as you go.
Knead quickly
now as you would bread dough until it is smooth and shiny. Add salt near the
finish.
At this point the cheese should be soft and pliable enough to stretch
like taffy.
It is ready to eat when it cools.
Form it into a ball and
drop into ice water to cool and refrigerate.
When cold you can wrap in
plastic wrap and it will last for several days, but is best when eaten
fresh.
For additional recipes or to order supplies Irecommend visiting
www.cheesemaking.com.
I have
also made several batches of cheddar but they need several months to age and I
have not tested them yet. I will let you know....
Wow! I read all this post from the beginning to the end without stops. You're nice writer, Terry. And I would like to thank you for recipes. I look forward to your story about taste of your cheddar (I love cheddar).
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