Today we learned how to make mozzarella cheese. We went to a friends house and she showed us how to make it. We made 3 batches. About 4.5 lbs of cheese. For mozzarella cheese you need to pull the cheese like taffy and it is hot- about 135 F hot to be exact, hence the gloves I'm wearing. In the end I molded it into an oval shaped piece of cheese that we cut up and ate fresh. We learned that we needed to double the salt in the recipe. So mozzarella will get perfected with different milks and adding a few herbs and such. Then maybe on to ricotta cheese? Not sure, but appears that we may be hooked.
4 comments:
YUM!! My poor Rosemary has an extreme dairy sensitivity. I hope she grows out of it so that she can enjoy the delicious wonders of cheese.
When Steve and I went to Italy, we watched a little Italian grandmother make mozzarella in Italy and she used her bare hands. Mind you, they were very red and pretty resistant after all those years. Can you imagine?? I'm for gloves all the way--spare the pain!
Anna
Ricotta - whole milk ricotta - is WAAAY easier than mozzarella.
Heat milk to 200, add vinegar, remove from heat, drain in cheesecloth. Stupid easy. I add butter and baking soda - the butter to add richness, the soda to neutralize the vinegar.
Resist the temptation to make "real" ricotta from whey. A huge mess with very low yield. Not good at all.
so when do you add the butter and baking soda? After draining?
Ok...Ricotta is next up...
I'm not sure I could do the cheese with bare hands... it was really hot.
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