How to make
The conditions for homemade mozzarella are that the milk must be full-fat and unpasteurized. It is best if you buy farm milk.
It is heated twice, and its heat treatment is important for its coagulation, i.e. under the influence of the rennet enzyme, which acts on protein in milk. To be sure when heating it, it is good to use a thermometer.
It is important not to overdo it with the citric acid, because the resulting product will remain dry and crumbly, it will not become stringy.
While the milk is still warm, we must knead it, like bread dough, to form the characteristic threads of mozzarella. It is important not to overdo it here, because it will acquire a hard texture. 4-5 kneading movements are enough.
Pace the milk in a stainless steel pot. Dissolve the citric acid in a little lukewarm water and add it to the milk. You can also add it directly. Stir the mixture carefully and insert a thermometer.
Heat the milk over moderate heat and when the temperature reaches 30°C, it begins to coagulate. Then add the rennet and continue stirring with a wooden spoon.
Heat the milk to 40°C, pleasantly warm but not hot. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
During this time, the curdled milk protein separates from the whey and the mixture becomes elastic and soft.
Strain into a colander covered with cheesecloth. With its help, squeeze out as much whey as possible.
Don't throw it away, use it to make soup or you can replace the water for kneading bread with it, as well as for other baked goods such as muffins. You can also make ricotta cheese from it.
The resulting ball of cheese is placed in a non-stick pan and heated over low heat, stirring gently. During this heat treatment, the cheese will become softer and more elastic, and more whey will be released from it, which must be strained.
Strain the separated liquid and knead the resulting ball briefly like bread, so that the characteristic threads of mozzarella appear.
If you want to add salt, now is the time to add it. If the cheese is hot, use rubber gloves. The mixture should become shiny when hot.
Balls are formed from the kneaded piece of cheese, and they can be of any size you choose.
Shaping is easy with the help of cheesecloth, which is tightened slightly.
Mine did not turn out the same, but they turned out very tasty. Place them in a container with ice water to cool them.
When the homemade mozzarella is removed from the ice bath, it is dried and ready to eat.
It can be stored in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for 4 days.
With the finished homemade mozzarella, we recommend trying our recipes for pizza Margherita, the favorite Caprese salad or this delicious baked eggplant with mozzarella.
