Make Mozzarella Cheese with Cultures
There are two methods of making mozzarella cheese commonly used today. One common method in the United States with the Make Mozzarella Cheese and the other is with the use of live cultures. This recipe will show you how to make fresh mozzarella from scratch using kefir yogurt containing live cultures.
Contents
Steps
Getting Started
- Place 2 to 3 tbsp. of kefir grains into a jar. Add ½ to ¾ cup of raw or non-homogenized milk and let sit in a dark environment for 24 hours.
- Place the yogurt into a fridge until you are ready to make mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat this process to continue making kefir yogurt.
- If it’s thick and creamy, drain the yogurt from the Kefir grains using a strainer.
Begin Making Cheese
- Pour 1 gallon of milk into the cooking pot. Stir in ¼ to ½ cup of kefir yogurt.
- Warm the milk to 88 to 90 degrees F. To accomplish this, place the burner on low and warm very slowly while occasionally stirring the milk until reaching the desired temperature. Always test the temperature while stirring to obtain the exact temperature. While waiting for the milk to warm, dilute ¼ tsp. of liquid animal rennet into ¼ cup of purified water.
- Pour the diluted rennet in the milk. Stir for 30 to 60 seconds and cover for 1 hour.
- Test for a clean break by poking your finger through the coagulated milk. If you have a clean break, it should like Jell-O and will leave a hole. If it is still liquid like, cover for another 30 minutes and try this step again.
- Chop up the coagulated milk with a whisk into small chunks and cover for 4 hours. Resist the urge to keep checking on the milk; it needs to retain the heat for the fermentation process to begin.
- After 4 hours, the curds should have sunken to the bottom of the whey and will have connected back together.
- Scoop the curds into a strainer and press the whey from them. Try your best to make one solid level piece similar to a pie. Poke several holes on the top of the curd. You will then see whey accumulate in the holes that you created.
- Test the pH using the pH meter by testing the whey accumulated in the holes. This should be done right away to get a base line of the pH. Normally, it will be around 6.2 at this point, but it will vary.
- Cover and the fermentation continues. As a rule of thumb, the desired pH is 5.2. However, this is subjective. For a tougher and denser mozzarella, a desired pH would be 5.3 to 5.4. For a softer mozzarella, a desired pH would be 5.0 to 5.1.
- The fermentation process can range from 2 to 18 hours depending on the amount of cultures present in the kefir and the climate that you live in. Test periodically after the initial test and then every hour once the pH has reached 5.5 to 5.6 range.
Stretching The Mozzarella
- Place the curd onto a cutting board. It should be one solid dense piece at this point. Cut the curd into half inch squares.
- Place the 3 mixing bowls on a counter, side by side. Place the chopped-up curds into the first bowl, fill the second bowl with cool water and the third with ice and water.
- Heat a large pot of water to approximately 180 degrees F.
- Pour 1 to 2 cups of hot water into the bowl with the cheese curds. Do not pour directly onto the curds, but rather around the rim of the mixing bowl.
- Let sit for two minutes and dump the water out. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. of salt onto the cheese curds and then dump 2 to 3 more cups of hot water into the bowl and let sit for 1 more minute.
- Take the stirring spoon and begin to push all the cheese curds together. If they are ready for stretch, they should stick together and not fall apart. Scoop the curds up and let gravity do its work. The cheese should stick to the spoon and begin to stretch on its own.
- You can assist the stretching by grabbing the bottom of the cheese and pulling it down. If it is too hard to stretch, simply place all the cheese back in the hot water and let it sit a little longer. Stretch into a long 2-inch-wide strip and fold over 3 to 4 times.
- Do not over work the stretching because doing so will make for a tough and dry mozzarella cheese. Once you have repeated this process 3 – 4 times and the mozzarella is smooth, it’s time to form the fresh mozzarella balls.
Forming the Mozzarella Ball
- Take the 2-inch strip and fold small sections over itself 3 times.
- Force it through your index finger and thumb forming the mozzarella ball. Squeeze the bottom of the ball and break it off.
- Place the fresh mozzarella ball into the bowl with cool water. Repeat this step until you have made all of the mozzarella balls and let them sit in the cool water for 10 minutes or until they have all cooled down.
- Place the mozzarella balls into the ice-cold water. This preserves the shape of the fresh mozzarella.
- There you have it: you have made fresh mozzarella using cultures. It is ready to eat at this point and is always best right after the stretch.
Tips
- The 24-hour time limit for making kefir yogurt is a rule of thumb and is dependent on the Kefir grains to milk ratio being used.
- The fermentation process is based on the cultures eating the lactose in the milk and creating lactic acid as a by product. The lactic acid lowers the pH until reaching your desired pH for the stretching process. This process is difficult to time and can vary greatly due to the amount of culture in the yogurt, the time of year and the climate you live in.
- It is recommended to use gloves during the stretching process.
- Cheese stretching takes a little practice. It is recommended beginning with with a one half gallon of curd until you become comfortable.
- Be patient while warming the milk and heat very slowly. Heating the milk to 88-90 degrees F and not going beyond 90 degrees F is the key to success. This is the most critical part of the recipe.
Warnings
- Please research local laws regarding the human consumption of raw milk as they vary per region.
Things You'll Need
- 1 Gallon of Raw or Non-Homogenized Milk
- Liquid Animal Rennet
- Kefir Grains
- Kosher Salt
- Large Stirring Spoon
- Whisk
- Strainer
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Food pH Meter
- Thermometer
- 3 Large Mixing Bowls
- 1 large Stainless Steel Cooking Pot
