Making Mozzarella

 Mozzarella is traditionally made with milk from the water buffalo. Personally, I'd rather milk a goat. The cuteness factor, small size and sweet personality make it the obvious choice for me although the American Water Buffalo Association may beg to differ.

So you can get with this,

Or you can get with that,

This is the recipe I make every week. When you work with farm fresh milk you'll notice that it changes throughout lactation. That is why I offer a wide variable with the amount of citric acid. You can find everything you need at The Dairy Connection

4 gallons whole raw goat milk (2 warm and 2 cold)
¼ tsp Thermophilic culture and ¼ tsp Mesophilic Culture OR ½ tsp MA 4001 Farmhouse culture

2-4 tsp Citric Acid
1 tsp liquid animal rennet
cold 20% saturated salt brine ~1 part salt to 5 parts water

1) Warm 2 gallons milk to 96 degrees, sprinkle culture on the milk, let culture rehydrate for 5 minutes, stir in, Allow milk culture for 45 minutes.

2) Dilute citric acid in ¼ c cool water, add to the 2 gallons of COLD milk

3) Combine the warm cultured milk with the cold acidified milk, warm to 92 degrees

4) Dilute rennet in ¼ cup of cool water, stir into milk, let set for 15 to 1 hr till firm curd forms.

5) Cut curd, let set for 5 minutes to rest.

6) Begin heating cut curd, over course of 1/2 hour, till it reaches 105 degrees, stirring gently. Do not heat too quickly. Turn off heat and let sit for an additional 15 minutes, stirring gently to prevent curds from matting.
7) Drain whey, let curds set for 15min to 3 hours in colander, kept at 102 degrees, flipping curd mat every half hour.

8) Cut curds into 1" strips

9) Put curds into stainless steel bowl, cover with water heated to 180 degrees

10) Using heat resistant gloves, form curd strips into 4 balls remove from water and begin stretching and pulling it until cheese is smooth and shiny

Wind into a ball

Dip it back into the hot water, shape into a ball

11) Immerse cheese into cold brine for 5-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Equipment I use when making Mozzarella. Note: I've switched to the Taylor Digital Thermometer because it's waterproof. Culture and rennet are from The Dairy Connection