Say Cheese!

A few weeks ago I made cheese for the first time, in a class that a friend of mine was teaching. We made 30-minute mozzarella cheese, based on the recipe on the Cultures for Health website.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• One gallon of milk
• 1-1/4 cup filtered water
• 1-1/2 teaspoon citric acid
• 1/4 rennet tablet or 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet
• Large bowl of water, placed in the refrigerator when you start
• Large bowl of water, placed in the freezer when you start

My teacher brought the first four ingredients to class already mixed up. We poured it all into a big pot and heated it to 90° F. Then we took the pot off the burner and added the rennet. Once the rennet is in there, you want to gently stir it with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds, using an up-and-down motion. Then we let it sit there to solidify a bit.

After 5-10 minutes, there was a custard-like substance, which we sliced into squares with a knife. We put it back on the stove and heated it to 105° F, then took it back of the burner and stirred it for a few minutes. 

Next, we drained the whey off, and microwaved the curds for a minute, drained again and added salt, microwaved for another 30 seconds, and pulled it like taffy.

I think that was it? Below is the finished product, after I'd squished it into a ball and sliced a piece off. It was a little crumblier than the mozzarella I normally buy at the store (even the fresh kind), but delicious.

Say cheese!

This post is doing triple duty:' Saturday Snapshot, a Saturday Farmers Market post, and, at last, a Weekend Cooking post!