30 Minute Mozzaralla

I used to think that making cheese would be much to0 difficult and one that I would not likely tackle, but after finding this 30 minute mozzarella cheese recipe I knew I had to give it a try. Now I am hooked and am trying to find more cheese recipes to try. 

The first time I tried making this I will admit that it took way longer then 30 minutes. Basically because I was trying to figure out how everything worked and trying to make sure I didn't mess anything up. 

This time it took me almost exactly 30 minutes. I realized that I had not budgeted my time well when I started and that I was going to have to leave in about 30-40 minutes to pick my son up from preschool. Since I had already added the citric acid to the milk I was committed and couldn't stop or I would ruin the whole batch. 

30 Minutes Mozzarella Cheese

1 gallon milk
1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid mixed in 1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 teaspoon double strength rennet mixed in 1/4 cup filtered water
1 teaspoon salt 

To get started pour 1 gallon of milk into a large stainless steel pot. Do NOT use aluminum or your cheese will not likely form. 

Since we do not have any dairy goats yet (if I can't talk the hubby into it we may never have them) I went ahead and used some milk from the grocery store. I prefer to use full fat for cheese, but any kind will work. 

To make the cheese you will need to buy citric acid for cheese making and rennet. Without these 2 items you can not make cheese. I prefer to use vegetable rennet because knowing where regular rennet comes from bothers me even though I am not a vegetarian. Here is the best place to find citric acid and rennet. 

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons to 1/2 cup filtered water. Filtered water is very important. Most tap water has chlorine in it which reacts with the citric acid and may cause your cheese to fail. It would make me so sad to go to all the work of making my own cheese only to have it fail because I used tap water. 

After you have your citric acid and water mixed add it to the milk and stir well. 

Now turn your stove on to about medium heat and slowly heat the milk and citric acid to between 90 and 95 degrees. To check the temperature of my milk I went the cheap route and used my children's thermometer that had a surface temperature setting. Ideally I should be using a candy thermometer or meat thermometer. 

Once your milk is warm enough turn the heat off. 

Next stir 1/4 teaspoon of double strength rennet or 1/2 teaspoon regular rennet into 1/4 cup filtered water. 

Pour the rennet water mixture into the warmed milk through a slotted spoon if possible to help the rennet distribute more evenly. 

Stir the milk well to incorporate the rennet into the milk.

Cover and let sit with the heat turned off for 5 minutes. 

Once five minutes have passed your milk should have separated into curds and whey. Take a long knife and cut the curds in a grid pattern to help break them up. 

Turn the heat back onto medium and heat the curds and whey to 105 degrees. 

Once they reach 105 degrees turn the heat off again. 

Next take a slotted spoon and spoon the curds into a strainer to separate the curds and whey. 

Sorry this photo is upside down. I could not get it to flip for some reason, but it gets the point across. Push all the excess whey out of your curds. 

Next take the curds and warm them in either VERY hot 185 degree water or warm in the microwave for about a minute. I cheated and used my hot whey because I was short on time. Not the best idea because you want to rinse as much whey out of your cheese as you can to help it keep longer. 

Once your curds are very hot (you may want to wear rubber gloves for this part) you need to start stretching your cheese. When you try to stretch it if it breaks it is not hot enough. It should start to get shiny and stretch like taffy. Curds are stretchable when they are 135 degrees.

Keep stretching until all the cheese is stretchable. 

Mine could have been stretched more, but like I said I was in a hurry.

After you have finished stretching your cheese sprinkle about 1 teaspoon iodine free salt onto a counter and kneed it into the cheese. 

This is a very important step. If your cheese doesn't have salt in it it will not taste very good. It will still be edible, just a little flavorless. 

In the summer I plan to add fresh herbs and sun dried tomatoes to my mozzarella. I can't wait!!

You should have about 3/4 of a gallon of whey left when you are finished. Don't toss it! It can be used in any baking recipe that calls for milk. Our dogs and chickens also love it.