STEPS
INGREDIENTS
These are the supplies, I used 4 liters of milk,citric acid and rennet tablets .
Add 4 liters of milk to a pot, mine was barely large enough.
Add 11/2 teaspoons of citric acid to 1 cup water( non chlorinated) and add to milk. Some coagulation of the milk will occur right away.
Heat mixture gently( 5 to 8 minutes) to 90 deg Fahrenheit while gently stirring then remove from heat.
Add 1/4 Rennet tablet to 1/4 cup water and add to heated milk mixture and stir in very gently,this will cause the curd to start forming.
After 15 minutes the curd will be formed, cut into 1" squares with a sharp knife.
Gently remove curds with a slotted spoon and drain through cheesecloth or in a colander to remove as much liquid as possible.
The strained solids.
Heat the remaining liquid ( whey) to 185 deg Fahrenheit and place a workable amount of the solids on a slotted spoon and immerse it in the whey for about 60 seconds .
At this point you need to have tough hands, dip your hands in cold water and then knead the ball by stretching and pulling in in on itself. You will have to dip it a 2nd time in the whey .
The cheese is done when it becomes elastic and develops a shiny surface. Complete the process with the remaining solids. I estimate I ended up with about 1 lb of fresh mozzarella.
The fresh cheese is very good eaten fresh and also melted nicely as on this frittata . I did not use any salt in the process, salt could be added during forming, or simply salt to taste at the table.
- Milk
- Citric Acid
- Rennet