Recipe: How to make mozzarella in your own kitchen

by Prime Staff

Tips from my kitchen to yours

You can find rennet and citric acid powder at Whole Foods Market for $13.
Milk: Stay away from ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurized milk. This method of pasteurization denatures the proteins in the milk, preventing them from being able to fully solidify into curds. Whole milk will produce a very rich, soft mozzarella. One percent will make a harder, more string cheese-like cheese. Avoid fat-free milk, as this will make the cheese too rubbery. Raw milk is the best option, though it's typically hard to find.

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons of citric acid powder
¼ teaspoon liquid vegetable rennet combined with 1 cup water
1 gallon of milk: whole, 1 percent or 2 percent, not UHT pasteurized
1 teaspoon salt

In your kitchen

Large sauce pot
Slotted spoon (preferably metal)
Cooking thermometer (ideally with a probe)

Sprinkle the citric acid powder (after crushing the tablets) into a cool, large stockpot. Pour ¼ cup water over it and stir to dissolve.
Pour the milk into the citric acid solution and stir to combine.

Erin Ng / Daily Bruin
Put the pot over medium-low heat and heat it to 90 degrees (use an instant-read thermometer). You may notice the milk beginning to curdle – this is a good thing.
When the milk reaches 90 degrees, remove the pan from the burner and pour in the rennet mixed with water.
Stir the mixture with a gentle, circular up-and-down motion for about 30 seconds, then use the spoon to stop the motion of the milk
Place the lid on the pot and leave it for five minutes. After five minutes, the mixture should resemble a very soft custard.
With a knife long enough to reach the bottom of the pot, cut the curd into a 1-inch checkerboard pattern, making lines across, then lines perpendicularly.
Return the pot to the burner over medium heat and stir it gently until the temperature of the whey (the liquid that separates from the curd) reaches 105 degrees.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the curd to a colander placed over a bowl.
Slowly spin around the colander to allow the whey to drain from the curd.
Remove the curd and gently squeeze it a few times to drain away excess whey.
Transfer the curd to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it on high for one minute.
Remove the bowl from the microwave and pour off as much whey as you can. You can preserve all the excess whey and use it to make bread or add it to beverages to make them higher in protein.
Press the curd together with your hands and again drain away the whey that comes out.
Microwave the curd again on high for 35 seconds, then press it together to drain more whey.
Knead and stretch the curd a bit to drain more whey, then microwave it one last time for 35 seconds.

Erin Ng / Daily Bruin
Knead in the salt and roll it under itself until it forms a neat ball. Then place the ball into an ice water bath and let it rest there until cool.

Angie Wang / Daily Bruin