Learn To Make Cheese

I can’t believe we’ve never before come across the fabulous blog, Cheese A Day, a site dedicated to home cheesemaking and other slow food pursuits.    And they’ve had yet another successful experience with Ricki Carroll’s 30 minute mozzarella recipe.   (We really need to try it ourselves).  Photos prove it after the jump!

“I used Ricki Carrol’s 30 minute recipe with the microwave, and for a first success I’m happy with the results. It does look kinda funky since I wasn’t exactly sure how to shape it, but it is absolutely string Mozzarella. I pushed out a lot of the whey so it won’t be as creamy on a pizza as I could have made it, but the mechanical properties–the grain, so to say–are spot on. It’s going to be fun trying different kinds of milk to see what results I get.’

Cheese A Day: Mozzarella!.

We enjoyed this post at Eight Square Meters about a computer science grad student’s first cheesemaking efforts.   With basic equipment like a thermometer and just milk, lemons and rennet, he turned out some lovely mozzarella cheese balls to share with family.  We sense this will not be his last cheesemaking endeavor.

There is also a link to his Flickr site which has tons of step-by-step photos.  Really helpful if you’re not quite sure what to expect when making homemade mozzarella cheese.  bon appetit!

Eight Square Metres » Cheese Making Part I: Mozzarella.

We liked this informative mozzarella-making demo. It takes you from cutting the curd through stretching and forming the mozzarella cheese. Unlike a lot of cheesemaking videos, it’s set in a home kitchen so you can see the setup people have – their utensils, bowls, etc. It will make you want to try your hand at cheesemaking yourself!

We loved this Bumblebee account of her 30 Minute Mozzarella cheesemaking efforts.   Using Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making book, she’s knocking out one great cheese after another. This time, it was her 30 Minute Mozzarella, made with just four simple ingredients: citric acid, whole milk, liquid rennet and cheese salt.

She provides outstanding step-by-step instructions, recipe and photos after the link.  And, be sure to scroll down for her neufchatel!

Bumblebee Blog » Cheese Making.

Heavy Table presents a fantastic, photographed account of her mozzarella cheesemaking efforts.   While she wasn’t thrilled with the outcome, it is representative of so many of our homemade cheesemaking efforts.  I’m sure many of us can relate to her sentiments throughout the mozzarella-making process. She gives a great level of detail, making this almost as instructive as if the cheese were a complete success.  We applaud her efforts!

Here’s an excerpt:

“Armed with a new candy thermometer and a renewed sense of determination, I set out to remedy my mistakes. I poured one gallon of whole milk into a large stainless steel stockpot, hitched the thermometer to the side, and turned the heat on medium-low. Once the milk reached 55° Fahrenheit, I added 1½ tsp of citric acid to ¼ c cold water and gently stirred the mixture into the milk. So far, so good.”

Homemade Mozzarella « The Heavy Table.