How Mozzarella Became Ricotta

Today’s post was supposed to be all about how to make easy 30 minute mozzarella cheese.

I’ve had the citric acid and rennet for some time. So I got an extra gallon of milk from the store.

I didn’t want to use my good farm fresh milk, just in case something went wrong. I’m pretty sure that was a premonition.

So now I have everything I need. I’d been reading several recipes over and over again for the past week, just to make sure I had it down.

This was the recipe I settled on. It’s kind of a combination of several different recipes and information pulled from several websites and videos.

Mozzarella Cheese

• 1-1/4 cup water
• 1 gallon of milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Citric Acid
• 1/4 tablet Rennet tablets or liquid

Directions:

1. Measure 1 cup of water and add the citric acid to it and let it dissolve.
2. Measure the remaining 1/4 cup of water and add the 1/4 rennet tablet to it and allow it to dissolve.
3. Pour your milk into a stainless steel stock pot and stir in your citric acid mixture.
4. Heat the milk over medium/high heat to 90 degrees, stirring gently.
5. Once the milk reaches 90 degrees, remove from heat and gently stir in the rennet solution. Stir to the count of 30. Then stop, cover the pot and let it sit completely undisturbed for 5 to 15 min.
6. After 5 to 15 min the curds should be set to the consistency of a real soft tofu. If it’s not there yet, let it sit a bit longer.
7. Once it’s set, cut the curd into a grid pattern, top to bottom and left to right, cutting all the way to the bottom of the pot.
8. Now return it to the stove, medium heat. and warm it back to 105 degrees. Stir slowly trying not to break up the curds too bad. They should begin to clump together and separate more completely from the whey.
9. Once it reaches 105 degrees, remove it from the heat and continue stirring gently for another 5 min.
10. Ladle the curds into a micro-safe bowl using a slotted spoon.
11. Microwave for 1 minute and drain any additional whey off.
12. Begin to fold the curds over onto themselves. You’ll probably want to use rubber gloves. A new set of yellow kitchen gloves is what was recommended most, to protect your hands from the hot cheese.
13. Continue to microwave in 30 second increments and continue stretching. Using the microwave is actually about separating out more whey.
14. Stretch it until it takes on a glossy sheen. Overworking it can make it stiff and it might not melt as well as it could, so don’t over-do it.
15. You can add a bit of salt now if you want and store it for about a week in some cooled whey in the refrigerator.

It’s not a hard one.

I read over and over that if you are using vegetable rennet, you have to use more than you would if you’re using animal rennet.

I looked over my rennet and didn’t find anything on the label that said one way or another. So I went for it.

I was wrong.

At that point, I went back to Amazon and looked up my previous rennet order. Note to self….ALWAYS check FIRST. Yep, it was vegetable rennet. Instead, I should have used about 2 whole tablets instead of just 1/4 of a tablet.

Not a Complete Fail

Okay, time to step back and punt. So, what can you do with a failed mozzarella. I wasn’t sure yet, but I wasn’t ready to throw it out just yet, either.

I strained it in a tight weave cheese cloth and hung it while I worked at figuring out what I was going to do next.

Then, I started thinking about what I’d read before about making ricotta cheese and I started looking it up.

I’d tried it before with the whey I get from the yogurt I make, but it hadn’t worked.

But this whey was different.

How Mozzarella Becomes Ricotta

I started looking for different recipes for ricotta. What I found out was, there really isn’t a recipe, just a process.

Just gently heat the whey until it reaches about 180 degrees. You don’t want it to come to a oil.

Now you can strain the whey in a fine cheese cloth and let it drain. I tied mine up and hung it overnight.

It came out a beautiful crumbly ricotta cheese. It’s going to be lasagna soon.

The Mozzarella That Wasn’t Mozzarella

My original batch of “not mozzarella” that I strained anyway, turned into a very thick Greek-like type of soft cheese.

It could have easily had some herbs added to it and be used as a spread for crackers.

But, I’ve actually been using it as a breakfast with some granola and honey. It’s yummy.

Because it didn’t work like you thought doesn’t mean it’s a fail, you just have to look at it in a different way.

Let me know about one of your saves, something good that came from a perceived fail. I’d love to hear about it.

Until next time – Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey