Mozzarella

You will need...

● Equipment: saucepan, draining spoon, thermometer, long knife, cheese cloth, colander, microwavable bowl. ● Ingredients: 4 liters milk, 1/4 liquid rennet, 1 1/2 tsp citric acid, 1 tsp cheese salt

Making mozzarella....

1. Prepare citric acid and rennet: dissolve acid in 250ml water and separately stir rennet liquid in 60ml of water until dissolved.
2. Warm milk: add citric acid solution to milk and heat gently whilst starring until it reaches 320C. Immediately take of heat.
3. Making Curds: add rennet solution to milk and stir for 30s then replace lid and leave undisturbed for five minutes. The curds should have formed. Check if they cut cleanly, if not wait and try again.
4. Cuing the Curds: make parallel cuts 3cm apart then again in a perpendicular direction to form a grid. Ensure the knife touches the base of the pan. Next, use the knife to make horizontal cuts, you should now have fairly even “cubes” of curd.
5. Cooking the curds: Heat gently to 410C. Stir constantly and slowly, trying not to break up the curds. Immediately remove from the heat and continue to gently stir for a further five minutes.
6. Separating curds and whey: Scoop curds into muslin lined colander and let drip-dry for 5 minutes. (You can keep the whey for later use) Mozzarella and Burrata Mozzarella Burrata
7. Finishing the cheese: use one of the two following methods.

(a) Microwave Method: place curds in a microwave-safe container. Heat on full power for 1 minute. Fold curds and drain any excess whey. Keep heating in 30 second bursts until internal temperature reaches 560C. NB be careful not to overheat cheese.(Then step 8)

(b) Hot Water Method: place curds in a large bowl of very hot water (700C). Leave until it resembles melted cheese and can easily be stretched. It should drip of a spoon when hot enough.

8. Shaping Mozzarella: add salt to taste then gently fold and stretch the curds until they are shiny. Form into balls. If the curds become too hard to work, reheat (in microwave or in hot water). Cool the balls as soon as they’re formed. fat sheet. This needs to be done whilst it is still warm, and it should be smooth and shiny.
9. E) Take the burrata mixture (from stage B above) and place it into the middle of the mozzarella sheet, then bundle it up by pulling the sheet up and around it, then pinch/twist the mozzarella to seal it over the Burrata mixture.
10. F) Once you’ve sealed and shaped the cheese then drop it into salted, ice cold water to set it (don’t store it like this – take it out after 10 minutes)

Extra information...

● Types of milk: the best milk to use is whole-milk, however most types of milk will work (regular, skimmed, buffalos) however UHT milk will not work. ● Melting Mozzarella: non-homogenized full-fat milk is best. If your cheese doesn’t melt well, then you might have overworked it or overheated the curds forcing out too much fat. ● Keeping your mozzarella: it’s best eaten fresh but can be kept in sealed box in fridge for 1-2 days or frozen. ● Grating Cheese: if you want to grate your fresh mozzarella then you might find it easier if you pop it into the freezer first. ● Quantities: recipes can be scaled up/down but be careful not to overheat small quantities in micro-wave.