Homemade Mozzarella in an Hour

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase something, I'll receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting my efforts with this blog!




I've had "make my own cheese" as a goal for several years and last year I finally got brave enough to take the plunge and just do it.

I started out with this insanely easy cheese that I made in my crock pot

Then I moved on to other cheeses that needed only what I already had on hand around the house to make, like this paneer.

Finally, I summoned up all my mettle and ordered some rennet, because I was bound and determined to make my own mozzarella.

Ooooohhh, WHY did I wait so long?

It wasn't just good.

It was out of this world amazing.

And so I've made it every week - almost the whole year long.

I've even gotten brave and experimented with it a bit - you'd be amazed at how empowered doing something like making cheese can make you feel - there's nothing I can't tackle in the kitchen now!

(Well, I'm sure there's something, but really, I feel quite up to any kitchen challenge after this.)

Not only is homemade mozzarella way easier than I'd ever dreamed (although it does take a bit of minding during the whole process), it only takes an hour to make!

Yep.  Start to finish, you'll be devouring the entire gooey mess of deliciousness in just 60 minutes' time.

Are your ready to learn how to do this yourself?

I promise, it's soooo worth it!



What You Need


1 gallon milk

1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid (which I already had from making this)

1/4 tablet rennet

3/4 cup non-chlorinated water

2 teaspoons salt

stainless steel pot and utensils

thermometer

microwavable glass dish


What You Do



1.  Fill a 1/2-cup measuring cup with water and add the 1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid.

2.  Fill a 1/4-cup measuring cup with water and add the 1/4 tablet rennet.

3.  Pour the gallon of milk into a large stockpot.

4.  Pour the cup with the citric acid into the pot of milk and stir gently.

5.  Heat the pot of milk on medium heat until it reaches 90 degrees.  At that point, add the cup containing the rennet and stir gently about 20 times.


Just after you add the rennet and begin to stir, you'll see the curds start to separate from the whey

6.  When the temperature reaches 105, hold that temperature and stir continuously until the mixture resembles scrambled eggs.


First, it will; look similar to yogurt...
Soon, it will resemble scrambled eggs

7.  Drain the curds from the whey (with a slotted spoon) by placing the curds into your glass dish and then microwave them (uncovered) for 60 seconds on high.

8.  Fold the cheese onto itself five times (use the spoon), drain off any liquid whey (back into the pot with the rest), then microwave it again for 30 seconds on high.


It's getting there (see the small amount of whey to still drain off, in the bottom-right corner?)

9.  Add your salt and fold the cheese onto itself ten times.  Drain off any remaining whey and microwave it for 30 more seconds on high.


It's really starting to come together (I added some herbs in this time, along with the salt)

10.  Fold and stretch the cheese (it's hot, so keep using the spoon until it cools enough to handle) a bunch.  Sometimes it takes ten times, sometimes 30, but you'll know it's ready when it starts to look shiny.


Ahhh, now it's ready.  Nice and shiny!

11.  Let the cheese cool, or, do like we do and devour the entire dish while it's still warm...



Once you've made this one time plain, you might want to start experimenting with all sorts of add-ins.  My favorite is to shake in some basil and oregano (about a teaspoon of each), but we've also put in things like chopped sun-dried tomatoes and capers.  Whatever you add, just stick it in with the salt during step #9.

Oh, and what to do with that pot of whey?  

Don't throw it out!

Store it in your fridge or freezer and keep your eyes peeled for a post here on how to use it!

Are you feeling brave enough to try making your own cheese?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.


Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of great tips like this and all the fun around here, be sure to sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post delivered right to your inbox.



Linked up with: Happiness is Homemade,  Merry MondayMotivation MondayThoughtful SpotWhat'd You Do This WeekendMade for KidsMeet Up MondayTotally Terrific TuesdayLittle Learning Link Up,Tuesday PinspirationTwo Uses TuesdayHip Homeschool HopLou Lou Girls Fabulous Party Tell it to Me Tuesday, Good Tips TuesdayTalented Tuesday, Wordless WednesdayA Little Bird Told MeWFMWEverything Early Childhood, The Mommy Club, Creative MusterParty in Your PJs, The Ladies Collective,  A Little R&R WednesdaysThis Is How We Roll, Frugal Family LinkyCreative WaysHearts for HomeCreative Exchange 100 Happy DaysHomeschooling SecretsShine Blog Hop, Thursday Favorite ThingsI'm Lovin' It,Kitchen Fun & Crafty, Inspiration SpotlightHome MattersPretty Pintastic PartyWeekend PotluckAwesome Life FridayCreative CollectionThe Beautifully Creative Inspired Family Fun FridayFriday FrivolityBloggers SpotlightMake My Saturday SweetWeekend Wind-Down Party, Yum Tum Linky 

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing. I will have to try this. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh!!! I've always wanted to make cheese, but I've never gathered up the courage to really do it! I may just have to try this recipe.
    Thanks for sharing this with us at 100 Happy Days. Come back again! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks so much for linking up at the Bloggers Spotlight Link Party, I pinned this to our group board.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Have I NOT commented on this post yet??? Crazy! Your homemade mozzarella looks amazing... definitely going to have to try it...!! Did you get the rennet and citric acid on amazon?? That's the only part I'm iffy on...

    ReplyDelete
  5. this looks amazing!! we are definitely cheese people! I would love you to link up one of your fab recipes to my new food linky #YumTum http://www.themummytoolbox.com/?p=2730

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks so much for linking up to #YumTum this recipe is still making me drool! I think it is a little out of my league so I am trying to convince some of my culinary expert friends to make me some!! haha *still drooling*

    ReplyDelete
  7. Like Charlotte, we too love love love cheese (I think we have four different types in the fridge at the moment!) and this looks such a great challenge. The only thing is I would need to use vegetarian friendly rennet. Out of curiosity, have you tried using vegetarian rennet and if so what success have you have? #YumTum
    Angela x

    ReplyDelete