Homemade Mozzarella Cheese At Its Easiest

Homemade mozzarella cheese is easier to make than you think, and it's a great place to start if you are interested in cheese making.

This project only takes a half of an hour and with Jersey milk, it makes a little less than a pound of cheese.

If you've used this recipe before click the images and a gallery will pop up with the steps for a quick refresher.

To begin, you need:

• Whole raw milk
• Rennet tablets
• Citric acid
• Water
• Wooden spoon
• Large pot
• Strainer
• Salt

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese: Let’s get started!

• Dissolve a ¼ of the rennet tablet in a ¼ cup of cool water. Stir then set aside for now. Then mix 1 ½ teaspoons of citric acid in 1 cup of cool water. Pour this in your large pot.
• Add one gallon whole raw milk. Stir vigorously.
• Stir and heat the milk to 88 degrees F.
• Remove the pot from the heat and slowly stir in the rennet mixture. 
• Stir in an up and down motion for 30 seconds. Cover the pot and leave for five minutes.
• After 5 minutes, check your curd. It should have separated from the whey. If not, set for a few more minutes.
• With a knife that can reach the bottom of your pot, cut your curd into little squares. 
• Then cut diagonally in between each square.
• Place your pot back on the stove and heat to 90 degrees F. stirring slowly.
• Take off of the burner and continue stirring for 2-5 minutes. 
• Strain the curds from the whey.

Whey can be used in bread recipes and added to things like mayonnaise to make them last longer. With bread, substitute whey for a third of the amount of water the recipe calls for.

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese: Stretching Your Cheese

And now for the fun part!

Heat a pot of water to 185 degrees F.

Dip the curds in the colander into the hot water. When the curds reach 135 degrees F they become elastic and stretchable.

When the curds have combined into a ball, and the ball is stretchable remove the curd from the water and stretch like salt water taffy! Amazing! If it does not stretch easily, return it back to the water and try again.

At this point you can add salt or herbs. Stretch the cheese until it is smooth and shiny.

Now you can shape your cheese into a log, braid, form into bite size pieces, or make string cheese!

When finished shaping your cheese, put in cool water for 5 minutes. Then add ice cubes to the water and leave the cheese in for an additional 15 minutes.

This ice water bath step will allow the cheese to keep its shape. When done, you can eat it or wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about how to make mozzarella cheese. Now you can enjoy your own homemade mozzarella cheese.

-Shamwow