Making Goat's Milk Mozzerella

Now that I have lots of fresh, organic milk to use, I decided to try my hand at making cheese.  I chose to start with mozzerella, because it's (supposedly) easy to make and I figured I'd have the best luck getting my kids to eat it (think pizza or mozz cheese stix)!

I started with the cheese making kit I purchased from Hoegger Supply Company.  It had all the supplies, ingrediants and recipes I would need to get started. 

I also incorporated some info I gleaned from 5 Acres and a Dream, because she uses goat's milk, whereas the recipes in "A Cheesemaker's Journey" were made for cows milk. 

So here are the supplies I used:
    - liquid rennet
    - citric acid powder
    - colander
    - long slotted spoon
    - 2 wooden spoons
    - long knife
    - whisk
    - thermometer
    - large stainless steel pot (not shown)

Start by mixing 1 1/4 teaspoons of citric acid powder into 1/4 cup of cool water.  Add this to your cool milk in the large stainless steel pot.  Bring the temperature of the milk to 88 degrees and then remove it from heat.  Then mix the rennet into another 1/4 cup cool water and stir into the milk.

My recipe book said to wait 15 minutes for it to coagulate.  But the sources I found for goat's milk said to wait 30 minutes, so that's what I did.  Once it has coagulated enough, use your long knife to cut the curds into 1 inch cubes.  Now let it rest for 10 more minutes. 

For me, this next step was the trickiest part.  You are supposed to slowly bring the temperature of the curds up to 108 degrees and hold the temp there for 35 minutes.  Unfortunately, I have an electric stove and found it very difficult to hold the temperature steady for the whole time.  I would think I had it at 108 degrees, then I'd check it again a minute or so later and the temp had shot up to 120 degrees.  If anyone has suggestions on this part, please feel free to chime in!  During this step, you are also supposed to gently stir the curds every 5-10 minutes to keep them from sticking together.

Next, it's time to drain the curds in a colander for 15 minutes.

Once drained, cut the curds into 1 inch pieces and place in a large bowl.  Pour hot water (140 degrees) over curds.  Using the two wooden spoons, stretch the curds until smooth and glossy and you can shape them into a ball. (I didn't get a photo of this step as my hands were too full playing with the cheese)

Once shaped, place the ball into a brine solution made of 1/2 gallon warm water (100 degrees) and 1 1/2 cups kosher salt. Let it sit in the brine for 2 hours, turning occasionally.  Finally, remove cheese from the brine, pat dry, cover and let it sit in the fridge overnight to let the salt fully permeate the cheese. 

 

Since I knew I was going to use my mozzerella for pizzas, I decided to shred it all.  We used about half for a pizza tonight, then I froze the other half for pizza later!  Yum.  It was delicious!