FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND GENERAL INFORMATION
Q. I made mozzarella yesterday with questionable results. I found it pretty easy even though very unfamiliar. I used organic milk that was not Ultra-pasteurized ( I talked to the dairy). I used your citric acid and liquid rennet diluted with filtered water. I used a thermometer and think I followed the steps correctly. The cheese possibly could have used a bit more salt but tasted okay.
But when I put it on top of pizza it baked up hard and hollow and didn't seem molten or "normal". It seemed a bit dry and stiff (trying to find the right words to describe it!). Do you have any ideas for me? I would appreciate any helpful advice.
A. The problem here seems to be low moisture in your cheese. This is happening because the cheese is losing too much moisture as whey during the heating process.
With pasteurized milk (not UP), just try to keep the cutting size larger and the temp and stirring times lower to hold more final moisture.
With fresh milk or raw milk this can be a problem but is easily resolved. Try cutting back on the rennet temps to as low 87-88F and not heating much past 92-95F in the cutting/heating phase (instead of the 105F suggested). Also, minimal kneading and stretching will retain more moisture. As you have discovered, dry cheese will not melt well and has a tendency to brown.
Q. Do the mozzarella and ricotta recipes scale for double batched in proportion to the measures you give or is it best to produce smaller batches?
A. Yes, they scale up quite well. The only problem is the curd mass becomes quite large when stretching by hand and should be broken down accordingly.
Q. I am making mozzarella with raw milk and finding that they whey which separates form the curds (which are quite soft) is still very milky. Why is this and what can I do to get the right looking whey? Our ambient temperature is 85-90F.
A. This should be totally expected, especially with milks such as Jersey, since the protein complex just cannot hold all that cream in during the heating and stretching process. Standardized and pasteurized milk form the store does this much less.
Q. Can vinegar and junket be used to make mozzarella?
A. Vinegar may be used instead of citric acid, but the amounts used are variable and can only be determined through trial and error. The citric acid is a standardized element so we use that for our recipe. Actual rennet must be used with any acids used. Junket is not recommended as this is meant more for pudding and custards and will not give a firm enough curd.
Q. I love mozzarella but I have a question. I form it into a ball and then put it in a container and put it in the fridge. Every single time it just spreads to the shape of the container which doesn't make it easy for slicing or presentation. I would also like to be able to make mozzarella balls (pearls). What am I doing wrong?
A. The problem is due to excess moisture before stretching the curd. The cheese will simply flow even at fridge temps. A drier cheese will hold its shape better and can be achieved by stirring the curds longer to release more of the whey before the final heating stage. Increasine the final temp to 105-110F may be even better for some milks.
Q. Tonight I tried to make mozzarella and something went incredibly wrong! I used whole milk. I put the citric acid and water in the pot with the milk and stirred it in. I then began heating toward 90F. I had the flame on high (I am wondering if this is the problem). About 3 minutes later little brownish, blackish specks began showing up in the milk. There were more and more of them until I freaked out and immediately trashed the endeavor. Have you seen this before? Did I burn the milk because I had the heat too high?
A. Not a pretty picture here. What you have is scorched milk releasing from the bottom of the pot. Milk, with all of its proteins, needs a bit of care and attention when heating directly on the stove. We do this with a slower heat and a constant stirring. The scorched particles are not harmful but will affect the taste, and some protein damage has probably taken place so you can expect a lower yield. Try using a flame tamer (even for electric burners) or a heavy bottom pot for your next attempt.
Q. I am interested in making mozzarella having just read the chapter on lactose intolerance and homemade cheese in “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”, which references you! I am slightly confused, however. She explained that cheese which uses bacteria is different from commercially made cheese which uses acid.
I see the first thing added to the milk in your recipe is citric acid. Which of the two aforementioned processes is that? Does citric acid foster the growth of bacteria which will eat the lactose?
A. There are two ways to provide acidity for mozzarella. Adding the citric acid is done in much of the commercially made mozzarella as well as in Ricki’s 30 Minute Mozzarella recipe. No culture is used in this process. There is no conversion of lactose in this process.
The other process uses no acid addition. Instead, a bacteria culture is allowed to grow in the milk and convert the milks lactose into lactic acid. This process must be allowed to take place over several hours to achieve the proper acid level. The final acid level in both processes will be similar. Both processes will produce similar cheese but the culture provides its own unique flavor to the cheese and takes longer to make.
Q. I wanted to try at least once my new mozzarella kit. I used UH milk for now just to practice the motions. Everything went beautifully but when I heated my curd mass it would not stretch. I made it hotter and hotter and it still just ripped. Any thoughts?
A. This does not sound like high temp pasteurized milk as that kind of milk never gets to the proper curd stage. It does sound like yours formed a nice solid curd mass but will not stretch. This can be due to many factors:
-the proper amount of acid was not added… try less stirring time and less heat
-the curd was too dry due to higher temps or stirring curds too long…stir/heat less
-the microwave did not provide the heat you needed for the curd to stretch…try increasing the cycle time for each of the microwave stages. The cheese should be almost too hot to handle.
I would try again using the controls mentioned above.
Q. I bought a mozzarella kit about two years ago but it got put away and forgotten. None the less I tried a batch but the curd would not thicken. I used whole milk and Fuji water and let it sit for 10 minutes (extra time as it was clear that it was not thickening). I am wondering if the rennet gets old and if a new supply is needed. I want to be successful with this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
A. This could be due to several things. Of course the age of the kit could be an issue, but this could also be a milk problem, or even a something as simple as the milk not being mixed well enough with the citric acid. In that case the milk undergoes a localized coagulation where the milk forms a curd but it drops to the bottom (very acidic) and a layer of milk remains at the top. This will make it look like no coagulation has happened but a spoon will bring up curds from the bottom. A more complete description of the milk/curd would be helpful in resolving your problem. More detailed info on milk problems is provided in our “about milk” section on our website.