Mozzarella - 3rd Times the Charm

I thought my third attempt was going to bomb as well, but it ended up coming out pretty well. Again, I used the Ricki's 30 Minute Mozzarella recipe from 'CheeseMaking.com'.

Ingredients:
Milk:

• Quantity: 1/2 Gallon
• Brand: Cub 2% Reduced Fat Milk.
• Notes: It says it's pasteurized, I don't know if it was ultra pasteurized. Grade A, Homogenized.

Other Ingredients:

• 1/8 tsp. Organic Vegetable Rennet. Double Strength Plus, Gluten Free, Non-GMO 
• 3/4 tsp. Citric Acid (Dissolved in 1/2cup cool water)

Steps & Notes:

1. Mix in Citric Acid: Added the diluted Citric Acid to the milk.
2. Heat Milk: It is supposed to be heated to 90°F. I think it went a little over that, but I was really close. I could tell at this step that things were going better. The pH must have been right because it was already looking curdled.  
   
3. Add Rennet: Added rennet that was mixed in about 1/8c. cool water. I mixed it well and after a about 20-30 seconds I could already tell it was starting to set up, so I stopped mixing.
4. Let sit: It is recommended that it sits for 5 minutes. I think this time 5-10 minutes would have actually worked okay, where in my other attempts the curd didn't seem very solid. I actually left and went for a walk with my wife for an hour and a half or so.
5. Cut the Curd: Cut the curd in 1 inch squares. I was a little worried because, while the curd seemed strong, it didn't look smooth. I think from trying to mix it to much when first adding the rennet.
6. Cook a little Longer: Reheated the cut curd to 105°F while slowly stirring.
7. Strained the Whey: Scooped the large curds out of the whey, then poured the whey through a strainer. I let it sit for a few minutes and then kneaded it a bit. I was worried because it wasn't very 'strechy' and seemed pretty grainy and curdy. While kneading I squeezed a bunch of whey out of the curds and it started to condense nicely.
8. Microwaved curd: I microwaved the curd to get a little more whey out. Not much came out, unlike the first time I made it and a lot came out. However, the heating of the curds made them 'melt' together a little more. I microwaved it twice more for about 20 sec. but whey wasn't coming out and it seemed to be cooking the cheese , so I stopped.



It's pretty fun once you get the stretchy taffy consistency

9. Kneaded Curds: It was painful, but while it was really hot I kept kneading and it started to turn into that taffy kind of consistency and smoothed out. I pulled and stretched it for about 5 minutes.
10. Added Salt: I tired to add the salt too late in the process. It was more of an after thought after the cheese was all stretchy and smooth, once it started cooling it was hard to knead in.
11. Formed the Cheese: Made the cheese ball as it cooled. I put it in cool water to cool off. 

Results:

• Taste: A little bland because I didn't add the salt at the right time and I need to work out how much salt to use. It has a good fresh taste
• Look: It looks like mozzarella! It is smooth and a solid consistency.
• Texture: Fairly Moist, squishy, and a little chewy. It is also a little stringy, like string cheese.
• I would give it an overall rating of about 4 stars. 

Possible Improvements:

• Add salt sooner, and in a larger quantity.
• Try and get a more moist consistency
• I don't think I want to microwave it as long or more than once if no whey is coming out. I think it would turn out a little more moist.