Lab: Making Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese

MAKING
MOZZARELLA AND RICOTTA
CHEESE

INTRODUCTION:

Making your own cheese is fun, interesting, and delicious. You will discover that you can make mozzarella that tastes so much better than what you buy in the store. Ricotta cheese can be made from the fresh whey produced in making the mozzarella.

THE MILK:

You need non-homogenized whole milk, because homogenized milk will not work. You can obtain raw milk from a farm or dairy store. some health food stores sell pasteurized non-homogenized milk, which is great for making mozzarella cheese. If you can't find non-homogenized whole milk, you can use skim milk with some heavy cream added to approximate whole milk.

MATERIALS FOR MOZZARELLA:

2 ¹/₂ gallons whole milk
3 teaspoons citric acid
³/₄ teaspoon liquid rennet
Cooking thermometer
Large double boiler
Large colander
Cheesecloth
Microwave safe bowl
Salty ice water bath
Rubber gloves
Stainless steel knife
Cooking utensils (as needed)
Stove and microwave

PROCEDURE:

Pasteurization

All milk, regardless of its source will contain bacteria. Pasteurizing is a simple process which will kill any bacteria which may be in the milk. Some people even re-pasteurize store bought milk, because it improves the quality of the cheese. If you are going to keep raw milk for a couple days before making the cheese, you might want to pasteurize it and then keep it in the refrigerator until you use it.

1. Place the 2 ¹/₂ gallons whole milk in the double boiler. If you are going to make the ricotta, and 1 quart more milk and save this back for the ricotta process. Don't forget the water in the bottom. Heat the milk to 161 ^oF. Stir often so the milk will heat evenly, and not be scorched.

2. When the temperature of the milk reaches 161 ^oF, place the pot of milk into a sink of cold water and cool the milk to your cheese making temperature (88 ^oF).

Making the mozzarella

3. With the milk warmed in the double boiler to 88 ^oF, dissolve the 3 teaspoons citric acid in ¹/₂ cup cool water and add to the milk. Mix the ³/₄ teaspoon liquid rennet with ¹/₄ cup water and add to the milk. Stir gently for about a minute then let sit for 15 minutes for the curd to form.

4. With a stainless steel knife, cut the curd into approximately ¹/₂ inch cubes. Cut across the columns of curd to make smaller chunks.

5. Set the pot into a or sink full of hot water and slowly raise the temperature of the milk to 98 ^oF, while stirring the curd gently for 15 minutes. Cut any large pieces up with your spoon. Continue to stir the curd for 20 minutes longer.

6. Line a large colander with cheesecloth and slowly pour the curdes and whey into it, catching the whey in a clean container for making ricotta cheese. Allow the curds to drain for 15 minutes then tie up the ends of the cheesecloth and hang over the sink to continue draining for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it has stopped dripping.

7. Cut the mass of curd into ¹/₂ inch slices and cut the slices into strips. Put about ¹/₄ of the curd strips into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it just until the curds start to melt and get gooey. Remove the cheese from the microwave and, wearing rubber gloves because it is hot, begin pulling it like taffy. Keep working the cheese until it is smooth and shiny then form it into a ball and put the ball in salty iced water.

8. Repeat step 7 three more times until you have 4 balls of cheese in the cold water. The cheese is ready to eat as soon as it is completely cool.

Mozzarella cheese freezes beautifully and will stay fresh in the refrigerator of about 3 days.

MATERIALS FOR RICOTTA:

1 quart of whole milk
2 gallons of fresh whey (no more than 1 hour old)
¹/₄ cup cider vinegar
Large double boiler
Cooking thermometer
Large colander
Cheesecloth
Cooking utensils (as needed)

Making the ricotta

9. Place the whole milk and fresh whey in a large double boiler on the stove. Bring the temperature of the whey to 200 ^oF, stirring frequently to heat evenly and not let it scorch.

10. Turn off the heat, and while stirring, add the vinegar. You will observe tiny particles of white which is the precipitated albuminous protein.

11. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Carefully pour the pot of whey into the colander. Allow it to drain. When the cheesecloth is cool enough to handle, tie the four corners together into a knot and hang to drain for several hours.

12. When the cheese stops draining, place into a bowl and add a little salt if you wish. You can add a small amount of cream to give it a richer, moister texture.

The ricotta will keep for several days in the refrigerator, but it will freeze nicely, and then will be always available.

Back to the Food Lab Table of Contents

Back to Lab Dad's Laboratory