Homemade Mozzarella
Learn how to make homemade mozzarella cheese that's soft, creamy, and perfect for snacking and all your favorite recipes!
Servings: 14 ounces
Calories: 170kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup cold water, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons citric acid
- ¼ teaspoon single-strength liquid rennet, or ¼ rennet tablet, crushed
- 1 gallon whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, optional, for flavor
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add ¼ cup cold water. Dissolve the citric acid in the water. Set aside.
- In another ¼ cup of cold water, dilute rennet. Set aside.
- To a large non-reactive stainless steel or glass pot, add milk.
- Add the dissolved citric acid solution to the milk and stir gently.
- Heat the milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 90°F (32°C) on a candy thermometer. You may notice the milk beginning to curdle slightly.
- Once the milk reaches 90°F, remove the pot from heat.
- Stir in the diluted rennet solution using an up-and-down motion for about 30 seconds.
- Cover the pot. Let it sit undisturbed for 8-10 minutes, or until the milk has set into a gel-like consistency and you can see a clear separation between the curds and whey.
- Once the curd is set, use a long knife to cut it into a 1-inch grid pattern. Make sure to cut all the way to the bottom of the pot.
- Return the pot to the stove over medium heat and warm the curds to 105°F (40.5°C).
- Maintain the temperature of 105°F for 5-10 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. The curds will shrink and firm up during this process.
- Turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Place a colander lined with 2 large layers of cheesecloth over a large bowl. (The cheesecloth should drape over the edges of the bowl.) You could also use a fine-mesh strainer.
- Carefully pour the curds into the cheesecloth, wrapping the sides of the cheesecloth around the curds. Squeeze the majority of the whey into the bowl. Set curds aside. Then, pour the whey back into the original pot.
- Heat the reserved whey over medium heat to 185°F (85°C) to 190°F (88°C). Maintain this temperature until you are done making the cheese. This will be used to heat and stretch the curds.
- Using a slotted spoon, dip the curds that are in the cheesecloth into the hot whey for a few seconds.
- Knead and fold the curds (they will be hot) to create a cohesive piece of cheese.
- Continue to dip the curds back into the hot whey for about 10 seconds each time, as needed to reheat the cheese, draining off the excess liquid each time. Continue kneading and stretching the cheese until it becomes smooth, shiny, and stretchy. (We dipped and kneaded about 8 times.)
- Sprinkle the salt over the cheese and knead to incorporate.
- Stretch and fold the curds into a smooth ball. You can form multiple smaller balls if you prefer.
- Place the formed mozzarella in a bowl of ice water for 5-10 minutes to firm up.
- Serve immediately. Or, store it in an airtight container, covered in water, in the refrigerator.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1ounce | Calories: 170kcal