Mozzarella

[erockrph]

I'm planning on making my first batch of mozzarella cheese soon and had a few questions for any cheesemakers on the board.

My local dairy sells unhomogenized milk (still pasteurized, though). Would this be any better than plain old homogenized whole milk?

If whole milk makes better cheese than reduced-fat, would it be even better still if I fattened up my whole milk with some cream or half & half?

Is there any specific type of salt that works best for salting the curd? Do I need something fine like pickling salt, or is kosher salt ok? Would there be any benefit to using a nice finishing salt like fleur de sel or Maldon?

Thanks in advance.

[gmac]

Best advice I've gotten and can give.

http://cheeseforum.org/forum/

[mtnrockhopper]

If whole milk makes better cheese than reduced-fat, would it be even better still if I fattened up my whole milk with some cream or half & half?

Buffalo mozzerella is made from buffalo milk, which is almost 8% fat. So have at it! Use cream though, since half and half is - you know - half milk.

[The Professor]

Here's  a link to  a nice article about a type of mozzarella  in Wednesday's New York Times.
 
I never knew this, but evidently all mozzarella in Italy is made with milk that has fermented for a day or so, making it less bland than typical American mozzarella, which is generally made with unfermented milk.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/dining/a-mozzarella-treat-to-make-at-home.html?ref=dining

[morticaixavier]

I have made paneer and 'ricotta (sort of farmhouse cheese) but I have yet to attempt mozz, but in my reading so far it looks like you are much better off with unhomogenized milk, as long as it's not ultra-pasteurized it will be fine. The cheese book I have says that if all you can find is homogenized milk, you are better off buying skim milk and cream and mixing them together.

the salt, as long as it's not iodized I don't think it matters, although I would think pickling salt would disolved faster, no idea if that is desirable or not though.

keep us updated with your progress.

[tubercle]

unhomogenized milk is better if you can get it.

If whole milk makes better cheese than reduced-fat....,

^^^^not true...it depends on what you are making.

I've made tons of mozz and just use regular whole milk. Do not use ultra pasturized.
Add calcium chloride if pasturized.
Flaked salt is recommended but I have never used it..just plain kosher or pickling salt. Don't use "tablesalt". It has unwanted addatives.

GMAC has the best answer - http://cheeseforum.org/forum/

[mtnrockhopper]

Add calcium chloride if pasturized.

What does the CaCl do?

[deepsouth]

interested in this.  i just bought a bunch of stuff to start making cheese.

[gmac]

Add calcium chloride if pasturized.

What does the CaCl do?

The pasteurization process strips out some of the calcium (not sure how but probably the heating and cooling precipitates some out).  Not enough calcium results in slower coagulation when you add rennet.  No calcium = no coagulation.  So you add CaCl to re-balance the calcium in the milk.  It'll probably work without but slower.  Set times are important when determining how long to leave the curd before cutting so it's best to start out right. 

My first Mozzarella didn't turn out great because I used the wrong culture and the curd didn't acidify fast enough.  Took too long to get to the stage that it could be pulled.   

Seriously...cheese forum!

[tubercle]

Here is the cheese discussion we have had here

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=4154.0

But really...http://cheeseforum.org/forum/

[mtnrockhopper]

Add calcium chloride if pasturized.

What does the CaCl do?

The pasteurization process strips out some of the calcium (not sure how but probably the heating and cooling precipitates some out).  Not enough calcium results in slower coagulation when you add rennet.  No calcium = no coagulation.  So you add CaCl to re-balance the calcium in the milk.  It'll probably work without but slower.  Set times are important when determining how long to leave the curd before cutting so it's best to start out right. 

My first Mozzarella didn't turn out great because I used the wrong culture and the curd didn't acidify fast enough.  Took too long to get to the stage that it could be pulled.   

Seriously...cheese forum!

Thanks!