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Author Topic: Mozzarella  (Read 13730 times)

Offline euge

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #15 on: February 04, 2013, 12:37:37 pm »
I've been using the calcium chloride granules intended for brewing from the LHBS. Not sure if it has been in too strong of a concentration but the cheese has been great!
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2013, 05:59:26 pm »
I've been using the calcium chloride granules intended for brewing from the LHBS. Not sure if it has been in too strong of a concentration but the cheese has been great!
How much are you using? My kit came with bottled calcium chloride in solution, but doesn't say what the concentration is.
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Offline euge

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2013, 07:10:39 pm »
I've been using the calcium chloride granules intended for brewing from the LHBS. Not sure if it has been in too strong of a concentration but the cheese has been great!
How much are you using? My kit came with bottled calcium chloride in solution, but doesn't say what the concentration is.

Just what the recipe calls for- maybe half a teaspoon. I'm sure it is too much but not sure if that matters.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #18 on: February 05, 2013, 08:43:29 pm »
Tried again tonight, but with milk from a different source - a more local dairy (a big local dairy though). Complete disaster! Sounds exactly what happens with ultra-pasteurized milk (it was not marked ultra). We have some nice ricotta though.
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Offline Delo

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #19 on: February 06, 2013, 07:40:34 am »
I've been wanting to make fresh mozzarella for a long time.  It must have been great if you are already making it again. Did you also make ricotta from the leftover whey the first time?  I could see myself making this a lot. When do you add the Lipitor?
Mark

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #20 on: February 06, 2013, 07:56:41 am »
I've been wanting to make fresh mozzarella for a long time.  It must have been great if you are already making it again. Did you also make ricotta from the leftover whey the first time?  I could see myself making this a lot. When do you add the Lipitor?
It was very good, but mostly I just like making things myself.  The comment about ricotta was because of over-pasteurized milk. You can use pasteurized milk, but some companies are heating milk higher than minimal pasteurization temperatures to get longer shelf lives. The closer it gets to ultra-pasteurization, the more caesin (the protein that forms curds) is destroyed. That's what happened to me and I wound up with curdled milk. I strained it in a mesh bag to get something similar to ricotta. It's good, but it's not mozzarella.
 
Lipitor? That's a cholesterol drug. You mean rennet I think.  The recipe and process were very similar to this.
 
http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html
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Offline Delo

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #21 on: February 06, 2013, 08:21:23 am »
No the lipitor joke was serious. I would seriously need to start taking it if I start making cheese. Cheese is one of my weeknesses. My humor doesnt come out too well in text. Maybe i needed this guy :o

The ricotta cheese question was separate. I've read where people make mozzarella and then take the left over whey that is strained and make ricotta.
Mark

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #22 on: February 06, 2013, 08:32:03 am »
Maybe i needed this guy :o
Got it. My bad. That would have helped. I understand the concept though. If it's anything like brewing, cheesemaking will just encourage me to buy more great cheese too.
 
Quote
The ricotta cheese question was separate. I've read where people make mozzarella and then take the left over whey that is strained and make ricotta.
The whey is pretty much water with some dissolved sugars. I'm not sure how you'd get ricotta out of it since the proteins and fats are pretty much removed - unless the curd forms badly leaving a lot of that in the whey.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2013, 08:38:17 am by mtnrockhopper »
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Offline Delo

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #23 on: February 06, 2013, 09:26:04 am »
The whey is pretty much water with some dissolved sugars. I'm not sure how you'd get ricotta out of it since the proteins and fats are pretty much removed - unless the curd forms badly leaving a lot of that in the whey.
Thats what I was wondering. How much ricotta can you get after making mozzarella. When I finally get around to making it I might try to do both.  I like making things myself too and making both would be great.
Mark

Offline euge

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #24 on: February 06, 2013, 09:45:52 am »
Is anyone checking the pH of the curds when making mozzarella? According to my book the curds won't knit or stretch properly if the correct pH range hasn't been reached.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #25 on: February 06, 2013, 09:48:50 am »
The whey is pretty much water with some dissolved sugars. I'm not sure how you'd get ricotta out of it since the proteins and fats are pretty much removed - unless the curd forms badly leaving a lot of that in the whey.
Thats what I was wondering. How much ricotta can you get after making mozzarella. When I finally get around to making it I might try to do both.  I like making things myself too and making both would be great.

ricotta was/is traditionally made with the whey left over from mozzerella making. you have to re-acidify it and wait a while. the yield is low but your just going to toss the whey anyway go for it. I wonder on a home scale if you would get enough to even bother though.

You can save the whey and use it in bread, or stew/soup for an added nutritional boost.
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Offline weithman5

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #26 on: February 06, 2013, 10:20:22 am »
No the lipitor joke was serious. I would seriously need to start taking it if I start making cheese. Cheese is one of my weeknesses. My humor doesnt come out too well in text. Maybe i needed this guy :o

The ricotta cheese question was separate. I've read where people make mozzarella and then take the left over whey that is strained and make ricotta.

my grandmother used to make her own mozzerlla and parmasean absolutely loved it.my mother has told me several times how and i never quite get around to it. 

here in my office i melt cheese in the microwave and people look at me like i am insane.  i get all the health crap from everyone. i have explained many times it is not bad for you, the food type is not the problem just the weight.  so make adjustments and you can stay off the lipitor hopefully.  Denny,  cheese and beer, what else do you need 8)
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Offline 1vertical

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #27 on: February 09, 2013, 02:14:36 pm »
Goat cheese would be cool. I know there are a few goat farms around here, I'll have to look into it. I work for the Dept. of Agriculture so somebody at work must know.

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Offline erockrph

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #28 on: September 05, 2013, 10:31:12 pm »
I just made my first batch of mozz today. It didn’t work out exactly as expected but the end result is awesome anyways. I can't get raw milk here, but I did get some non-homogenized whole milk from a local dairy.

I got a kit from Austin Homebrew Supply. For 1 gallon it was 2 tsp of citric acid and 1/2 tsp of CaCl2, and 1/2 tab of rennet. I'm other sure if I over-stirred after adding the rennet, or if something was up with the milk, but the curd sank to the bottom instead of floating and was in really small bits. I was able to fish most of it out with a small strainer. Once I got it in the microwave it set up fine and I was able to stretch it and get it into a nice ball.

I was able to get some ricotta out of the whey, but there wasn't much of a yield. The process is real simple. Just heat the whey to a boil (or just under - I think whey protein coagulates at around 200F). Then kill the heat and let it cool to maybe 130-140F. You can then strain through a cheese cloth. I got about 3/4 lb of mozzarella and something like 4-6 oz of ricotta from one gallon of milk.

The mozzarella is fantastic. I will definitely be doing this again. I might have to hunt down some raw milk across the border to try that out. I think this may end up being a gateway to bigger things. I'd love to start making my own cheddar and gouda.
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Offline samuel.workman

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Re: Mozzarella
« Reply #29 on: September 05, 2013, 11:07:15 pm »
Don't post a lot (obviously), but learn a ton from you guys.

I've used AHS Mozz kit a bunch, and early on experienced similar results. After taking a look at http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html and doing some reading, I think the AHS formula was very slightly overaccidifying my milk. First, I got rid of the CaCl2 as many recipes don't call for it. Then, I backed the acid down to 1 and 3/8 tsp in trial and error over several batches. The result was a really tight curd formation and really stretchy, moist mozz. Might be worth a quick try before seeking out more milk--my milk was really similar to your description.

As an agricultural product (especially sourced locally) our milk varies just like the hops, malt, and water from area to area. Given that, the formulas aren't exact, and it seems like cheese folks fiddle with it at the margins a good bit.

In answer to the question, I've never measured the pH, but absolutely will the next time around.

I just made my first batch of mozz today. It didn’t work out exactly as expected but the end result is awesome anyways. I can't get raw milk here, but I did get some non-homogenized whole milk from a local dairy.

I got a kit from Austin Homebrew Supply. For 1 gallon it was 2 tsp of citric acid and 1/2 tsp of CaCl2, and 1/2 tab of rennet. I'm other sure if I over-stirred after adding the rennet, or if something was up with the milk, but the curd sank to the bottom instead of floating and was in really small bits. I was able to fish most of it out with a small strainer. Once I got it in the microwave it set up fine and I was able to stretch it and get it into a nice ball.