Saturday, July 16, 2011

Mozzarella Day!

It's mozzarella day here at the apartment. The toys have been sorted and picked up, I'm on my 6th load of laundry, the apartment is cleaned and vacuumed... So it's time to cook!

Last weekend I went to a cheese making class I had bought on Groupon, and to say the least it wad horrible. I knew LOTS more than the teacher and worse, I found myself correcting her and answering other people's questions. I had two beers and left halfway through.

But. But. It sparked my cheese-making tendencies, and after our meal of bread, crackers, sausage, and an awesome selection if cheeses last night, I decided today was the day.

Adam bought me the necessary ingredients throughout the week.

My ingredients and tools.






Pour one gallon milk in heavy pot on stove. Turn on low (don't want to scald). At 55 degrees F, add 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid (which has been dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water).



At 90 degrees, stir in 1/4 teaspoon of rennet. At 100 degrees, remove from heat and watch your pot begin to curdle.





Wait 3 - 5 minutes and then scoop curds into a microwave safe bowl. Press to remove as much whey as possible.

Microwave on high for two minutes and knead like bread.












Pretty soon you have a beautiful ball of mozzarella for ~$3.75. We added a little salt. You can add herbs and sun-dried tomatoes and whatever you want to get some tasty cheese. We'll use this for homemade pizza... Off to make the dough and sauce!

Erin

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1 comment:

Amy H said...

Dude! This is such a timely post!! I just got SIX catalinas for free gallons of milk at the grocery store last night that I need to use by the end of the month and have been wondering how I'll use up all that milk besides making some pudding!

Where did Adam/you get the rennet & citric acid? I've not really looked at the grocery - do they have it there?

You know I make pizza every Sunday, so this would be perfect to make!

Thank you!