Here is a fun weekend activity...don't try it on a week night as it can take some time. Don't get me wrong, while it can be fun...it does take some work, and I'm not sure I've gotten this recipe quite right. The first part of cheese making may have been mentioned in the Homemade Ricotta post in which I had to locate cheese salt. I found a place in Grand Rapids that has cheese making supplies. This is a very good thing...as I would need rennet, an enzyme that helps milk coagulate, for this recipe. As well as citric acid and cheese salt.
I later discovered after looking at my salt that I did have on hand the substitute for cheese salt, which is Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. But back to rennet...I purchased this one weekend with Andrea and bought a couple of sodas to try from this shop. I also most likely brought home a specialty beer, though I do not remember which one, possibly Screamin' Pumpkin. So, we come back to Andrea's and I put the rennet in the freezer like the clerk told me too...the rennet is still in Andrea's freezer.... What's a forgetful girl to do? I mentioned it to a co-worker who kept forgetting the rennet for about a week. So, I went to the local health food store, and was so glad to find the rennet, I splurged on a $5.00 gallon of organic milk...wow, that stuff is expensive.
All that said and done...finally;-), I begin the process and attempt to set everything out where I can get to it...this 12oz cheese log sure has a lot of components. The citric acid gets mixed with some cool distilled water, and the rennet gets mixed with less distilled water, still cool. these get set aside...
and the milk gets heated...first the citric acid goes in to a fair amount of stirring. Then you heat it to a seemingly low 90 degrees...then the rennet goes in, and 30 seconds of stirring...then you get a 5-10 minute break, while you cover the cheese and leave it alone.
Once the curds and whey separate good, you get to dice it(slice all the way to the bottom in a crosswise pattern), then the stirring and heating begins...up to 110 degrees this time. Now for the stirring, 2 to 5 minutes, longer for firmer cheese. Then you get to drain the whey from the curds using a "cheese-cloth" lined heat proof strainer. The curds might be too small for cheese cloth, use muslin. In the meantime, get some water hot enough to burn your tender hands...185 degrees, so once the curds are separated from the whey and folded gently, you can dip them, and fold some more for elasticizing.
I am really not good at the elasticizing part...gonna take more practice. In the meantime, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water, and have it ready off to the side.
After the whey is drained fold the curds gently and dip into hot water...i could go on...i probably will...after a few to a few dozen dips in the 185 degree water, and more folding of curds 30 seconds each time, you get to stretch hot cheese and mold it into form. then you get to the easy part, once its formed dip it into ice water and let it sit for ten minutes. Then you get to place it in an airtight container and store it soon, if you don't eat it all on the spot, as its at its best out of the ice bath.
It takes some work, and might contribute to a bit of a sore back, but it is wonderful when it comes out right.;-)...even if my first batch was a little grainy.
I will definitely make this recipe again...I am tonight, with milk James got for me...next time, he's helping me make this cheese;-)
P.S. I did start this at 9PM tonight, using milk I wasn't sure shouldn't be used, and was finished at 11:30PM, while blogging during the down time...I didn't do the recipe exactly, I left the muslin bag on and squeezed the bag for some of my folding. I also left it in the muslin bag to form and now have a ball of mozzarella cheese that is a little tart, but is better than expected. Yeah! I also added a secret ingredient to flavor it even more as we indulge in this old-fashioned delicacy, so it can be done on a weeknight, but its better done on a week-end, in my humble opinion.
Best of luck in your cheese-making habits.
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