I have been so much addicted to making cheese at home. After Haloumi, Feta, Ricotta, Mascarpone and Cream cheese, the next thing on my to do list was Mozzarella. I have lost count of the videos I have watched and blog posts I have read before attempting. During my first attempt, I used the regular packaged milk and it turned out like normal paneer. Though it didn’t go waste, it was not mozzarella.
After my failure with feta with packaged milk, I have promised myself that I would never attempt any cheese with packed milk. So one day I met the milkman who supplies cow’s milk to our neighbour and asked him to bring me milk the next day. I was indeed sceptical while trying but it turned out awesome.
Update: I have made a video demonstrating the process of making the cheese. I hope it would be useful. If you like it please subscribe to my channel to receive updates. Thank you..
There is one step that is done while making mozzarella is stretching and folding the cheese. I was so afraid but it stretched out beautifully and the finished cheese was so smooth. As I couldn’t take a snap with my both hands working, hubby dear shot the snaps for me. When heated it was quite elastic and the stringy effect looked so much like the store bought cheese. I was on cloud nine and immediately I posted in FB groups. From then on, I am getting so many mails to post the recipe. As Bogging Marathon is going on, I couldn’t post it immediately but I promised them that it would be online on Monday.
One of the ingredients in Mozzarella cheese making is rennet. Rennet is usually derived from animals and so vegetarians cannot use it. But now we get organic vegetarian rennet in Amazon which can be used in cheese making with out any problem. It acts same as the rennet and the results are incredible. Though it is expensive, you only need 1/8th of a teaspoon for 2 litres of milk. So it comes a long time. Just keep it refrigerated and use whenever you make cheese. And one more tool you really need is a thermometer. The temperature of milk at certain stages are crucial and so to do every stage perfectly, you surely need to know the temperature of milk. So invest in a thermometer.
Recipe Source: Serious Eats
Ingredients:
Milk-2 lt
Citric Acid- 3/4 tsp
Organic Veg Liquid Rennet-1/8 tsp
Salt-1/2 tbs
Procedure:
In a heavy bottomed stainless steel pot, take milk and add citric acid.
Mix it thoroughly until the citric acid dissolves.
Now heat the milk on medium flame until it reaches 88°F.
When mixing you can see that the milk has started to curdle.
Mix rennet to 3 tbs of water and keep it ready.
Add it to the milk once it reaches 88°F.
Mix it gently for 4-5 times to make sure that it is completely dissolved in milk.
Heat it on low flame until milk reaches 105°F.
Stir it once or twice in between. By now the milk would have formed a mass.
Remove from flame and let it sit on counter for 5-10 minutes.
Place a colander on top of a bowl and transfer the curds to the colander. Do not throw away the whey collected. We need it for the next step.
Once all the curds have been collected in the colander, press it gently and allow it to drain for 10-15 minutes.
Now transfer the curd to a chopping board and cut into 1″ cubes.
Add salt to whey and mix. Take 1/3rd of the whey collected in a bowl and transfer remaining whey to the stainless steel pot.
Heat the whey in the pot until it reaches 180°F.
Now take half the curds in a bowl and add the hot whey.
Let it sit for 5 minutes. Take a piece of the whey and try to stretch. If you can stretch, the cheese is ready to be shaped. But if it just breaks, then it need to soak in hot water a little more.
If you feel that the water is cool, then add hot water from the pan to the cheese and let it soak until it stretches.
If you could bear heat you can do the stretching with bare hands, but if not, wear gloves and handle the cheese.
Take the cheese and stretch it. Then fold it into two. Again stretch it. Repeat stretching and folding for 7-8 times until the cheese is smooth. To make it easy, keep on dipping it in hot water and then stretch.
Once it is nice and smooth, shape it into a ball and drop it into the 1/3 room temperature whey.
Do it with the remaining cheese also.
Let the cheese remain in water for 30 minutes.
Remove from whey and use it immediately or wrap it in two or three layers of cling film and refrigerate.
Use it with in 2-3 days.
This is the thermometer I use while making cheese.
These are the links where you can buy liquid rennet and thermometer. Click to buy.
Home Made Mozzarella Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Milk-2 lt
- Citric Acid- 3/4 tsp
- Organic Veg Liquid Rennet-1/8 tsp
- Salt-1/2 tbs
Instructions
Procedure
- In a heavy bottomed stainless steel pot, take milk and add citric acid.
- Mix it thoroughly until the citric acid dissolves.
- Now heat the milk on medium flame until it reaches 88°F.
- When mixing you can see that the milk has started to curdle.
- Mix rennet to 3 tbs of water and keep it ready.
- Add it to the milk once it reaches 88°F.
- Mix it gently for 4-5 times to make sure that it is completely dissolved in milk.
- Heat it on low flame until milk reaches 105°F.
- Stir it once or twice in between. By now the milk would have formed a mass.
- Remove from flame and let it sit on counter for 5-10 minutes.
- Place a colander on top of a bowl and transfer the curds to the colander. Do not throw away the whey collected. We need it for the next step.
- Once all the curds have been collected in the colander, press it gently and allow it to drain for 10-15 minutes.
- Now transfer the curd to a chopping board and cut into 1" cubes.
- Add salt to whey and mix. Take 1/3rd of the whey collected in a bowl and transfer remaining whey to the stainless steel pot.
- Heat the whey in the pot until it reaches 180°F.
- Now take half the curds in a bowl and add the hot whey.
- Let it sit for 5 minutes. Take a piece of the whey and try to stretch. If you can stretch, the cheese is ready to be shaped. But if it just breaks, then it need to soak in hot water a little more.
- If you feel that the water is cool, then add hot water from the pan to the cheese and let it soak until it stretches.
- If you could bear heat you can do the stretching with bare hands, but if not, wear gloves and handle the cheese.
- Take the cheese and stretch it. Then fold it into two. Again stretch it. Repeat stretching and folding for 7-8 times until the cheese is smooth. To make it easy, keep on dipping it in hot water and then stretch.
- Once it is nice and smooth, shape it into a ball and drop it into the 1/3 room temperature whey.
- Do it with the remaining cheese also.
- Let the cheese remain in water for 30 minutes.
- Remove from whey and use it immediately or wrap it in two or three layers of cling film and refrigerate.
- Use it with in 2-3 days.
It’s lovely Gayathri!! You have mentioned to use a thermometer. Would be grateful if you can be more specific which one to buy for this kind of preparations? Would surely love yo try this. Thanks a ton for posting all the recipes and sharing it with us.
Will add a photo of the thermometer I use.
Hi gayatri ji very nice recipe, but can you add video it will be very useful, actually iam not understanding about adding rennet when can we have to add rennet before milk curdled or after curdled pl clear my doubt thank you so much
Please check Lakshmi. I have a video attached in the post itself.
Your website is just awesome…thanks a lot…for your wonderful recipes…can you please tell the substitute of rennnet…we live in small town…looking forward for your help..thank you
Thank you Ankita. Rennet cannot be substituted. You can buy it online in Amazon. I have given the link at the bottom of post.
where can i buy Organic Veg Liquid Rennet ?
I have given the Amazon link at the bottom of the post.
Thank u very much fr d recipe. Can u pl tell where in India v can get this veg rennet online. Thanks in advance
It is available on amazon. Please see the link at the bottom of the post.
Thanks. God bless.
What a yummy mozzarella cheese.Sure want to try.
Hi Gayathri,how many days can the mozzarella cheese be stored?
Two to three days in fridge or two months in freezer..
Hey Gayathri. Thanks for sharing such a lovely recipe. I finally tried it today. But my cheese curd didn’t stretch. It kept breaking and was a bit grainier than yours. I kept it soaked in hot whey for a while. it would stretch a bit and break. It remained grainy, didn’t become pliable.. Where do you think I must have gone wrong? May be I can send you a picture?
Please send me a snap to gayathriraani@gmail.com Did you use full fat milk or packed milk?
Hi Gayathri, There are times I have successfully made cheese with this recepie and at times I face problem faced by Rachana Shah where it just stays grainy and its more like paneer then cheese. It would be great if you could help with reasons for the same.
The reason might be because of the temperature of milk. If it is over heated, the cheese would turn grainy. Use a thermometer for better results. And also use full fat milk from dairy, not packed.
Hey,
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe for mozzarella. The links you have mentioned are not working. Please share the links again.
Thank you
As this is lock down period, I guess all ingredients are unavailable.
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