Mozzarella Video Tutorial

Curd Nerds rejoice!  I have made another cheese video tutorial.

It has been a while since I put a cheese-making video together, so as I was making mozzarella on last  night for pizzas in the Cob oven tonight, I thought I should document it.  It took just over 45 minutes to make due to filming every step, but it worked out well.





If you would like the full recipe, then visit my post titled "30 Minute Mozzarella".  It is so easy to make, and tastes delicious!  Mozzarella is a great cheese to start with if you are thinking about embarking on the wonderful world of cheese-making.

Mozzarella Workshop #5

Today, I taught my fifth cheese making workshop, which was basically a repeat of last weeks workshop that I held in my undercover area that I wrote about on my main blog.

There were four students, all who wanted a repeat go at making 30 minute mozzarella, because last week, all they ended up with was ricotta instead of the magic cheese they were promised.

Anyway, here is the set up.

Students tables, all neat and tidy, with a gas camp stove each to heat their milk.

This is my table where I hold all the ingredients and measure everything out for them.  I find that is better this way, so they don't have to worry too much about what to add.  They follow the procedure on their recipe sheets, and I explain what each ingredient does to the milk and what its purpose is.  You can find the recipe and the method at my post titled "30 Minute Mozzarella".

Two of the ladies stirring their milk having a good time.

Here is one of the pots with the milk after the rennet has been added.  

Finally, after we had cut, drained and heated the curds, it was time to stretch the cheese.  This is the best part.  Each student then formed the cheese into balls and dipped them in iced water to set.

After a taste test, they did all the washing up, which was nice of them.  Here is the finished product.

By using lipase and the organic milk, I have hit upon a winner which is quick and simple to make.  The taste is creamy and subtle the first day, with the full flavour developing on the second.  It lasts for about a week in the fridge, but often due to demand only lasts a few days at most, once the hungry hordes get hold of this sweet tasting cheese.

For those in the Melbourne area I am teaching another mozzarella workshop this Saturday at Spotswood Community House.  Details below if you would like to join me.

Cheese Making Workshop
In this 3 hour workshop learn the basics of making your own mozzarella from organic milk and non animal rennet.
Date: Saturday 5th May
Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Cost: $50
Please phone 9391 2613 to reserve your place.

If any readers are interested then please call the number above at the Spotswood Community House, but remember places are limited.

Until next time... keep keen curd nerds!

Mozzarella Cheesemaking Workshop #2

On Saturday I taught another cheesemaking workshop in the lovely little town of Gisborne, Victoria.  It was for a group of ladies who have formed a gardening group, and tracked me down via this blog.

We had a great time, and here are a few photos of the workshop.

7 pots of milk all in a row.

The commercial kitchen was wonderful to work in.  The stove had 12 burners, and plenty of room for the 7 budding cheesemakers.

Expelling whey after the first time in the microwave.

Chief Microwave Technician!

Here comes the stretch!  Everybody's mozzarella turned out perfect.  For a two students account of the workshop, pop on over to Christine's blog, Slow Living Essentials, and to Kirsty' blog, Bowerbird Blue, including what Kirsty made with the mozzarella.  A big thank you goes out to Christine who organised the entire event and venue.  It would not have been held without her hard work.

I have another Mozzarella workshop in two weeks time at the Spotswood Community house on Saturday, 29th October from 10am to 1pm.  There may be spaces left, with a maximum of 8 students.  Here is some contact info in case you are interested.

Spotswood Community House
598 Melbourne Rd, Spotswood 3015
Phone: 9391 2613
Fax: 9391 1898
Email: coordinator@spotswood.com.au

The Joy of Cheesemaking

Now in which other hobby do you get to do something like this with your food?  I had a ball making this Mozzarella for friends to eat.

Nice little balls of Mozzarella.  Note the yellow colour.  I added 2 drops of Annatto colouring to enhance the visual effect.

The finished product, all made with Demeter Biodynamic Milk, which is as good as it gets unless of course you have a house cow or goat!

We used this batch on pizza that we served up to our Sustainable Living Group as thanks for helping to make our Clay Oven on Saturday.  It was very tasty!

Mozzarella Cheesemaking Workshop

Teaching cheese making via a blog post or a video tutorial is one thing, but standing in front of a class of 8 keen individuals is a totally different ball game.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of teaching a 30 minutes Mozzarella cheese making course at the Spotswood Community House.  The class were fantastic people, and I really enjoyed teaching them how to make this quick and easy cheese.  Really this was my second cheese making workshop, as I gave one to our sustainable living group's members, but this is the first one where I did not know anyone.  I was a little aprehencious, but in a nice sort of way.  I asked Kim and Ben to come along to lend moral support.

Here is a group picture of the course, and their instructor in his nice stripy apron.

I set everything up ready to go so that we would have no delays.  I had 2 hours to get through 8 batches of cheese.  We were using Biodynamic milk, so I was excited to see what difference this wonderful milk would make.

First of all, a little about hygene, and the principles of cheese making. 

Then the first group of four got stuck into making their cheese. The stove was on the small side, but we coped okay.  I think they are adding diluted citric acid at this stage.

At this stage, everyone had added their rennet, and turned off the heat for about 5 minutes to let the milk set.

Showing everyone what a clean break was, and how to do it themselves.

Stiring the curds, and bringing the temperature up to 40C.

Draining the curds from the whey. 

The biodynamic milk formed a wonderful curd, and was very easy to handle for the students.

Here we are going through the microwave process.  I think this is the second zap at 35 seconds.
 

Iced water ready to cool down the hot mozzarella.

Cooling down some boccocini.  After all, they are just small mozzarella balls!

Finally, the finished product after the salt was added.  The cheese was great, and I managed to get everyone through in just over 2 hours.  The class sampled their cheese, and loved it!  I think we now have 8 new cheesemakers in town!

A big thanks goes out to Madeleine for approaching me and inviting me to teach the class.  I would love to teach another of this size. 

30 Minute Mozzarella

One cheese that I have been procrastinating about is Mozzarella.  Don't ask me why, I just was!  The Mozzarella recipe listed in Ricky Carrol's Home Cheesemaking book had quite a few precautions as did her instructions on her website, but I figured that now that I had a few cheeses under my belt (an understatement I suppose?), I should be able to rescue any potential disaster.

The ingredients are simple.  All you need are the following;

Four litres of full cream milk.  I chose one that was 3.4% butterfat.

A microwave bowl, 1 and a half teaspoons of citric acid mixed with a half a cup of un-chlorinated water.  A quarter teaspoon of non-ionised salt, and a quarter teaspoon of rennet mixed with a quarter of a cup of unchlorinated water.  I also make up a quarter of a teaspoon of lipase mixed with a quarter of a cup of water (let this sit for 20 minutes before hand).  Don't forget to sterilise your utensils or give them a spray with vinegar and dry.

Heat the milk to 15C (55F) then add the citric acid solution which I add about 5 drops of calcium chloride.  Then I add the lipase and stir well and continue to heat.  It will curdle a little on the surface.

Heat to 32C (90F), then add the rennet solution and stir gently.  Keep heating during the milk to 38-40C (100-105F) and the curd will begin to come away from the edges of the pot.  This happens in about 5-8 minutes.

The recipe calls for scooping the curds (not cutting) into a microwave bowl.  The whey went clear and yellow and I managed to drain it all through cheese cloth.  I drained as much whey from the curds in the bowl and then put it in the microwave for 1 minute on High.  I drained the whey again, then into the microwave for another 30 seconds on High, drain and form into a single mass, and back into the Microwave for a final 30 seconds.

I then added the salt and started kneading quickly like bread dough until it was smooth and shiny and it could be stretched like Taffy .  The it is as simple as forming the cheese into five balls and then put them in a big bowl of cold water for 30 minutes.  This helped the cheese to have the same consistency throughout and cools it rapidly.

We then took it out of the water and have already eaten one ball sliced onto crackers, topped with tomato and freshly cracked pepper and salt.  Delicious!  Apparently, it can be stored covered in the fridge for a few days, but don't think it will last that long.  I usually make it on Friday night, and we use it on home made pizza on the Saturday night!

The New England Cheesemaking supply company site has the full recipe and a better step by step guide which is a little different than the book version of the 30 minute Mozzarella.  This web version includes cutting the curd and leaving it a little longer before draining.

You can also add lipase at the same time you add the citric acid solution which should give it a stronger flavour and leave it for 20 minutes before adding the rennet. The lipase gives it some much need flavour, as I initially made it without this enzyme.  It was too bland for me, so we add lipase every time.

There is nothing quite like fresh Mozzarella!  Why did I wait so long to make it, I will never know.

In fact, I am teaching a 30 minute mozzarella workshop in Spotswood, Victoria, this Saturday.  It should be a lot of fun, and I will let you all know how it goes.