FRESH MOZZARELLA!
Can you believe it???
Our theme this month is "cooking something out of your comfort zone".
This SURE was!!!
Here was what you needed.
It took me THREE tries to get it right. Finding the FRESHEST ...
RIGHT kind of milk is the key.
After that, it only takes about 30 minutes to make.
The first try, my milk wasn't fresh and it separated quickly,
causing the whey to come off so fast that it
became a dry, hard cheese.
In the next attempt ... the milk was fresher (from Colorado) but was TOO ultra-pasteurized. The high temperature that they pasteurize it at, kills the good bacteria that enables a large curd to form. As a result the curds were small and soft like cottage cheese -- but guess what? That is how you make Ricotta Cheese!
The final try that worked the best was with fresh, "vat-pasteurized/non-homogenized" whole milk. The milk was just brought into the store today and it's a brand that is pasteurized in a vat at lower temperatures.
After you add the citrus acid and rennet, the curds were a lot bigger. You pour off the "whey" and heat the curds in the microwave to warm them. You then knead the warm curds into a nice shiny ball
and plunge it into ice water so it stays round.
I can't wait to slice it and try it!
2 comments:
It looks perfect! Just like store bought mozzarella! Wish I could try a bite right this minute. Well, at least the milk fiasco is out of the way and you know what works. You should make some lasagna for the fam with your homemade ricotta. When you come out for Thanksgiving you need to show me how to make both!
WOW! need I say more?
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