Its hard to talk about cheese without mentioning ballsbig, white, wet balls.
Mozzarella isnt the easiest cheese to make, but its the one people often start with.
And then you have the gourmands who prefer something runnier, stinkier: your Stiltons and bries.
Mozzarella is the great uniter of cheeses.
Almost everyone loves a mozz, and in particular, they love the idea of making it.
(This is a lie.
Italian grandmothers dont mess around.
They know its complicated.).
To that end, I suggest you start with an easier cheese, such asricottaor feta.
Youll need to eat this within a day or two.
I know, suffer.
(Want to make burrata?
Weve got an easy way to do that too.)
Keep your spray bottle of vinegar and clean towels nearby.
Were looking for a sterile environment.
The pot should have a thermometer fitted to it.
Fill the pot with your milk.
Set the heat to medium, and stir the milk continuously until it hits a temperature of 55F.
Now were going to let the temperature rise to 90F, stirring as we go.
Once the milk hits 90F, turn off the stove.
Remove a small amount of milk from the pot and use the pH strips to test it.
It should have a pH in the range of 5-5.3.
Dont proceed until it does.
If it doesnt, continue to stir at the same temperature and re-test in ten minutes.
Stir the milk to create a small cyclone, and pour in the rennet.
Now stir for 60 seconds using a figure-eight motion.
Cover the pot, and walk away.
If you have a clean break, proceed.
If you do not, put the lid back on and wait another ten minutes and re-test.
when you land a clean break, youre going to cut the curd into one-inch columns.
You dont need to make any horizontal cuts.
Do this over five minutes, stirring the entire time.
During this process, were trying expel as much whey as possible.
As you stir, the curds are going to break up into smaller pieces.
Once you hit a temperature of 105F, look at the whey.
If its relatively clear, youve succeeded.
If its cloudy, something has gone wrong.
you might continue, but you might have trouble stretching the cheese.
As with all cheese, if something goes wrong, its usually not correctable.
You just have to start over.
(Womp womp.)
At this point, pour the curds into your cheesecloth-lined colander.
Let the curds drain for 10 minutes.
This will expel even more whey into the bowl.
Theres no science to this, were just seeing how the curds melt together.
They might be melty already, or not.
Now, microwave the bowl of curds for another thirty seconds.
Youll be repeating the process, and the curds will get even meltier.
Try giving the curds a pulljust pinch a small piece and pull it away.
Does it come away on its own, or is it stringy?
Were looking for a long shiny string.
Now its time for one last 30-second nuke.
Youre looking for glossy or shiny strings, with no grittiness.
Youll do this 10-15 times.
Repeat with the rest of the curd.
After an hour, transfer the bowl, covered, to the fridge.
The mozz should be eaten within twenty four hours.
Bonus round: Burrata
Burrata is the luscious cousin of mozzarella cheese.
Its fresh mozz, with a pocket of ricotta or cream in the middle.
When you cut it open, the middle oozes out in a way that I dare call sexy.
As youre stretching the curds, instead of forming a ball, youll make a purse.
Add the ricotta to the void, then exit the end around it, and proceed as described above.
Like the plain mozz, this burrata should be eaten in a couple of days.
I dont think that will be a problem, however.
