Ok so if you’ve ever wanted to make your own homemade mozzarella here is how I did it! This was a really fun project to try out and one that I think will work super awesome in the future experimenting with smoked mozzarella for example. It’s important to get a few things though – citric acid & rennet, you can get both of these on Amazon delivered in a day or 2, so basically just be prepared.
First up grab two bowl and put water into both – 230ml / 1 cup in one bowl the remaining 1/4 cup / 60ml in the other. Add the citric acid to the larger amount of water and mix through to dissolve, also add the rennet to the smaller water bowl and stir in.
In a very large saucepan add the milk and the rennet water mixture, bring to a heat on the hob stirring from time to time. You will notice the acid will go to work straight away and it will start to separate. Once the temperature reaches 90F / 33c remove from the heat, add the rennet, stirring it through for 30 seconds, then just leave it and put a lid on the saucepan.
Leave the pan for 10-15 minutes so the curds form in the pan. The use a long sharp knife to slice them into a grid all the way to the bottom of the pan. So make incisions every few inches horizontally, then vertically.
Put the pan back onto the hob and warm through up to 105f / 41c stirring every so often and carefully. Once that temperature is reached remove from the heat but continue stirring for a few minutes whilst it cools down.
Drain off the whey (which can be used for many things by the way, have a google!), and put the curds into a large bowl. It’s best to pass it through a sieve.
Microwave the curds for 60 seconds on high power, then drain off any excess whey.
Using gloves fold the curds over a little bit to work the clump of soon to be mozzarella together. Then microwave again on 30 second blasts until a thermometer reads 135f/57c internal temperature.
Sprinkle over the salt and fold again into the cheese, working it as you fold. As it cools, it will start to firm up and become easier to shape. So shape to your hearts content, maybe use some moulds to make funky shapes! The mozzarella can be used immediately or kept refrigerated for a week
The recipe I attempted which I have put into my own words can be found here https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-mozzarella-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-174355