# Mozzarella making class...



## Zwiefel (Jan 22, 2015)

I attended a mozzarella cheese-making class last night. While the technical content of class was a bit lower than I'd have preferred, I did learn a few things and had a great time. It's oddly fun to play with mozzarella....and my hands finally got warm.

Our instructor Micah, talking and walking us through the process we were to follow.






Here, he is showing us the technique for making braids. I had never seen mozzarella in shapes like this before, nor had I ever seen a braid made from a single strand.





The finished product. Nice looking piece of cheese.





We were each given a block of curds to start. Obviously, the hardest part of this is producing curds properly. From this point forward, this is a pretty trivial task, in terms of producing something tasty and recognizably mozzarella. But still shockingly fun. I can totally see buying the curds and doing this for a party.





After bringing the curds together in the bowl, a few taffy pulls to complete the re-organization of the proteins in the curd. I spent a little while talking to the instructor about this. I was a little surprised to discover that this is a physical change, not a chemical one. The heat and physical manipulation takes the disorganized mess of proteins in the curds and aligns them so that they act in unison, creating the stretchy, chewy goodness of mozzarella.





Attempting my first braid.





Which worked out perfectly. I meant to give the instructor a few pointers on his technique but got distracted.





After making individual pieces and dropping them into a water bath to cool, we moved them into a very heavily salted bath. This infuses them with a bit of salt which is great for flavor, but also helps to preserve them for a bit longer. I put some paper towels on top to keep the tops of the cheese wet. If the top is exposed to oxygen while in the salt bath, it turns a bit yellow and dries out.





Toss with a little EVOO, minced garlic, pepper flakes, and a sprinkle of cilantro. Ready for snacking.





Was a lot of fun, and was mildly educational. Perfect for a date night.


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## Artichoke (Jan 22, 2015)

Cool beans.

My wife and I took a cheese making class at our local Sur la Table a couple of years ago - it was fun!


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## EdipisReks (Jan 22, 2015)

That looks like a lot of fun! I really need to check out the classes offered at the local culinary school here in Cinci.


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## apicius9 (Jan 22, 2015)

Nice, I heard that was not too difficult to do. What is the yield, i.e. how much milk do I need for what amount of fresh cheese?

Stefan


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## Zwiefel (Jan 22, 2015)

apicius9 said:


> Nice, I heard that was not too difficult to do. What is the yield, i.e. how much milk do I need for what amount of fresh cheese?
> 
> Stefan



Well, they provided curds already separated from the whey, and acidified. As I mentioned, it wasn't nearly as educational as I had hoped...mostly a fun thing for the general public to do. However, since I asked that question in class.....a gallon of milk (non-pasterized, non-homogenized) will yield about 1.5 lbs of curds, and you'll lose approximately 15% of that in the process of making the final product. So taking that math to the end: 8lb/1gal milk = 1.25lbs cheese.


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## cschoedler (Jan 22, 2015)

awesome!


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## 99Limited (Jan 22, 2015)

Zwiefel said:


> .....a gallon of milk (non-pasterized, non-homogenized)



Where in the USA would you find raw milk other than at a dairy? That's THE best way to go, but I didn't think the FDA would let people buy it.


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## Zwiefel (Jan 22, 2015)

99Limited said:


> Where in the USA would you find raw milk other than at a dairy? That's THE best way to go, but I didn't think the FDA would let people buy it.



Yeah, that's the only place I'm aware of. But I believe the prohibition is against sale for _drinking_.


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## EdipisReks (Jan 22, 2015)

I believe that cheese made from raw milk, in the US, is only legal for retail sale if it has aged for a certain amount of time. 60 days, maybe? Obviously, making your own cheese for personal consumption would be something else...


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## apicius9 (Jan 22, 2015)

See, that's why the French don't like you - what people could forbid fresh raw milk cheese?  

Still trying to figure out the financial side of it. At about $6/gallon for homogenized and pasteurized milk and close to double that for organic milk (and I have no idea whether I could even get untreated milk out here), it may be a fun thing to do but not a big saver. But at least I would know that there is nothing else in the cheese I make and it would definitely be fresh. 

Stefan


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## USC 2012 (Jan 22, 2015)

I heard somewhere that the Italians used to use ocean water to salt mozzarella. This may be folklore, but still sounds interesting... Minus everything in the ocean water. That braid is really cool, and interesting to know that it was made from only a single stran.


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## 99Limited (Jan 22, 2015)

$6 for a gallon of milk???? Holy cow. Oh well, if you like mozzarella fresh is the way to go. Living in Jersey it's hard not to find fresh mozzarella. It's everywhere and it's soooooo good.


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## EdipisReks (Jan 22, 2015)

~$3 a gallon for whole milk in Cincinnati.


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## apicius9 (Jan 22, 2015)

Yep, the price for living in paradise. Normal price for a gallon of milk is around $8 but you usually find one brand on sale for $5.50-6.00. I have to test out the mozzarellas I get out here. I think I paid a bit over $10 for a pound of Galbani, but I have not checked out Costco, yet. Now that I am infected by the pizza making-fever, this becomes more important 

Stefan


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## 99Limited (Jan 22, 2015)

Despite Galbani labeling their mozzarella as fresh, you haven't eaten fresh mozzarella until you've eaten some that's still a little tiny bit warm from being made. It's creamy and buttery and has that great mouth feel. I think you have to be Italian to make truly great mozzarella. :biggrin:


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## EdipisReks (Jan 22, 2015)

Blind taste tests suggest that letting refrigerated Mozz come to room temperature before eating brings it most of the way back to fresh.


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## Reede (Jan 22, 2015)

If I recall correctly from the couple of times that I made it, it is about a pound of cheese per gallon of milk, whole milk as the starting point. Has to do with the fat content. Seems like sheeps milk will give a little higher yield, due to a higher fat content.


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## ecchef (Jan 22, 2015)

99Limited said:


> I think you have to be Italian to make truly great mozzarella. :biggrin:



I've heard that. :wink:

If I ever get some free time, I'd like to try that with the local milk here.


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## mise_en_place (Jan 23, 2015)

Milk has unfortunately gotten very expensive in the US. 

When I was out in Colorado I "bought" a share in a goat and was able to get raw milk. I made some mascarpone and yogurt in the immersion circulator, as well as some ricotta and paneer. Never got around to making mozzarella, unfortunately.


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## daveb (Jan 23, 2015)

South of the mouse house and north of Miami, Fla is an largely an ag state. Oranges and cattle. Raw milk is pretty readily available for 8/gallon or 12/gallon GMO free. I don't know if it's a Federal or State requirement that the milk is labeled "Not for Human Consumption". Cream and cottage cheese (now that's not for human consumption!) are also offered. 

I've an Italian friend/chef that when I give her a gallon of raw she gives me back at least a pound of mozzarella. I've asked her to show me how she does it and she says "You give me milk, I give you cheese. What else do you need to know?"


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## Zwiefel (Jan 23, 2015)

daveb said:


> South of the mouse house and north of Miami, Fla is an largely an ag state. Oranges and cattle. Raw milk is pretty readily available for 8/gallon or 12/gallon GMO free. I don't know if it's a Federal or State requirement that the milk is labeled "Not for Human Consumption". Cream and cottage cheese (now that's not for human consumption!) are also offered.
> 
> I've an Italian friend/chef that when I give her a gallon of raw she gives me back at least a pound of mozzarella. I've asked her to show me how she does it and she says "You give me milk, I give you cheese. What else do you need to know?"



It's definitely a federal requirement, perhaps also state. 

Hmmmm....how very Italian.


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## CoqaVin (Jan 24, 2015)

I make a MEAN mozzarella, and im not Italian AT ALL!! :knife:


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## 99Limited (Jan 24, 2015)

CoqaVin said:


> I make a MEAN mozzarella, and im not Italian AT ALL!! :knife:



You just think you're not. With all the Italians surrounding you in Jersey, you can't help but absorb the essence of Italian just by being around them.


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## CoqaVin (Jan 25, 2015)

Tru that I probably learned how to make mozzarella from an Italian for all I know lol


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