Tried my hand at Mozz...
 

Had a friend come over and we tried to make 30-minute mozz. Here's what happened...

Added 1.5 tsp citric acid to the whole, homogenized, pasteurized milk from the gas station

Heated to 90F and added 1/4 tsp of liquid rennet diluted with 1/4 C of water and stirred thouroughly.

Covered and let sit for 5 minutes.

Checked and it was curdling, but not really setting up. Added an additional several minutes to let it set up.

Didn't set up so we added another 1/4 TSP of rennet (cause we really dont' know what we are doing), and let sit for several more minutes.

It did finally kind of set up, but it was not in cubes, but rather just large curds, like cottage cheese.

Anyway, we strained this out into colander and let drain a minute (I was eating during this time) and then started kneading and microwaving a couple of times to get more whey out.

After three nukes we started kneading. When it started getting firmer we added some salt, but by then it stopped recombining with itself.

So, it turned out, but not like the instructions, and not as flavorful due to the salt not mixing in with it. It had a kind of rubbery texture too.

What can I do differently to improve this?

Sounds like you got UP (ultra pasteurized) milk which won't form a curd. If getting raw milk isn't an option, you can 'make' a better milk using evaporated milk and heavy cream or add calcium chloride to help with curd formation.

Hey Homer, I have found a source for Low temp Pasteurized, non-homogenized milk. Its $1.75 for a half gallon after you get the deposit back so thats ~$3.50 for a pound of cheese.

If you make it to GR, hit up Kingma's Market on Plainfield. They sell it there, just have to remember to return the bottles for your $2! deposit.

Thanks, I'll check it out or have my buddy do it. he is down there quite often. I'm not convinced my milk was UP, but I'll try another brand again soon. And that stuff you mentioned might make better cheese anyway.

I don't think your milk is UP either, but it is Pasteurized and Homogenized. Thats the killer right there. Homogenization, in my readings thus far are what will kill your curds before they have even left the starting gate.

If you add 1/2 teaspoon Calcium Chloride at the beginning, the type of milk is not really an issue. Also, add the salt before you knead, after you have drained the whey.

Here is a brief instructional video I put together:


Forrest

I watched the video 9great job BTW - and it all looks very similar to what we had in our pan. I expected the whole thing to be a large gelatinous glob, but we ended up with cottage cheese-like curds, just like in your video. Maybe the milk wasn't so bad after all.

And yeah, I will def add the salt at the start of the kneading next time. Maybe tonight. I got another gallon of milk and want to try again.

Now where do I find this CaCl??

A homebrew store should have it. Make sure it is the food grade white pebble looking stuff. Not the cloudy flake stuff used to melt ice on streets.

Forrest

And it's ready to eat right away huh?? Awesome.

Yes. Mine was a bit over kneaded I think, and came out a bit tougher than I hoped for. Also we added the salt near the end, and it just wasn't getting integrated.

However, if done properly, the cheese can be ate while still warm.

I noticed mine did not "melt" on my pizza. We made two bagel pizzas and put some on top. It browned up a bit, but never flowed out. Too dry I think.