First Cheese - AHS Mozz. and a ??

Well, I decided to give cheesemaking a whirl. I picked up the AHS Mozzeralla kit. I got the milk from WHole Foods...Farmers Fresh Brand I think. It was non-homogenized, low-temp pasturized.

In any case, it was easy and the cheese was fantastic. My only question is the texture. I was expecting it to be like the "fresh mozzarella" we buy at the store, which is more grainy, soft and watery (packed in the whey?). This had a great flavor, but was more creamy/firm/dry in the texture. Was this due to all of the folding? I folded the crap out of it per the instructions.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not upset with the result, it was just different that what I expected. I don't know cheese like I do beer.

-Todd

If you want a softer cheese you can try lowering the temperature you heat the curd to a few degrees after cutting and/or stirring less. Another option is removing less whey before folding.

You can try just pulling it until it is smooth and shiny, and stop right then. The more it's worked, the firmer it will be.