My first attempt...

[Shutterbug]

I made my first attempt at making cheese today and it did not go very well. From what I can tell I used milk that was ultra pasteurized. I'm wondering if there is a way to tell whether or not milk has been ultra pasteurized. It didn't say anything on the label. Or maybe that wasn't the problem. It was simple queso blanco but it didn't curdle properly when I added the vinegar. I ended up with something that was like a paste. Thanks in advance.

 

[bernardsmith]

I imagine that unless the milk was "organic" then it would not be pasteurized at too high a temperature. Organic milk is often a problem. But if we assume you simply bought store bought milk, how much vinegar did you add and what was the temperature of the milk ?

 

[Homercidal]

What was your recipe? What brand of Milk? What kind of Rennet and how old? Calcium Chloride?

I think most milks will say right on the label if they are UP (Ultra Pasteurized), but I don't know if that's a requirement. I've had fair to good luck using any regular pasteurized milk from the store.

 

[Shutterbug]

Thanks. I tried again the next day with the same milk and got great results. Not enough attention to detail the first time.

 

[ophiuchus_99]

Are you adding any calcium chloride? If not add some 10 minutes before adding rennet.

 

[Shutterbug]

Are you adding any calcium chloride? If not add some 10 minutes before adding rennet.

Can I do that with mozzarella as well?

 

[ophiuchus_99]

Adding calcium chloride to homogenized milk will help with the set and the body of the curd. You may need to add more rennet also. Are you using calf rennet? It also works better.

 

[bernardsmith]

IMO, Mozzarella is one of the hardest cheeses to make. The pH is really very critical (it needs to be about 5.2 to 5.4 and in my (albeit very limited) experience a pH that is either any higher or lower results in cheese that is grainy and does not stretch well and even if it stretches as it is supposed to you can over-knead the mozz which results in a cheese that is "tough".
That said, the addition of calcium chloride to any store bought /pasteurized/ chilled milk will improve the protein and give you a better cheese and that said, I prefer to use a ripening culture (I use home made kefir) to the use of citric acid. It provides far more complexity in terms of flavor but far less predictability in terms of the pH and the length of curing time.