Hello all, new here, and definitely new to cheese making.
I've been interested in making my own mozzarella for a long time but recently finally decided to give it a try. I've spent more money than I'd like to admit over the last month on many many failed attempts.
First I started off trying Junket rennet, which as everyone here knows, despite having cheese recipes in the box, doesn't work at all. After that I ordered vegetable rennet tablets from cheesemaking.com.
I'm going to go over my entire process and ingredients to see if anything I'm doing is wrong, I don't blame you if you don't want to read it all. :cross:
As stated the rennet I use is tablet form, from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company.
The citric acid I use is Ball brand, found in the canning section of Wal-Mart.
I use Aquafina bottled water for mixing the citric acid and rennet.
I don't use calcium chloride because cheesemaking.com says don't use it for mozzarella.
As for the milk, I was sure that was my problem, I've tried Publix store brand, Wal-Mart store brand and Winn Dixie store brand. Each time the milk has failed to form a solid enough curd, even after 2 hours of setting time there was no clean break. None of them were UP afaik, at least they only said pasteurized.
After failing with those milks I saw the instant powdered milk + cream recipe on cheesemaking.com which specifically stated it was for people who couldn't find good milk. So naturally I tried this next with the same results, no clean break, curds so soft and thin they actually go right through cheesecloth.
Here is my exact process:
1)mix 1 1/2 tsp citric acid with 1/2 cup water til dissolved, put in empty pot.
2)pour milk over quickly while stirring
3)slowly bring milk to 90 degrees F while stirring over med-low heat
4)dissolve 1/4 tablet rennet in 1/4 cup water, I do this by shaking it in a water bottle til dissolved.
5)add rennet to milk and stir upwards for 30 seconds
6)remove from heat and place in warm water bath and do not disturb
cheesemaking.com claims a clean break should happen in 5-10 minutes, I have let it sit for up to 2 hours with no success.
Any Ideas?
I've been interested in making my own mozzarella for a long time but recently finally decided to give it a try. I've spent more money than I'd like to admit over the last month on many many failed attempts.
First I started off trying Junket rennet, which as everyone here knows, despite having cheese recipes in the box, doesn't work at all. After that I ordered vegetable rennet tablets from cheesemaking.com.
I'm going to go over my entire process and ingredients to see if anything I'm doing is wrong, I don't blame you if you don't want to read it all. :cross:
As stated the rennet I use is tablet form, from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company.
The citric acid I use is Ball brand, found in the canning section of Wal-Mart.
I use Aquafina bottled water for mixing the citric acid and rennet.
I don't use calcium chloride because cheesemaking.com says don't use it for mozzarella.
As for the milk, I was sure that was my problem, I've tried Publix store brand, Wal-Mart store brand and Winn Dixie store brand. Each time the milk has failed to form a solid enough curd, even after 2 hours of setting time there was no clean break. None of them were UP afaik, at least they only said pasteurized.
After failing with those milks I saw the instant powdered milk + cream recipe on cheesemaking.com which specifically stated it was for people who couldn't find good milk. So naturally I tried this next with the same results, no clean break, curds so soft and thin they actually go right through cheesecloth.
Here is my exact process:
1)mix 1 1/2 tsp citric acid with 1/2 cup water til dissolved, put in empty pot.
2)pour milk over quickly while stirring
3)slowly bring milk to 90 degrees F while stirring over med-low heat
4)dissolve 1/4 tablet rennet in 1/4 cup water, I do this by shaking it in a water bottle til dissolved.
5)add rennet to milk and stir upwards for 30 seconds
6)remove from heat and place in warm water bath and do not disturb
cheesemaking.com claims a clean break should happen in 5-10 minutes, I have let it sit for up to 2 hours with no success.
Any Ideas?