The Easiest Way to Make Fresh Mozzarella (and Burrata)

It’s hard to talk about cheese without mentioning balls – big, white, moist balls. Mozzarella is not the easiest cheese to make, but people often start with it. In the world of cheese connoisseurs, there are those who love hard classics: cheddar, muenster, big lacy swiss. And then there are foodies who prefer something thinner and smellier: Stiltons and Brie. Mozzarella is the great unifier of cheeses. Almost everyone loves motz, and they especially love the idea of ​​making it.

The problem is that mozzarella cheese is not easy to make, despite all the videos of Italian guys and nonnes claiming otherwise. (That’s a lie. Italian grandmothers don’t mess around. They know it’s hard.)

In this regard, I suggest that you start with a lighter cheese, such as ricotta or feta. Most of you will ignore me (I certainly would) and dream of a pizza night in which you arrogantly mention that you made the cheese yourself. For this reason, we are going to make instant mozzarella, which has about 43 fewer steps than the more traditional recipe, but has a much shorter shelf life. You will need to eat this within a day or two. I know suffer. (Want to make a burrata? We have an easy way to do it too.)

Light Mozzarella

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon milk, not ultra-pasteurized (pasteurized, VAT-pasteurized, or raw can)
• 1 ½ teaspoons citric acid dissolved in ¼ cup distilled water
• Dissolve ½ teaspoon of rennet in ¼ cup of distilled water.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ricotta (if making burrata)

Equipment ( recommendations for choosing equipment can be found in our buying guide ):

• Pot 6 liters or more
• 3 liter saucepan
• Stainless steel colander
• Gauze
• measuring spoons
• Thermometer
• pH strips or pH meter
• Microwaveable bowl
• Microwave
• Heat resistant gloves

Customize your space

As with all cheese, cleanliness is inextricably linked to cottage cheese. Make sure that the pot, countertop, all the utensils you need and use – from measuring spoons to a thermometer – the faucet and sink are freshly cleaned and disinfected with white vinegar or a disinfectant solution. Keep a spray bottle of vinegar and clean towels nearby.

Boil water in a saucepan on the stove and submerge the cheesecloth in it for at least a minute, then scoop it out with sanitized tongs and strain it over a colander before you begin.

Once you get started, you don’t need to wash the dishes or anything else in the kitchen, as this can contaminate your cheese with drips. If you have enzymes, cover or move them so they don’t contaminate the cheese. We need a sterile environment.

Heat up the milk

We’re going to be installing a steamer, so you’ll need a large pot with a few inches of water under the pot that will hold the milk. A thermometer should be attached to the pot. Fill a saucepan with milk. (Be sure to shake the milk bottles before pouring them out to get all the cream.) Set the heat to medium and stir the milk constantly until it reaches a temperature of 55℉.

Once it reaches this temperature, stir the milk again, then add the citric acid and continue stirring for at least a minute. Now let the temperature rise to 90℉ while stirring. During this time, the milk may curdle, and this is normal. It’s also okay if it’s not.

Once the milk reaches 90℉, turn off the stove. Pour a small amount of milk out of the pan and test it with pH strips. It should have a pH in the range of 5-5.3. Don’t continue until this happens. If this does not happen, continue stirring at the same temperature and repeat the test after ten minutes.

Add rennet to make curd

Once the temperature reaches 90℉ and the pH of the milk is in the 5-5.3 range, it’s time to add the rennet. Stir the milk to form a small cyclone and pour in the rennet. Now mix for 60 seconds using a figure-of-eight motion. After 60 seconds, stop the milk flow by holding the spoon in the pan. Cover the pot and leave.

Remove the lid after 10 minutes and use a curd cutter to check for a tear. Your knife should cut the curd neatly, with the curd retaining its (new) edge and shape after you remove the knife. If you have a clean gap, go ahead. If you don’t, close the lid, wait another ten minutes, and repeat the test.

Once you have a clean break, you will cut the curd into one-inch-thick bars. Slice the top of the curd and cut into one inch lengths, then rotate the pan 90 degrees and repeat, making cuts perpendicular to the first set of lines. No horizontal cuts are needed.

Heat up and take out the curd.

Turn the heat back on and slowly bring the curd to 105℉. Do this for five minutes, stirring all the time. Don’t move in circles; lift the spoon from bottom to top over the milk, lifting the curd and repeating this movement. During this process, we try to remove as much serum as possible.

As you stir, the curd breaks into smaller pieces. Once you reach 105℉, look at the serum. If it is relatively clear, you have succeeded. If it’s cloudy, something went wrong. You can continue, but you may have trouble stretching the cheese. As with any cheese, if something goes wrong, it’s usually impossible to fix it. You just need to start over. (Wump-wump.)

At this stage, pour the cottage cheese into a colander lined with cheesecloth. In this case, you do not need to store the serum, so you can do it over the sink. Let the curd drain for 10 minutes.

Warm up in the microwave and take out the curd.

Now place the cottage cheese in a microwave safe bowl and fry it without a lid on high power for one minute. This will force even more whey into the bowl. Drain it carefully and, using gloves, fold the curd eight times, rotating the bowl 90 degrees before each fold. There is no science to this, we are just watching the curd melt together. They may have already melted, or they may not. Or it’s okay.

Now put the bowl of cottage cheese in the microwave for another thirty seconds. You will repeat the process and the curd will become even more melted. Try to pull the curd – just pinch a small piece and pull it out. Does it go away on its own or is it sticky? We are looking for a long shiny rope.

Now it’s time for the last 30 second nuclear bomb. Then take it out of the microwave, pour in the whey and sprinkle the curd with salt.

We stretch the cottage cheese

With your gloved paws, you will pinch off about a handful of cottage cheese and stretch the cheese between your two hands, separating it and then folding it back. You want glossy or shiny strings without rough edges. When you fold it back, you fold it inward, so it’s a wrinkle-free side, perfectly smooth, with a gathered part on the other side. You will do this 10-15 times. As you make the last fold, make sure the wrinkled side of the ball is in your palm and the flat side is facing out. Squeeze the folded end so that the smooth end of the mozzarella puffs up and stretches slightly, then pinch off and place in a bowl of room temperature water.

Repeat the same with the rest of the curd. After an hour, transfer the covered bowl to the refrigerator. Motz should be eaten within twenty-four hours.

Bonus Round: Burrata

Burrata is a delicious relative of mozzarella cheese. This is a fresh mosa with a pocket of ricotta or cream in the middle. When you cut it, the middle comes out, which I dare to call sexy.

If you want to try it, make ricotta or cream (I recommend ricotta for the first time). By stretching the curd, instead of forming a ball, you will form a bag. As you fold, use your thumb to make an indentation for the ricotta instead of balling the curd back together. Add the ricotta to the void, then close the end around it and proceed as above. Like regular mosa, this burrata should be eaten a couple of days in advance. However, I don’t think this will be a problem.