need "30 minute mozzarella" help? - update: SUCCESS!

[patandchickens]

The following is crossposted to BYC - let me know if we're not sposed to do that:

I know there's folks around here who do 30 minute mozzarella, and was hoping I could pick your brains.

I bought the kit from www.cheesemaking.com and tried it out today, and just got a mess. I am not sure where I went wrong. The dairy SAYS the milk is 'regular' pasturized not ultrapasturized. It seemed to form a good custardy curd after I added the rennet.

I proceeded with the directions (cutting the curd, moving it around gently while heating further, etc) and when I ladelled it out into a microwaveable bowl it was still in good rectangular chunks... but I just could NOT get it to hold into a single cohesive mass. No amount of draining, folding, and heating managed to produce anything remotely stretchable. It just fell apart into a sort of dense wet ricotta Tastes fine. Sure ain't mozzarella, though.

So I am using it in lasagna for tonight but what the heck did I do wrong?

(edited to add: the only way that I can think of that I didn't do EXACTLY as the booklet's instructins said was that I used a big enamel [nonreactive] canning kettle, on account of my stainless steel big stewpot is full of stew in teh fridge right now. Consequently it was made in a much larger shallower container than I think they were expecting. Could that possibly have made a difference? Grasping at straws here...)

All guesses appreciated,

Pat

 

[roosmom]

Can't help ya Patandchickens, never made anything like that before. sorry :/

 

[Cassandra]

Also grasping at straws, were the ingredients that you got in the kit within their use-by date (or not expired?) Or is it possible that during shipping they were exposed to temps too high or too low?

Seems like if you followed the directions exactly, that the quality of the ingredients you got may be in question.

Just a thought.

Cassandra

 

[me&thegals]

No idea... I've used this kit, too, and never had any problems. I hope it works next time!

 

[patandchickens]

Good thought Cassandra but they're not really 'that type' of ingredients -- the rennet is allowed to freeze (*supposed* to be stored frozen once you open the blister pack for a particular tablet, in fact) and the citric acid is, well, citric acid, I mean, what could happen to *that*

I have only the local dairy's word that the milk is regular (not ultra) pasteurized, but I have no particular reason to doubt their honesty. They do make EXCELLENT chocolate ice cream, that must be a testament to SOMEthing <vbg>

Over on BYC, the simple life suggested a few things, of which "too little rennet" seems plausible. I may have left too much dust on the cutting board after splitting the tablet.

I am not completely certain I followed the directions exactly the way they intended - it is more complex than the happy little website blurb makes it sound, or at least there is more left unsaid that you ahve to guess exactly what they mean by. (Like 'move the curds slowly while heating', or 'drain off as much whey as possible without excessive pressing'. If you know what you're doing I'm sure this is self explanatory, but if you're me, not so much)

I just hate not even knowing what SORT of problem it is. I feel like one of those new horse owners who writes to some internet horse forum or bb saying 'hi, my horsie won't lead properly, he just wants to stand there and I can't get him going, what am I doing wrong?' and after extensive questioning it turns out that the horse's feet have foundered or something like that

Looking forward to getting to the bottom of this (and til then, looking forward to tonight's lasagna, b/c while it sure wasn't mozzarella, it sure did TASTE pretty good ),

Pat

 

[Cassandra]

argrrgghehherrrgblargh

I hate vague instructions. Among my least favorite are "coats a spoon" and "spins a thread" for jelly making. I mean, come ON. Include a picture, at least.

I really want to try this cheesemaking, Pat. So I am rooting for you. Hope you'll post back how it goes.

I've almost had to give up on BYC. It is so busy I can't keep up with it any more. I try to go on once a day or so and check for anything important.

Cassandra

 

[patandchickens]

Well, another $5.29 gallon of milk later, IT WORKED! Woo hoo! It cheesed, it chose, it mozzarellified!

I followed Natalie's suggestion of adding slightly more than the 1/4 tablet of rennet the instructions called for. I also, and in retrospect I think this was my biggest mistake last time, spent way more time and energy painstakingly draining out all of the stupid whey. Took forever. It is sort of a magician-pulling-silks-out-of-his-hand thing, where only a little whey comes out of the mass of curds but that little bit just keeps coming out and coming out and coming out and when you think you're done, you're not, because a little more comes out, and then a little more. Man. It was *weird*

I may still not have gotten quite as much whey drained off as I was supposedta, because my yield was exactly 1 lb rather than the 3/4 lb the recipe says... but I'm quite happy with it. It's very mild tasting but GOOD, and a nice delicate texture. I fear it may be a bit too wet to melt well, but that's fine, I'm quite happy to eat it plain. So are the kids -- I eventually had to cut the 1 1/2 yr old off, much to his displeasure, as it appeared he would have been happy to go on eating and eating and eating <g>.

The "30 minute mozzarella" took me 59 minutes, by the way ;>

Anyhow I am feeling pretty chuffed about it, and looking forward to getting better at it (I hope!) Many thanks to all who contributed suggestions, encouragement and help!


Pat, who also spent 5 1/2 hrs today digging overgrown turf out of drainage ditches and starting a new one, ooof, and is just completely pooped.

 

[ScottyG]

yaaaay! congrats on the cheese! I'll have to give something like that a go some time. Sounds a bit frustrating, but also like a lot of fun, messing with curds and all.

 

[Cassandra]

YayIlovecheese!

Cassandra

 

[PotterWatch]

So glad you finally got it to work! Now, when I finally have my own milk to make it with, I know who to ask for help.