Making Mozzarella Cheese at Home

By popular request, I'm finally showing you all how I make my mozzarella cheese at home! This has been a delicious addition to so many home-cooked meals in our house, so I hope it finds its way to your home and kitchen too!
Ballerina Farm Homemade Mozzarella - Recipe and Instructions
Preparation Time 40 minutes
TOOLS
Cast Iron Pot
Cooking Thermometer
Wooden Spatula
Rubber Gloves
INGREDIENTS
1 Gallon of Raw, Unpasteurized, Full Fat Milk
Citric Acid Mixture:
1 1/2 tsp Citric Acid + 1/2 c water
Rennet Mixture:
1/2 tsp Animal Rennet + 4 Tbsp water
1/4 c French Salt
STEPS
Note: best to make cheese with milk that is at least 1 day old.
1. Pour Milk into cast iron pot. Gently warm the milk to 55 degrees.
2. Create the Citric Acid Mixture:
Add 1/2 cup of water to a glass
Mix in 1 1/2 tsp of Citric Acid until dissolved in the water.
3. Pour the citric acid mixture into the milk and lightly stir in an up and down motion. Do not over-stir.
4. Take the milk and acid mixture to the stove top. Warm gently to 88 degrees, stirring occasionally with a light, up and down motion.
5. Remove from heat and add the Rennet Mixture to the milk. (1/2 tsp rennet + 4 Tbsp water)
6. Return the pot to the stop top and gently heat to 105 degrees.
7. Once 105 degrees is reached, remove from heat and cover for 5-10 minutes until the curds start to form.
8. While waiting, prepare a bowl with cold water to cool and store the cheese once it’s formed.
9. Cut the curds using a knife and add 1/4 c of french salt to the curds and whey mixture
10. Return the pot of curds and whey to the the stop top. Heat to soften the cheese but do not boil.
11. Using heat protective rubber gloves, scoop out the the cheese and form into fist sized balls. Break them apart, opening them up and twisting them back on themselves.
12. As the cheese heats, watch for when the balls are ready to stretch. They make break a little at first. That’s okay. Just keep stretching and reforming.
13. Stretch and pull while dipping back into the salty whey mixture.
14. Form into nice, even cheese balls and drop into the cold water.
15. Slice and enjoy with fruit, bread, or cook in your favorite dish.
Buon appetito!
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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
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00:00 List of Tools and Ingredients for Making Mozzarella
02:03 Creating and Adding the Citric Acid Mixture
04:06 Troubleshooting and Mistakes
04:57 Creating and Adding the Rennet Mixture
06:48 The Variables that Affect Cheese Making
08:11 Heating the Curds and Whey and Stretching the Cheese
13:08 Shaping the Cheese into Balls and Storing in Cold Water
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