I have yet to make a great mozarella. Of all the success I’ve had with hard cheeses, I struggle with mozarella. I made yet another mediocre batch this weekend. I purchased a mozarella kit for a family member as a gift and we got together to make a batch. I can never get good curd formation. I add the citric acid first and then the rennet shortly thereafter, per the recipe. The citric acid begins curdling the milk and once I add the rennet and begin stirring, it startes to set up right away and the stirring breaks the curd formation. The curd never forms correctly so my cheese ends up flat. I am able to complete the recipe and form the cheese. Has anyone had similar experience with mozarella? I’m thinking about throwing in the towel on this one…..

LOL, your kidding right, I thingk u missed a few threads.
Are u using store milk? did u add CaCL ?
Drain the curds and try cooking it in a non stick pan on med. and turn and press with a spoon so it does not over cook. This is how I finally got mozzarella by using a pan.

I used milk from a local creamery, whole, pasteurized, non-homogenized. I didn’t use Calcium Chloride this last time but I did on a previous attempt. I heat the milk in a hot water bath so I don’t risk burning the milk. If I could just get the curd to set, the rest is fine. The batch I made this past weekend, was an improvement over my previous attempts but just not very flavorful. For the most part I always end up with a good texture though. Aaaaargh!

Mozza has been my nemesis, always disintegrating, but cooking it in the pan created my first successful batch.

Damn mozzarella…..!

Iowa cheese maker - 16 March 2009 05:17 PM

Damn mozzarella…..!

No no , that’s not nice..

i will help u to make perfect mozzarella , but why u want to go via quick way (citric acid?)

beleive me , it is very easy cheese to make, but it need pH meter , or/and patience..

tell me, do u like the citric acid way ? if yes , i will tell u what u did wrong above…

if u want the traditional real method tell me also ...

for now , ur problem above is that u do not need to mix rennet more than 10 seconds, and leave it to curdle.. due to hight acid the coagulation is very very fast after adding rennet, if u have pH meter, pH when adding rennet should be 5.6 - 5.5 not less and not more ....

of course no need for CaCl
and few curdling is normal after adding acid , but do not worry

i am totally against pan as Neil said.. working it out in hot water is a fun and the only way to do it right

I was using the quick method because we were following the directions in the mozzarella/ricotta kit. The person I was helping had never made cheese before so I was hoping to show him how the instructions were carried out. I would like to know what went wrong in the quick scenario but I would also like to know the more traditional method for my own use. I’m going to make good mozzarella if it’s the last thing I do….!

This is proper Mozza culture;
http://www.danlac.com/ingredient/choozit™-tm-81-lyo-50-dcu

as a start read thru this

http://www.rickandlynne.com/rick/go/forums/viewthread/519/
http://www.rickandlynne.com/rick/go/forums/viewthread/318/
http://www.rickandlynne.com/rick/go/wiki/Mozzarella/

http://www.dairyfoodsconsulting.com/recipes_fresh_mozzarella.shtml

and for quick way 30 minutes
http://www.dairyfoodsconsulting.com/recipes_Direct_Acidified_Fresh_Mozzarella.shtml

when u finish , i am ready for any more questions

believe me it is so fun cheese to make

any updates?