Fresh Homemade Goat Cheese and Mozzarella are easier than you might think!
If its true, as Monty Python said in Life of Brian, “Blessed are the cheese makers…”, then this week has left me with good karma to spare. Wednesday I taught The Basics of Cheesemaking at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC and last night I did a demonstration of cheesemaking as part of a kickoff event for the Locavore Lit Festival taking place this weekend in Chestertown. The fesitival features authors in a series of talks about how local foods can be a catalyst for healing our enviroment and strengthening local communities– something I truly believe in. My thanks to Andy Goddard and Tara Holste for inviting me to participate in such a great local event!
Below are the cheeses we made and tasted. I get most of my cheesemaking supplies from either http://www.thecheesemaker.com or http://www.leeners.com. If you don’t want to make your own mozzarella curd and your local cheese shop doesn’t carry curd, you can buy it from www.dibruno.com (An expensive source, but good quality and it freezes well.)
MOZZARELLA CURD
1 gallon whole milk (preferably not ultra-pasteurized)
2 teaspoons citric acid dissolved in ¼ cup unchlorinated water
¼ teaspoon liquid rennet diluted in ¼ cup unchlorinated water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.Place the milk in a large saucepan or small stock pot. Heat the milk over low heat, stirring occasionally. When the temperature reaches 55º F, add the citric acid and mix thoroughly. Continue to heat the milk until the temperature reaches 87º to 89º F. Remove from the heat.
- 2. Gently stir in the diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion. Allow the milk to stand until the curds form, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut the curds.
- 3. Once the curds form, reheat the milk slowly to 108º F. Turn the heat off and let the curds stand for 20 minutes while the whey is dispelled. The whey should be clear and the curd should be sliceable.
- 4. Scoop out the curds and gently press to release the excess whey.
MOZZARELLA CHEESE
Yield: Makes about 1½ pounds
1 gallon (4 cups) water
½ cup salt
2 pounds (about 4 cups) mozzarella curd , cut into small pieces*
- Prepare the water: Place the water and salt in a large saucepan. Heat the water until bubbles begin to appear on the surface, or an instant read thermometer registers 180º F. Turn off the heat.
- Heat the cheese curd: While the water is heating, place the cubes of cheese in a large bowl. When the water is ready, carefully pour the hot water over the cheese. Let the cheese cubes sit in the water for about 1 minute without stirring them. After 1 minute, gently stir them with a wooden spoon and look at the curd. If the cheese is heated through the curd will look smooth (like melted mozzarella) and is ready to be stretched. If the cheese curd is not completely heated through it will look grainy and still have some of the cubes. If so, it needs to sit in the hot water for another few minutes until soft.
- Stretch the curd: Working quickly, before the cheese cools down too much, stretch the curd with the wooden spoon until the cheese is smooth and elastic. Lift and stretch the curd to develop a stringy texture. Be careful not to overwork the curd: this will make you cheese heavy and too chewy. As the cheese cools it will begin to stiffen and become harder to stretch. The cheese is ready to be shaped before it cools completely.
- Shape the cheese: Divide the cheese into two or three pieces and wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap to help the cheese form a round shape. Place the cheese in an ice bath, if desired, to help hold its shape.
- Serve the cheese immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
FRESH GOAT CHEESE
Yield: This recipe makes about 1 pound of cheese.
The yield in this recipe can easily be increased, without requiring extra time for the curds to form.Making any fresh cheese consists of three steps: preparing the milk (usually with an acidic starter and rennet), forming the curds and draining. While no one step is difficult, the process takes about 24 hours. This allows the proper flavor and consistency to develop. Care must be taken to follow the recipe: errors in temperature and with the rennet can affect the quality of the curds. Rennet (like yeast) can expire, so be sure to check the package before using.
Ingredients: (to make about 1 pound of cheese)
½ gallon goat’s milk
½ cup buttermilk (or 1 ounce mesophilic starter)
1/8 teaspoon liquid rennet, dissolved in ¼ cup unchlorinated water
1 teaspoon salt
-
Place the goat’s milk and buttermilk in a clean saucepan or stock pot. Gently warm the mixture, stirring frequently to help it warm evenly. When the mixture reaches between 65º and 70º F, remove it from the heat.
2.Add the dissolved rennet to the milk and stir well to mix thoroughly.
Formation the Curds:
Draining the Curds:
Place the curds in a cool place to allow the whey to drain out: Twist the ends of the cheesecloth together and tie with a piece of string. Hang the cheese over a bowl in the refrigerator another 6 to 8 hours.
Remove the cheese from the cheesecloth and mix in the salt. The goat cheese will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
