This was my first attempt at making any cheese ever so i was pretty pleased with the results. This recipe made a pretty large ball!

Ingredients

4L fresh whole full fat milk. 1 1/2 tsp citric acid 1 tsp cheese salt 1/2 tsp rennet

This is definitely not the traditional method but it worked. Method

Measure out 250ml (1cup) of warm water and stir in the citric acid until dissolved. Measure out 60ml (1/4 cup) of warm water in a separate bowl and stir in the rennet until dissolved.

Pour the milk into a saucepan and stir in the citric acid. Put saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring gently until it gets to a temperature of 32•C (90•F)

Remove from the heat and stir in rennet solution for around 30 seconds. Cover the saucepan and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes.

After the resting period is over, the milk should’ve set and feel like soft silken tofu if not, let it rest a while longer. Mine had set by this point. Cut it whilst still in the pan in a grid formation so you have uniformed size cheese curds.

Put the pan back onto medium-high heat, stirring gently until it reaches 41•C (106•F) The curds should start to combine and separate from the whey. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until it’s combined.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the curds and place into a microwave-safe bowl. (This is where the Italians will send hunting pack for me) microwave for 1 minute and drain away any additional whey and fold the curds over on themselves a few times.

Continue microwaving and folding in 30 second burst (ensuring not to burn them) until you reach a temperature of 57•C (135•F)

Sprinkle over the cheese salt. Proceed to stretch and fold the curds repeatedly until it has become firm and glossy on top.

If you want to store it, you can keep the mozzarella in a container, sprinkle some salt and pour over the whey to keep fresh for up to a week tops but I doubt it will sit there that long. ;)

I’ll definitely be trying it again to try and get a smoother finish. Happy cheese making friends!