How to Make Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Making cheese at home is easier than you might think. Homemade mozzarella is creamy in texture and mild in flavor. You can add herbs or black pepper to the cheese curd during stretching or sprinkle herbs over the chilled cheese ball and serve with crackers. Or freeze the mozzarella ball, grate it and make a delicious homemade pizza.

It's best if you can find fresh cow's milk from a local farm. If fresh milk isn't available, try a reliable source of pasteurized milk. Commercial brands of milk can be unreliable since they may be super-heated, which breaks down cheese proteins. Milk pasteurized at high heat may not yield a good-quality mozzarella cheese.

You will need to buy a couple of specialty ingredients: rennet and citric acid. Both can be found in most modern grocery stores. If they're not available in your area, you can easily purchase them online. You'll also need a food thermometer.

Cheesemaking is an art. It becomes easier to make cheese with practice. Once you understand how the curd feels and looks when it's ready to cut, you'll turn out delicious balls of mozzarella cheese every time.

Rennet is an enzyme used in making most cheese. Vegetable rennet is obtained from special types of mold or plants. Animal rennet comes from the stomachs of calves, lambs or baby goats. Rennet can be purchased in tablet or liquid form. Either type works well and should be diluted before introducing it into the milk. This enzyme prefers temperatures from 85-105 degrees Fahrenheit and will become deactivated at temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

For those of you who don´t use a microwave, you can also heat the curd on the stovetop.

1. Heat pot of water or whey (you can use the whey you drained off the curd) to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Transer the curds to a colander, folding and draining off the whey.

3. Dip the colander with the curds into the hot water a few times, folding with a spoon, until stretchy. Curds much reach 160-170 degrees Fahrenheit before you can stretch them.

4. Remove curd and stretch it like taffy. You may need gloves to do this. If the curd isn´t stretchy enough, return it to the water bath.

5. Add non-iodized salt, if desired. Stretch the cheese more, until it is soft and shiny and can be formed into a ball.

Whey is high in protein. Freeze it in ice cube trays and store the cubes in the freezer for use in smoothies. Or dilute it 50-50 with water and pour on acid-loving plants. Tomato plants flourish when watered with diluted whey. Don't use whey on plants until they're mature. You can also use whey to make homemade ricotta cheese.

Marinated mozzarella cheese is delicious with crackers. Or stick marinated mozzarella cubes with toothpicks and serve as hors d'oeuvres. Combine:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, dried italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine ingredients. Chop 1 pound of mozzarella cheese in cubes. Marinate in olive oil and herbs for 8 hours or overnight.