How to Make Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Updated on January 20, 2020

Vespa's recipes have appeared in "Midwest Living" and "Taste of Home". She belongs to Cook's Recipe Testers for "Cook's Illustrated".

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Homemade Mozzarella Cheese with Cracked Black Pepper | Source

Making Fresh Mozzarella From Scratch

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.

Vegetable or Animal Rennet?

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.

How to Make Mozzarella Cheese Photo Gallery

After mixing in the diluted citric acid, heat pasteurized milk to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If using raw milk, heat to only 88 degrees Fahrenheit. | Source

Add the rennet, which has been pre-dissolved in water. | Source

Let the milk rest for 5-20 minutes, or until it has thickened. It will look similar to yogurt, with the whey separating from the curd. | Source

Use a long knife to cut the curd in a criss-cross pattern | Source

Stir and heat the curds gently until the whey reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit (for pasteurized milk) or 90 degrees Fahrenheit (for raw milk). | Source

Take the pot off the heat and stir for another 2-5 minutes. Stir it 5 minutes if you like firmer cheese, less for softer cheese. | Source

Heat cheese curds in microwave on high heat for 1 minute. | Source

Stretch and pull the cheese, like taffy. Be gentle. More whey will drain off. | Source

Heat the cheese another 30-60 seconds and stretch, until cheese can be formed into a ball. | Source

Chill fresh mozzarella in cold water (15 minutes) then ice water (1.5 hours). Drain off water and store the cheese in the refrigerator in a tupperware or plastic bag. | Source

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

5 stars from 3 ratings of Mozzarella Cheese

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Ready in: 1 hour

Yields: 2 large balls of mozzarella cheese

Ingredients

1/2 cup water + 1/4 tablet Vegetable rennet, Dissolved
1/2 cup water + 1 1/2 teaspoons Citric acid, Dissolved
1 gallon Cow's milk, Preferably unpasteurized
2 teaspoons Non-iodized salt, Optional

Instructions

Dissolve citric acid in 1 cup water. In a separate bowl, dissolve the rennet in 1/4 cup water.
Pour dissolved citric acid and water into a large pot. Pour one gallon of milk into the pot, stirring vigorously so the citric acid is distributed evenly throughout the milk.
Heat milk to 88 degrees Fahrenheit for raw milk or 90 degrees Fahrenheit for pasteurized milk.
Take off heat and add dissolved rennet, using up and down motions to stir the rennet into the milk. Stir for no more than 20 seconds. Stop as soon as you notice the milk is thickening.
Let the milk sit for 10–30 minutes, or until the curd is firm. It will look similar to yogurt, with the yellow whey separating from the solidified milk mass.
Slice the curd with a long knife.
Stir curd and whey very gently for 1–2 minutes.
Put the pot back onto the burner and heat slowly, stirring gently but constantly, until the whey reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit for raw milk or 110 degrees Fahrenheit for pasteurized milk.
Drain the whey off and save for another use.
Heat the drained curd in a microwave on high for 1 minute. Stretch and knead the curd like taffy. Heat another 30–60 seconds and pull until it's glossy and can be formed into a ball.
Chill the cheese ball in refrigerated water for 15 minutes. Add ice and chill another 1 1/2 hours. Drain off water and store the cheese in a plastic bag or Tupperware.

Stovetop or Waterbath Method

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

Heat pot of water or whey (you can use the whey you drained off the curd) to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transfer the curds to a colander, folding and draining off the whey.
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.
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.
Add non-iodized salt, if desired. Stretch the cheese more, until it is soft and shiny and can be formed into a ball.

What Can I Do With Leftover Whey?

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

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.