# Mozzarella help please!!!



## GFamilyFarm (Mar 9, 2010)

I made beautiful mozzarella last year from the Fiasco Farm recipe many many times but this year is failure after failure. We have one new goat but she is from one of the older ones so they should have similar characteristics and they are all fed the same. I have bought new supplies and even tried several different recipes with the same result. My cottage cheese turns out perfect, its just the mozzarella.

Last year when I cut the curds they were softer then the cottage cheese type but still held together. This year after the 10 minute rest they look like they are falling apart, thin sheets with the texture of fiberglass on the back of one of those prefab tubs. Today I kept with them instead of dumping them and they really appear to be stretching which shouldn't occur until they have drained and been put back in the whey. Since they seemed to be stretching I skipped the hour of "cooking" (hour held at 90 deg) and the 4-6 hours of draining and just started stretching and it appears to have worked this time. However I do think my yield is very low as the whey still looks like milk. I got 11 oz from 5 quarts of milk.

What's the deal???

Thanks,
Christal


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

If it is stretching right in the pot, that means you have too much acid that's built up very quickly. How much starter are you using, how much milk, how much citric acid, and how fresh is the milk?

If your curds shatter right after cutting, likely same thing -- too much acid. In store bought milk, curd shattering has a lot more causes, but in raw milk, most of the time is because the pH has dropped below 5.0.

If you want to give my recipe a try, I attached it here - it's an overnight recipe and this version does not use citric acid, but it makes for a better cheese. You can also use it as a basis to make cheddar or fresh squeaky curds.

[attachment deleted by admin]


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## GFamilyFarm (Mar 9, 2010)

The Fias Co recipe uses 5 quarts milk, 1 1/2 tsp citric acid and 2 oz of yogurt. It sets for an hour before adding rennet. I have also used the 30 minute recipe which only uses citric and the "Goats Produce Too" recipe that only uses citric. They all have the same texture after cutting the curds but today is the first day I actually stretched it instead of dumping it to the cats. The taste seems good and the texture too, but I miss the salty flavor that I get when I stretch in the salt brine that the Fias Co farm recipe does. I did put it in a cold salt brine in the frig to see if that will help. My milk was 2-3 days old but I have used new milk with the same results. The results are always the same no matter the age of milk or recipe.


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

Putting the mozz in a salt brine gives the same results as stretching in salt, just slower. The salt has to penetrate to the middle, which takes time.

The issue is that your milk is overacidifying due to the citric acid. Use less citric acid and wait more for the acid to build up naturally from the yogurt if you want to drain and wait, then stretch, or if you do not want to wait, then heat to a lower temp (98 F) so the curds do not stretch in the pot, and then drain and stretch. Those long wait times in recipes are for acid development. If your acid levels are high right away, which is what happens when you add citric acid, then there's no need to wait.

You can also try using vinegar instead of citric acid. Use 100-105 ml regular 5% vinegar per 1 gallon of milk.


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## GFamilyFarm (Mar 9, 2010)

Well I tried your recipe and so far it is much better.  I had a lot (LOT) of curds compared to the old way and they were firm and consistent. Now it is draining and hopefully I can determine the right time to stretch. I think that is why I avoided the long versions before. Not that I didn't have time but I don't have the patience to think about it. I want it laid out precisely step by step. :biggrin


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

Hope it works for you. The pH markers are the key in the mozz recipe I posted, the time is variable. Sometimes it takes as long as a day for it to get to the right acidity, and sometimes it is a few hours when using buttermilk because the buttermilk isn't consistent in terms of its activity. DVI culture is more repeatable, but even then times vary. If you test for stretch by taking a piece of curd and nuking it in the microwave or stretching under hot water, you should catch exactly when you can finish it up. That version of the recipe I posted errs on the side of waiting too long than too short, which gives you a longer window when you can stretch it. I like this because I have a thousands things going on all the time and sometimes don't get to finishing mozz until later in the day or the next day . So if it doesn't stretch after 4-6 hours, don't worry, just wait some more and try again later .


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## GFamilyFarm (Mar 9, 2010)

Thanks for the help. :thankyou I know what you mean about having a thousand things going on. My MIL called at 8:10 a.m. and said "How's your morning?" I told her I had already done a batch of yogurt, started cheese, did two loads of dishes, hoed three rows of corn, two rows green beans and three rows of cole crops and laid straw at the end of the rows. Fortunately only one of my three kids were awake by then and it started raining so I was confined to the house the rest of the day to practice up on cheese making and help my 1st grader with her homeschool. dance:


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## GFamilyFarm (Mar 9, 2010)

Okay. I got lots of curds and really good tasting but after 8 hours it still didn't want to stretch. I put it in the frig and went to bed and tried again this morning. Still wouldn't stretch so I put the bowl of curds in warm water and went to town (about 2 1/2 hours). When I got home I cut into strips and put in the hot water and it would stretch maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 inch before breaking (which is what it did the night before). Never got shiny so I just made it in a ball and put in the frig. Taste good, just doesn't have the right texture.

How can I go from so much acid that it stretches immediately after adding rennet (with the citric acid recipes) to so little acid that it won't stretch after 18 hours (buttermilk culture recipe)? I think I may try to use the fast recipe and add 1/4 to 1/2 the citric acid. Where would you start with this experiment?


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

Yep, that's what I do when I need it faster - either use a little less than 1 tsp citric acid dissolved in cold water and mixed in when the milk is cold, or a little over 1/3 cup vinegar, more like 7/16 (per gallon) or double/triple/quadruple the amount of buttermilk so it gets going faster. The starter activity is the huge variable with this recipe. 

In your case, it was an acidity issue if it didn't stretch, just like you said. If you waited more, it would have been stretchy eventually, maybe in another 6-12 hours.

I make a hybrid recipe using vinegar and buttermilk with great taste. Commercially, the fresh bulk mozz isn't made with citric acid. Gives it too harsh of a taste. It's made with vinegar, or starter.

What you made just there without waiting for the curds to get stretchy enough is a variant of a Georgian cheese called Suluguni.


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