I just cut the cheese!!

We made our first mozzarella batch today.  Utilizing this for the first half, and this for the second half, we were able to make our own.

We bought vegetable rennet online.  Let me explain rennet.  At first, I was very angry.  I thought rennet was a new thing for making pasteurized milk work instead of raw.  I was wrong.  Rennet has been around for millenia.  It is extracted from the stomach of dead calves and other ruminant animals.  Well, I just think that's awful.  The vegetable version is cheap and easy to find, please use it.

We started with a little over 9 pounds of milk, or one gallon.  We used whole, unpasteurized milk.  In fact, I normally strip the cream of every batch of milk 24 hours later.  So, I actually poured my little container of cream in with the milk that was pretty much skim in order to make it "whole" again. 

Our milk

Is strained and weighed immediately after collecting

  Actual directions for cheese making are as follows:

Bring milk to 88 degrees F using medium heat (I had it around 5).  I used an old fashion candy thermometer, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

When it gets there, add the rennet. 

Every rennet is different.  You will have to follow your rennet's directions and possibly play around a bit.  We had to dilute our rennet 20 times in water before adding.  This is because our rennet is an extract.  Extracts are made using alcohol of some sort.  The undiluted alcohol would cause problems in the milk.
We did not use ANY cultures.  You do not need cultures for mozzarella with raw milk.

Stir and bit and raise to 105 degrees.

At 105 degrees, turn off the stove and put the lid on the pot for 20 minutes to start.  Our rennet said 45 minutes.  Like I said, follow you directions, etc...

The directions say 1/8 tsp does 2 gallons.  I used 4 drops.  40 minutes later, there were no solid pieces, so I added about 1/4 tsp.  It immediately started coagulating.
Solid pieces immediately started to form

 A peak under the lid later

Pour into cheesecloth over another pot.  The good stuff won't go in the pot, so it doesn't have to be a good one.  Be sure your cheese cloth is secure and doesn't fall in the pot.  We tied ours under the rim with nylon string stuff.

Tie up the bundle and hang over night (or if you do this in the morning, hang all day).
Yeah, we're fancy that way

The liquid is whey, and we gave it to the chickens/ducks. 
Remove the cloth and

Heat one gallon of water with 1/2 cup of salt to 170 degrees F.  Cut the cheese into little pieces (I told you I cut the cheese) about 1-2 inches square.  I had a bunch of whey come out at this point where it was trapped inside pockets or something.

Put the pieces in the water and stir around a bit.
This is where the camera's batteries died and we could find any that would hold a charge.  So, I'm sorry.
Now, at this point, it's supposed to melt and stick together.  Ours did that just fine.  It's also supposed to start getting where you can stretch it out.  Ours didn't do that.  The second link above said she had batches that just wouldn't sometime, so we just continued on.  Drain a bit and squish the cheese into balls.  Mine made 3.  Place in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes and then drain on paper towels on a plate.  We made about 1 pound and 7 ounces out of one gallon of milk---WOW!!

The salt water gives it flavor, so don't leave it out even if you don't stretch it.  Trust me, it needs the salt.