Faith Farm

Favorite Goat Cheese Recipes:

Mozzarella

2 teaspoons of citric acid 1/2 teaspoon of lipase powder in 1/4 cup distilled water 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride in 1/4 cup distilled water 1/2 rennet tablet in 1/4 cup distilled water 1/2 teaspoon flaked salt

Place the stock pot of milk on the stove over medium heat.  It is important that you heat the milk slowly.  Sprinkle in the citric acid and mild lipase powder while you gently stir.  Heat slowly until the milk reaches 88 degrees.  Stir every few minutes to prevent scorching the milk on the bottom of the pot.  You will begin to see the curd develop.
Once the milk reaches 88 degrees F.  stir in the diluted calcium chloride then the rennet and water mixture.  Continue stirring every few minutes until the milk reaches 105 degrees F.
Developing the Curd    Turn off the heat and let the milk set covered for 15 minutes at 105 degrees.  Curd (white mass) and whey (greenish liquid) will now be fully separated.

Cooking the Curd
   Use a slotted spoon or strainer to transfer the curd to a microwave safe dish.  If the curd is to soft to transfer, let the milk sit a few more minutes.  Pour off as much of the whey as you can. Gently press the curds together with the spoon and force more whey out of them.  Squeeze out and drain as much whey as possible.

Add the flakes salt a little at a time and knead the cheese with a spoon as you would bread dough.  It will become smooth and shiny.  Place the curd back into the microwave and heat on high for one more minute.  Remove from oven and drain any remaining whey.  This time your cheese will be too hot to handle, about 130 degrees.

Stretching the Cheese    Knead the cheese again until it sticks to the spoon and pulls away from the bowl. When the cheese begins to stretch like taffy, it is almost done.  You can have some fun now by pulling and stretching the cheese until it is completely cooled.  This is an important step.  Stretching will make the cheese firm and stringy.  If you prefer a softer texture don't stretch as much.

Place the cheese in an air tight container or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Use this cheese with in one week or store it in the freezer for up to one month. If your cheese is too soft to shred for pizza, place it in the freezer then shred and use it partly frozen.