How to make Mozzarella Cheese. Using The Big Cheese – Cheese Making Kit.
(this is a review of this specific kit)

My Husband and I received this as a Wedding present and we loved it. Such a fun and completely different present!
We would recommend this to anyone So our kit was a Mozzarella and Ricotta kit so we chose to attempt the Mozzarella this time.

 

The kit included: Easy to follow step by step instructions and guide, citric acid, organic sea salt, butter muslin, some rennet tablets and a dairy thermometer.

What equipment we needed: A REALLY large pan, a colander, a large slotted spoon, a long knife, some (brand-new) rubber gloves, two small bowls, a microwave and a large (glass) microwave-able bowl.

What we needed to buy: 8 pints of full fat milk.

The Process:
1. We boiled the kettle and then poured 50ml into a small bowl. Once cooled we added 1/4 of a rennet tablet and allowed it to dissolve.
2. In another small bowl we mixed 1 1/2 teaspoons of citric acid into 50ml of cooled boiled water and stirred till it dissolved.
3. After this we poured all the milk into the large saucepan and stirred in the citric acid solution and slowly (on a medium heat) heated the milk up to 90F, stirring continuously so it didn’t burn to the bottom.
4. Once it reached 90F we removed it from the heat and stirred in the rennet using an up and down motion for 30 seconds. We then put a lid on it and waited 20 minutes.

 

5. When we returned to it 20 mins later the curds and whey had separated. The curds were a solid, thick layer on the top which we had to cut up using the sharp knife, into 1 inch cubes. We then reheated the mix to 105F stirring gently. As you can see above, it separated a little bit and looked a bit like white scrambled egg.
6. Once it reached 105F we removed it from the heat, and ladled out the curd, straining out as much of the whey as possible. There will be a lot, and I mean a lot of liquid that comes out of it.
7. We then used a microwave to heat the curd for 1 minute, draining off excess whey. You will need rubber gloves now to handle the cheese because it gets really hot. Knead the cheese like bread for 30 seconds. More whey will leak out. Just keep removing that.
8. Reheat in the microwave again for 30 seconds and add 1tsp of salt while you fold and knead it some more.
9. Microwave again, by this point it should start becoming stretchy.
We had to repeat No.8 before this happened for us so don’t worry if you do to. Note that the more you knead the cheese the harder the cheese will be but the more the cheese will stick together.

10. Eventually the cheese will become smooth and elastic with a shiny surface. This is when you can split it up into balls. Let it cool down a bit and its ready to eat.

What we thought
We made about 4 balls of Mozzarella in the end and it tastes amazing, although once it cooled completely it was a little tougher than the shop bought mozzarella but still really nice especially melted on pizza or just cut up and eaten with tomato slices.

I would definitely recommend buying the Big Cheese Making Kit if you are a beginner to making cheese, as the pack makes the whole process really easy. It’s also got enough Rennet, Salt and Citric Acid powder for at least 8 time this amount of Mozzarella, definitely worth the price. It’s fun to do and doesn’t take to long or seem that difficult. The thermometer they provide is really good too (not a cheap thing). Overall, I would recommend this, especially for a present (as there is nothing perishable) if you are looking for something unique!