Pretty sure I've asked before, but couldn't search it up……

Thought homemade mozzarella would be a fun project one hot afternoon while my granddaughters are here, and we can make pizza with their work. Any hints? Lots of info on line, I know, but we have a few on here that may well do it on a regular basis.

These guys are good and sell supplies.

https://cheesemaking.com/collections/recipes/products/30-minute-mozzarella-recipe

Already ordered. Some recipes call for the rennet and citric acid. Got both

Couple of tips. Make a gallon and a half or even 2 gallons or more. When it's time to stretch, more curds make things easier. I'll add 1/2c of heavy cream as well to add milkfat

Use more salt that you think you need. The curds are dense and won't absorb a ton. Think ocean water

Already covered, but definitely use a rennet recipe. You need bigger curds for the re-melting and stretching.

Wear gloves. 180 degrees isn't that bad at first, but hurts after a few seconds

Buy a bag of ice if you don't have an ice machine or bag some up from the ice maker ahead of time. You'll use a good amount for the cooling bath and don't want to run out for drinks this time of year

Unrelated, but make a good homemade sauce. I had a neighbor put in a pizza oven and invited us over. I brought homemade mozz as a present only to find he was using jarred pizza sauce. It was terrible and ruined the pizza. All I do is hand crush SM tomatoes in a bowl and add salt, olive oil, pressed garlic, and a little oregano or fresh thyme. Let it sit for a few hours if you can. Don't pre-cook pizza sauce, it cooks on the pie

Good luck and have fun with the grandkids

Use raw milk if you can, or regular whole milk if you can't get raw milk. Do not use organic milk; it's pasteurized at too high a temperature to make cheese out of. I've attempted it twice, and it turned out once. Now that my HEB has fresh mozzarella, I just use that and soak it in warm salted milk for an hour.

Excellent help folks!

Definitely use rennet; I've done it once, turned out fine but not worth the effort for pizza. I focus on the sauce and dough and use a good store bought muzz

AggieFlyboy said:

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Definitely use rennet; I've done it once, turned out fine but not worth the effort for pizza. I focus on the sauce and dough and use a good store bought muzz

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More of a "the pool isn't open on Monday, so let's make cheese in the morning and ice cream in the afternoon" sort of thing.

AggieFlyboy said:

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Definitely use rennet; I've done it once, turned out fine but not worth the effort for pizza. I focus on the sauce and dough and use a good store bought muzz

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I just don't think fresh mozzarella is all that amazing on pizza. Agree with you on the sauce, toppings, and dough.