How To Make Homemade Fresh Mozzarella Cheese at Home.
Mozzarella.
I don’t think I know of a single living soul that doesn’t LOVE mozzarella.
Think about it…
Have you ever heard someone say..“Yeah, gimmie a slice and hold the cheese.” ????
NO! You haven’t! I can almost guarantee it.
In fact, I hit the streets to ask what New Yorkers favorite pizza toppings are and guess what the answers were?
Extra Cheese…..BAAM!
I also asked people what are their favorite cheese’s and the 1st responses were always..yup, you guessed it.
Mozzarella.
And finally, I asked..”What is the best cheese to eat when you have tomatoes and basil or want to cut it into sticks and fry it?
The answer. You know it baby…Mozzarella again.
( Thanks for answering my questions, Mom and Dad)
For me, I’m really picky about my cheese.
I consider myself a cheeseaholic.
I love cheese but the downfall is that I am very critical of the quality as well.
I’m so passionate about cheese and it’s purity that I once dated a girl that cooked a spaghetti dinner for me.
She was great. Smart, beautiful and boy could she cook. I asked her if she had any parmigiano reggiano or locatelli or any other grated cheese.
With eyes wide of anticipation she said, ” Of course I do. What kind of gourmand would prepare a meal for someone they cared for and not have a wonderful grated cheese?”
As I breathed a sigh of relief I excused myself from the table, opened the refrigerator and came eye to eye with a green cylinder that said, Grated Cheese Product on the label.
As I heard a voice from the other room asking, “Did you find it sweetie?”… I was already on my way down the fire escape outside of the bathroom window.
That was the last time I saw…what’s her name.
All kidding aside, I love making fresh mozzarella at home.
It’s simple, even more delicious, less expensive and a very therapeutic and addicting hobby.
Once you make it by yourself, you will be hooked.
Simple go to your local Italian grocery or specialty store and ask for a bag of curds. I usually get a 2 pound bag.
The process from here on is very simple.
You cube the cheese curds, soak them in crazy hot, salted water and then you pull the cheese and play with it, under the hot water, until the cheese is smooth and then with wooden spoons or your hands, you form it into balls.
Trust me. It’s good therapy.
Wait until the house is quiet and you’re alone.
Pop some classical music in the cd player, like Wagner or even a classic Italian opera, like pagliacci and blast it.
Take out your frustrations on the cheese. Between the blistering heat of the water and the pain of remember all of the good times and meals with, What’s her name…You’ll be good in no time.
Check out the full recipe below and…
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- 2 pounds mozzarella cheese curd cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
- 4 tablespoons kosher salt.
- Extra-virgin olive oil , sea salt and balsamic vinegar for eating.
- In a large bowl that can withstand heat, soak the cheese curds in lukewarm water for 15 minutes to get to room temperature. Remove the excess water and coat the cheese curds with the salt.
- Heat about 2 quarts of water to 175°. If you don't have a thermometer, make the water so hot that you can barely keep your hands in it. Carefully pour the water around the side of the bowl until the curds are completely covered with water. Let the curds just hang out for about a minute, until they begin to come together in a cluster.
- Using 2 wooden spoons, pull the curd from the bottom up and fold it over onto itself until it’s smooth and silky. This takes about 4 minutes.
- Fill a large bowl with very cold water. Now, put a baseball size piece of the curd and form it into a sphere by slowly stretching and tucking it under and into itself. Pinch the top of the ball and place it into the very cold water. Keep doing this until you are out of cheese.
- Now you can slice the mozzarella and serve it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fresh basil, salt..the list goes on.
- To serve, slice the mozzarella, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Notes
- Mozzarella curd is available in many large stores that make their own mozzarella.
- Be careful with the hot water. You may want to use those big, yellow rubber gloves that you wash dishes with...but a new/clean pair.
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