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Mozzarella cheese recipe. How to make mozzarella cheese at home

homemade cheese mozzarella is one of those fermented milk products who appoint supporters healthy eating. Smooth and shiny, this one is primordial italian cheese, has long won the hearts of the Slavic peoples. Today you will learn how mozzarella cheese is prepared at home, what useful means it has, and what this product is used for.

Benefits of Mozzarella Cheese

This variety is an excellent source of healthy protein, which is especially necessary for normal muscle development and a sufficient level of energy production. Previously, Mozzarella was prepared exclusively from black buffalo milk, and today the counters are full of a huge variety of no less useful varieties from cow's milk.

The benefits that cheese will bring to your body:

protection against rheumatism;
weight loss, boasts the same effect;
prevention of breast cancer;
reduced risk of heart attacks;
cleansing the blood of products that damage blood vessels;
strengthening immunity, other homemade types of fermented milk products have the same properties.

Classic mozzarella cheese recipe

In order to get 1 kilogram of delicious Italian dairy product, take:

homemade milk - 8 liters;
rennet extract;
sachet citric acid;
couple enamel pots different sizes;
big colander.

The cooking process is quite interesting:

Pour milk at room temperature (necessarily whole and unpasteurized) into a smaller saucepan and, stirring thoroughly, add 10 g of citric acid diluted in 100 ml of chilled water.
In 100 ml the same cold water dissolve the enzyme weighing 0.1 grams. For a more accurate count, take a 1 gram packet of enzyme and dissolve in a small amount of water, draining 1/10 of it from there.
Pour diluted 0.1 g of enzyme into milk and mix well for 3 minutes.
Put the prepared milk on water bath, immersing it in a large pot of water, slowly heat the bath to 35 degrees, keeping it at the same level.
After a short time, the milk will turn into a jelly-like mass, and a curd clot will form in it. It is strongly not recommended to stir the contents of the pan at this time, because the clot should form well and increase in size.
Take the longest possible knife and cut the whole piece into 1.5-2 cm cubes.
Without changing the temperature, slowly and gently stir the cheese gruel so that the cubes do not stick together. If this happens, then the cubes need to be cut again.
As soon as the cubes are slightly reduced in size and acquire a dense texture, drain everything into a colander, after lining it with gauze.
Serum should drain for about 4 hours, at which time the mass will acquire desired temperature and finally mature.
Cut it into strips 1-2 cm thick and put it back into a small saucepan.
Top up the cheese strips with hot (70-75 degrees) water so that it covers the mass by 2 cm. Gently crush, scroll, raise and lower it with a wooden spatula for about 7 minutes. As soon as the clot began to stretch like chewing gum, it means that the process is going correctly.
Remove the "cubes" from the liquid and shape the balls of the desired size. For the famous layered structure, place a piece in the palm of your hand, and with your other hand, fold the edges of the piece inward several times.
Place the formed balls in a cold weak solution of salt (1 tablespoon of salt per liter of water) or whey. Place in refrigerator.

After a couple of hours, the real homemade mozzarella is ready to eat. You can add it to a salad, or you can easily cook it.

Quick Mozzarella Recipe

You don’t always have enough time to cook, because the mozzarella cheese recipe involves a significant amount of time. We offer an accelerated option, in which the preparation of mozzarella takes about half an hour due to the use of a microwave in the cooking process. Photos of this “fast” variety are no different from the classic look, and the taste is even more intense and delicate.

village milk - 4-5 liters;
pepsin (mushroom enzyme);
lemon.

Cheese making scheme at home:

Pour milk into a saucepan and heat on the stove to a temperature of 70 degrees.
While the saucepan is on the heat, dilute 1/10 of a sachet of peptin in a third of a glass of cold water.
Squeeze lemon juice into warmed milk and stir.
After that, pour in the diluted enzyme there, mix.
After the addition of peptin, the same milk begins to curdle. As soon as large clumps of cheese form, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow its contents to cool slightly.
After that, with a slotted spoon, move the pieces of mass into a special container for microwaves.
Drain off any excess whey and place the pieces in the microwave for a minute.
Remove the container, mix, rinse the mass, remove excess whey again and send it back to the oven.
Repeat the procedure again so that the mass becomes plastic and smooth.
Next, form the cheese. Rely on your taste, as it is difficult to make perfect mozzarella. Knead, stretch, twist the mass. Once it reaches the desired consistency, stop the process.
Roll up the balls of the desired volume and put in a cold saline solution (1 tablespoon of salt per liter of water) to salt them for 4 hours.

The cheese is ready. You need to use it within 15 hours from the moment of preparation, because it contains only natural ingredients. Such a product home cooking perfect for the famous, indispensable for other dishes of temperamental Italian cuisine.

The process of making homemade cheese products exciting and energetic. As a result, you can treat your family to the most delicate layered and insanely delicious cheese made from quality ingredients, prepared with love and care.

Video: Cooking Mozzarella cheese at home

Delicious mozzarella cheese appeared a long time ago. The term was first used in 1570. This product was originally prepared using buffalo milk, because it contains a large number of minerals and trace elements.

Of course, it was not so easy to get this ingredient, so later in the manufacture of cheese it began to be used traditional cow's milk.

As a rule, mozzarella is produced in the form of balls or spirals. At proper preparation cheese has a mild and mild flavor.

Ingredients for making cheese

In order to make mozzarella cheese at home, you will need four liters of milk(it is preferable to use a quality rustic product with a high degree of fat content).

In addition, you can not do without citric acid (just take 1.5 teaspoons), 175 milliliters of water and special rennet(you can buy it in pharmacies).

Utensils and accessories for making cheese

As for cutlery, you will need a container or other container, for heating milk.

Please note that there should be no aluminum on the walls of this container (otherwise it may interact with acid, contained in mozzarella).

In addition, it is necessary to have a cheese mold (it can be represented as a square or a circle). At the bottom of this container there should be special holes for whey to drain.

A thermometer is also a must.(better if it is an electronic device with maximum accuracy). In order to separate the rennet from the cheese itself, it is convenient to use a colander.

Several heavy buckets can be used as a press. For the press, you will also need gauze fabric.

Cooking steps

At the first stage it is necessary dilute citric acid with water. This will help give the mozzarella the right texture. In this case, you need to use cold and non-chlorinated water. Required amount citric acid should be dissolved in 125 milliliters of water.

In the remaining water, the rennet should be dissolved (it is enough to take about a pinch of the enzyme). powder need dissolve completely in water.

At the next stage, the milk is poured into a container (its temperature should be 17 degrees). Gradually pour citric acid into the pan. In this case, the liquid should be stirred.

At the next stage of preparation, rennet is poured into the milk and mixed well for three minutes. After that, you need to turn off the fire, close the container with a lid and leave for forty minutes. During this time, a clot should form that does not stick to the fingers.

The clot is removed and placed in a colander. The remaining liquid is heated to 90 degrees. Next, the whey should be salted and put cheese into it. To protect your hands from burns, wear gloves.

After ten seconds, remove the cheese and try to stretch it. The clot should not break.

Dip it back into the liquid and keep stretching and kneading. Wait until the mass will acquire a uniform and viscous appearance.

After that, you just have to cut ready cheese into strips or roll it into balls. If desired, spices or olives can be added to the product during kneading.

If you like Italian cheeses, you can also get acquainted with the wonderful mascarpone to cook it yourself at home.

Recipe for making real Italian pasta, as well as helpful tips and recommendations for this dish can be found on our website.

How to serve mozzarella cheese

Ready-made mozzarella serve on the table as a standalone product on a beautiful plate or use it as the main ingredient in salads.

So, there is the famous Caprese salad, as well as a salad with shrimp and mozzarella.

Please note that it is necessary to store ready-made cheese in pre-prepared salted whey. If the product lies on a plate for a long time, it will simply dry out.

Of course, mozzarella should be stored in the refrigerator. The product can be left there for several days, but it is advisable to use it as soon as possible.

Thus, if you wish and have all the ingredients, you can easily cook this delicate delicacy at home.

Video on how to cook Italian mozzarella cheese at home:

In contact with

One of the popular young cheeses and, moreover, one of the staples in Italy is Mozzarella cheese. The cheese got its name because of the name of its mass "mozzatura", which means "trimming" in translation. The shapes and sizes of mozzarella can be different. It can be found both in the form of balls from the smallest, the size of a pea "perlini", with a large petiole "chilegini" and up to the largest, the size of a fist, "bocconi", but also in the form of braids "trachcha". In addition, you can find smoked mozzarella "affumikata" and in the form cheese rolls with Parma ham, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and herbs.

Mozzarella, first of all, is actively used in traditional, as well as white balls, actively complement salads and cold appetizers. In addition, Mozzarella is one of the main ingredients national dish"Caprese", imitating the tricolor of the Italian flag: slices of tomato and Mozzarella supplemented with basil.

We do not buy Mozzarella cheese in the store, but prepared according to this recipe, to taste and appearance fully corresponds to the descriptions of this cheese in different sources. finished product it has a shiny and smooth surface, layered but without air bubbles, a slightly elastic internal structure and when the cheese is cut, a little white liquid flows out. Mozzarella is tender, very creamy, but fresh in taste.

Of course, classic mozzarella is made from black buffalo milk, but even mozzarella made from cow's milk prevails in sales. Therefore, having prepared cheese at home, you can safely compare it with the purchased one. Although, it is probably very difficult today to find good quality cheese in the store, which casts doubt on the fact that “real”.

Milk must be fresh and fat. Since Mozzarella is a young cheese, the freshest milk should also be used. The Italians are sure that no more than 12 hours should pass from the moment of milking. Fermentation of milk is carried out with the help of rennet. But, if you, like me, for some reason do not trust online stores, then you can safely use the pharmacy drug "Acidin-pepsin".

How to cook "Homemade Mozzarella" step by step with a photo at home

To make Mozzarella cheese at home, you will need the following ingredients: rustic cow's whole milk, purified water, citric acid and rennet enzyme (or "Acidin-pepsin"). The photo shows that in the milk I use 500 ml of cream. I specifically took daily milk to demonstrate how it settles.

Dilute rennet enzyme (1/4 tsp) in 50 ml of purified water (34°C). The water must be chlorine-free. I just use boiled water. If instead of rennet, the drug "Acidin-pepsin" (5 tablets) is used, then it is necessary to crush it first, for example with a spoon, and then completely dissolve it in water.

Whole milk (3 liters), stir, pour into a saucepan. It is better to use a pan without aluminum content, as it can react with acid and thereby impair the taste of the cheese. Heat the milk to 12-15 ° C, pour in, stirring slightly, a solution of citric acid. On low heat, while continuing to stir, bring the milk to a temperature of 32 ° C. Pour, without stopping stirring, diluted rennet (Acidin-pepsin) and stir for another 30 seconds, continuing to heat. Turn off the stove, cover the pan with a lid, wrap and leave for 20-30 minutes. It is very good if you have a thermometer to measure, because "by eye" you can "fly".

No thermometer, but very cool if you have a slow cooker with the "Multi Cook" option or another program that allows you to choose temperature regime. Pour the stirred milk (I have cold milk from the fridge) into the multicooker bowl. Set the Multicooker program to 35°C (the time remains by default) and start stirring the milk so that it warms up more evenly, 2-3 minutes (time control on the multicooker display). Then, still stirring, add a solution of citric acid, and continue heating for 8 minutes, continuing to stir. Introduce a solution of rennet (Acidin-pepsin) and continue heating, still stirring, for another 1 minute. Turn off the multicooker and close the lid (thus all the heat will remain inside), leave for 20-30 minutes. When opening the lid, try not to drain the condensate from it inside. Milk forms one single clot, similar to a soufflé. Cut this clot with a spatula into squares with a side of 3-4 cm.

Now heat the contents of the pan over low heat to 43 ° C, stirring constantly (I always stir in continuous circular motions in one direction), for about 10 minutes. In the multicooker, turn on the “Multipovar” program at 45 ° C (we leave the time by default). And similarly, stirring continuously, heat for 10 minutes (time control on the multicooker display).

Return the whey to the saucepan or multicooker bowl. Heat whey to 90°C. It is very convenient in a slow cooker, since the whey will heat up to 90 ° C and a constant temperature will be maintained. To do this, set the temperature to 90 ° C in the Multi-Cook program (leave the default time, I have 30 minutes - that's enough), wait 5-10 minutes until the whey heats up.

It is necessary to prepare a brine for future cheese in advance. Pour 1 tablespoon of salt into 1 liter of boiling water. Dissolve the salt and set aside. Cool the finished brine in the refrigerator. Finished cheese heads should fall into cold brine. Water can be replaced with whey.

Fresh cheese from Italy.
Classical mozzarella came from Campania (Italian: Mozzarella di Bufala Campana) - a region of southern Italy, lying near the Tyrrhenian Sea.
One of the oldest references to this cheese can be found in cookbook XVI century - "Opera" Bartolomeo Scappi - the legendary chef of the Renaissance, who was one of the first to use products from the New World.

There are two types of mozzarella: for pizza - it is harder and larger than fresh.
And, in fact, fresh: "bocconcini" - large balls, medium - "chileggini", and "perlini" - the smallest heads.

Ingredients

1 Traditionally, mozzarella is made from buffalo milk, however, this is not the rule, and it is acceptable to use any: cow, goat or sheep. 2 1/8 tsp or 0.25 g Danisco Choozit or 3/8 tsp. (0.88 g) THERMO-2 / / . Dilute 3 10 grams of dry calcium chloride in 100 ml of boiled water.
Store the solution in your household refrigerator.
Best before sedimentation.

Equipment

Cooking

you pasteurized 4 milk, cool it down to 38°C, now you can make the starter. Leave for 3 minutes for the powder to absorb moisture, then slowly mix with a slotted spoon. Take 50 ml of warm water in 2 containers: in one you add a solution of calcium chloride (not granules!), in the second - a coagulant (rennet / vegetarian chymosin), after which, add the mixture to the pan, and mix again.
Now, clot must ripen. To do this, close the pan with a lid, and leave for 30-40 minutes at room temperature : after this time, you will see cheese clot- gel, under a layer of translucent serum. It needs to be checked for a “clean break”: for this, you need to take a knife and make a shallow cut “at an angle”, and lift this part of the clot; if its edges are even, the incision site is filled with serum - this means that it is time to move on to the next step; if this does not happen, wait another 10-15 minutes.
Cut the clot into cubes with a party 2 cm and stir mass 10 minutes, supporting t=38°C, after - leave for 5 minutes so that the grain settles to the bottom.
Delete big part of whey so that the mass is slightly visible through its surface, and stir every 10 minutes In one hour- at this time, the acidity of the future mozzarella will increase.
A characteristic feature of the Pasta Filata family of cheeses is that during cooking, the acidity must be extremely high (pH = 5-4.5) - this contributes to the formation of a flexible, plastic structure, which is necessary for the workpiece for further stretching. That is why the pH level needs to be raised even higher.
Move it all cheese grain in a colander and soak t=36-38°C, during 2 hours. The easiest way is to place it over hot whey, closing the pan with a lid.
If you do not have a pH meter, then you can safely follow the example of Italian cheese makers, who often use it, and judge the level of acidity by doing melt test: cut off a small part from cheese dough, and place it in hot (t= 85°C) water; if it stretches, without breaks, 2-3 times the initial size, then it's time!
Prepare 2 containers: in one water should be hot t=85°C), and add 2 tablespoons of salt to 4 liters of water; in the second - ice with 5 tbsp. salt to 3 liters of water. Cut a piece of cheese into cubes with a party 1.5 cm, and put on 2 pairs of gloves (fabric down, long nitrile on top).
Take handful of cubes, and dip in hot water when the cheese is hot, collect his into a plastic ball.
To form a layered mozzarella, the workpiece must be stretched by ~ 50 cm, then folded in half, and repeat this manipulation 3-4 times. Then divide the cheese dough into 2 parts, give classic look, and lower balloons into ice water.
Almost finished - mozzarella, for taste, should lie down hour in brine, which can be done like this:
2 glasses room temperature water
30 g rock salt
0.5 ml 9% vinegar
0.5 g dry calcium chloride 5
Ready!

4 It is important to remember that cheese cannot be cooked from store-bought packaged milk - in dairies, pasteurization is carried out at high temperatures, as a result of which protein denaturation occurs, and a clot simply does not form. You can buy raw farm milk and pasteurize it yourself by heating it to 72-75°C, holding for 20 seconds, then cooling as soon as possible. Also, this manipulation can be carried out at t = 65-68 ° C, but it will be a little longer - 20 minutes, it is impossible to speed up the process, because not all pathogenic bacteria will die. 5 or 4 ml of 10% calcium chloride solution Storage: up to 5 days, in a household refrigerator.

Mozzarella is a fresh draft cheese belonging to the Pasta Filata group, which means “strands of pasta” in translation. This group also includes cachacavallo cheeses (Italian Caciocavallo, sits. Caciucavaddu), provolone (Italian Provolone), scamorza (Italian Scamorza), suluguni and chechil. Mozzarella is always easily recognizable by its shape - it always has the shape of a small ball, as well as by its layered structure.

If you try these cheeses, you will definitely notice that the cheeses of this group are not homogeneous in structure, but are easily separated into fibers, strands. Technologically, this is achieved in the process of heating and subsequent stretching of the cheese mass at the very end of the process of making these cheeses. Upon completion of the stretching, the melted plastic cheese is immediately given the shape required by the technology, and then cooled.

By the way! Classic Italian mozzarella is made from buffalo milk, which, of course, is not so easy to get! Therefore, now mozzarella is prepared from plain cow's milk.

The freshest mozzarella (Italian giornata) has the most delicate creamy taste, and you can try it not only under the sun of Italy, but also at home.

mozzarella recipe

Many are wondering if it's hard make mozzarella at home? Believe me, if you have fresh farm milk, rennet and thermophilic starter culture, then with our mozzarella recipe it will not be difficult!

So we will need:

Milk - 5 l;
Citric acid - 1/2 tbsp;
Rennet - 1/4 tsp;
Thermophilic starter (Uglich-MSTt, Uglich-TNV or Uglich-TP) - 1 sachet 0.1 Activity Units;
5 liter saucepan (either enamel or stainless steel; aluminum - not suitable!);
Form for Adyghe cheese or form Big Cylinder;
Calcium chloride (if you are pasteurizing milk).

Mozzarella preparation technology:

To prepare mozzarella at home, you need to follow the following recipe:

First, activate your starter. To do this, pour the contents of the sachet into 100 ml warm water(30°C) and leave for half an hour.
Next, dilute the citric acid powder in a glass of water, mix thoroughly.
Whether you have pasteurized milk or not, cool it down to 14°C. Gradually add the diluted acid to the milk, stirring gently. If the acid is normal and the milk is fresh, then nothing should curdle, the milk is only noticeably thickens, you will feel it with a slotted spoon.
While stirring the milk, slowly heat it up to 32⁰C.
Pour the activated sourdough (remember that it had to stand for 30 minutes) into the milk, after which Gently mix the entire volume of milk with a slotted spoon.
Dilute the rennet in 30 ml of warm (25-32°C) water. Add the resulting enzyme solution to the pan with milk, mix thoroughly.
If you have pasteurized milk, it is advisable to add calcium chloride. This will help the formation of a denser and even clot. For 5 liters, add 1/8 teaspoon of the solution (or half a measuring spoon No. 1).
Cover the pot with a lid and leave the milk until the milk forms clot(milk will look like jelly). This may take 20-45 minutes. Attention! During clot formation milk must not be stirred! You can only gently "poke" it with the tip of a knife to check for thickening.
Once a clot has formed, check it for a clean break (clean separation). To do this, cut the clot with a knife to a depth of 5-7 centimeters. If nothing is left on the knife after that - everything is in order! If there is, we are still waiting. See what it looks like in the picture the picture is enlarged when you press)
If everything is fine with a clean break, break the clot with a slotted spoon, and slowly heat it up to 40⁰С, stirring constantly. In the process of stirring, you will see that the clot has stratified into two fractions - translucent serum and cheese grain. Knead for 10 minutes. In the process of kneading, the grain will be compacted and give off excess moisture. What the grain looks like is shown in the picture.
Throw the finished grain into a colander and leave for 1 hour to glass whey. What is left in the colander is the so-called "cheese dough". It's almost cheese :) A little more patience!
After an hour, turn the dough over, let it be pressed in the opposite direction, gaining even more acidity.
Ripe cheese is cut into strips, placed in a bowl and poured with hot (85⁰С) water. Before our eyes, the cheese dough begins to melt, stretch. The picture shows that I can stretch it more than 2-3 times. We stretch the cheese dough with our hands and fold it several times, we get, as it were, puff pastry. Important point! Cheese dough will be hot! If you are afraid to burn your hands, then you can wear double gloves - fabric down, rubber on top.
We tear off the dough and roll the balls of mozzarella, lower them into ice brine(1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water, brine temperature - 10 ° C). We leave the cheese to salt for half an hour, then take it out.

All, your mozzarella is ready!

You can cut it into slices, put on a plate with chopped tomatoes and basil, and serve. Even sophisticated gourmets will appreciate this wonderful summer meal!

Bon appetit and happy cheesemaking!