CHEESE!

I get milk from some local Amish farms and sometimes when I can snag a little extra I like to make cheese. Today I decided to document one of my all-time favorites, Burrata and Mozzarella.

The first step is to collect the required items. A small dish to mix ingredients, heatproof rubber spatula, knife for cutting curds, stockpot with lid, thermometer, strainer lined with cheesecloth, ladel/spider/slotted spoon to remove curds from the liquid.

I put 1/4 cup of water in a small dish and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of citric acid and stir until it’s dissolved. Pour this into your stockpot with the milk.

Now you wait until the milk reaches 90 degrees. This takes a little bit because we are not in a hurry here.

While you are waiting, add 1/8 teaspoon of rennet to 1 cup of water.

Once the milk reaches 90 degrees, add the rennet mixture and stir for 30 seconds, cover and remove from heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes. I have an awful electric cooktop so I leave the burner on during this and just place the pot on a burner that is off.

Check the mixture with your fingers, it should feel spongy and you should be able to pull it away from the edge. If it’s not to this state let it sit for 5 more minutes.

Now it is time to cut the cheese! With a long blade slice through the cheese to create 1″ cubes.

Return the pot to the heat and raise the temperature of the mixture to 105-110 degrees.

Since I wanted to create both burrata and mozt today I had lined 2 strainers with cheesecloth. Using a slotted spoon or spider remove the cheese curds from the whey and place in your strainer.

Now you need to work on wringing out some of that liquid. I like to fill my empty milk bottle with water and sit on top of the twisted closed cheesecloth. The more liquid you remove the better

Alright, now you have to decide burrata or mozzarella?

Burrata

Traditionally burrata is made and then placed in the middle of a sheet of stretched out mozzarella and twisted closed to form a ball. I have bought many this way, however, I went to a high-end restaurant and was served house-made burrata in a container giving me the best idea ever!

Once you’ve removed a fair amount of the liquid, salt the cheese to taste and break it into small pieces. You can also use a knife and cutting board to break it up faster. Add these to the containers of your choice, I personally like to use the short chubby 1/2 pint jars and place 1/4-1/3 cup of curds in them. Once you fill the jars add heavy cream and stir. You are looking for a lovely creamy, cheesy pile of goodness. To serve bring to room temperature and stir, if it’s too stiff add a little heavy cream. Serving suggestions 1) place a pile of arugula on a plate, scoop out cheese in the middle, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with coarse salt 2) serve with blistered tomatoes and warm crusty bread. These will store in the fridge for about a week.

Mozzarella

Prepare a bowl of ice water to set the cheese. I take the easy way out and place the ball of cheese in a microwave-proof bowl and heat for 20-30 seconds. Pour off the liquid, grab the ball and stretch the cheese folding it into itself and stretching again. Liquid should drip so I do this standing over the sink. I generally heat the ball one more time but for 15-20 seconds. This time stretching and shaping it as desired. You can make cute braids, or just form it into a loaf.

How I served the cheese