*Thanks to Ann Clark for her suggestion for a title!Fresh, homemade mozzarella cheese is easy and cheap to make and it is delicious. I started with The Cheese Lady's (Ricki Carroll) Cheesemaking kit. It includes everything but the milk and equipment (although there is a thermometer in the kit.) The $24 kit (you can find it online or in some cheese shops like Murray's in NYC) makes 30 batches of cheese - about six 3-oz balls.
Ricki's kit includes rennet tablets, citric acid and cheese salt. You will need to assemble measuring spoons, small glass cups or measuring cups, a slotted spoon or strainer with handle, a bowl full of ice water, your large saucepan, latex or vinyl gloves, a clean workspace and a large pyrex glass bowl of some type. The second time you make the cheese you'll know exactly what you need to assemble. Have someone on hand to help the first time.
Next you'll need to heat the milk to 90 degrees, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion. (Thereby mixing it thoroughly with all the milk in the pot, not the bottom or top layers.) Let this sit at least five minutes covered and undisturbed. Check the curd and it should look like custard with a clear separation of the curd and the whey. The whey may appear yellowish - the curd will be milky white.If you are unsure let it sit for a few more minutes. Then cut the curd
with a long knife or pastry spatula - anything that cuts through sharply right to the bottom. Cut the curd into squares or make a grid. Place the pot back on the heat until the curds 
and whey have heated to 105 degrees, gently stirring and moving the curds around. Take off the heat and continue stirring slowly for 2-5 more minutes. The longer the stir, the firmer the cheese. Now get your strainer and large glass bowl or mixing bowl ready to use.
Gerry made wonderful appetizers last night with Triscuits and homemade croutons he bought at the farmer's market. He topped those with assorted combinations of blackened green peppers (skins removed), roasted cherry tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper, salami, parmesan shavings and wonderful mozzarella cheese!
You'll need a gallon of milk. We've found that Garelick's works really well. Apparently, some of the small dairy milks do not work as well. You'll have to experiment. Garelick's is a local Franklin, MA company so we have no problem finding it. What you want to make sure is that you are not using an Ultra-Pasteurized milk. Obviously, you can use nonfat, lowfat or whole milk. If you are using fresh, raw milk you should get Ricki Carroll's book, Home Cheese Making and follow the directions in it.
First things, first. Pour the gallon of milk into a large saucepan. 
A pasta pot is too deep and you'll steam yourself when your milk is heating. You will need a wider saucepan that isn't too deep. I bought a new thermometer that clips to the side of the pan and in that case you definitely need a pot that isn't too deep.
A pasta pot is too deep and you'll steam yourself when your milk is heating. You will need a wider saucepan that isn't too deep. I bought a new thermometer that clips to the side of the pan and in that case you definitely need a pot that isn't too deep. 
Ricki's kit includes rennet tablets, citric acid and cheese salt. You will need to assemble measuring spoons, small glass cups or measuring cups, a slotted spoon or strainer with handle, a bowl full of ice water, your large saucepan, latex or vinyl gloves, a clean workspace and a large pyrex glass bowl of some type. The second time you make the cheese you'll know exactly what you need to assemble. Have someone on hand to help the first time. - First prepare your rennet and citric acid and measure your salt. I use small glass ingredient bowls and measuring cups for these. Cut one rennet table into quarters very evenly. Use a small knife or pill cutter. Dissolve the quarter of one rennet tablet in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water (I use bottled spring water.) Return 3/4 of the tablet to the rennet packet and place all of it in a plastic ziploc bag. Tape the bag to the wall of your freezer to store there.
- Dissolve 1-1/2 level teaspoons of citric acid in 1/2 cup cool, unchlorinated water and keep handy.
- Measure 1 to 3 tsps. of cheese salt and keep handy in a glass dish. Use whichever measurement you prefer. Ricki's kit calls for 1 Tbsp. and her recipe book calls for 1 tsp.
Next you'll need to heat the milk to 90 degrees, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion. (Thereby mixing it thoroughly with all the milk in the pot, not the bottom or top layers.) Let this sit at least five minutes covered and undisturbed. Check the curd and it should look like custard with a clear separation of the curd and the whey. The whey may appear yellowish - the curd will be milky white.If you are unsure let it sit for a few more minutes. Then cut the curd
with a long knife or pastry spatula - anything that cuts through sharply right to the bottom. Cut the curd into squares or make a grid. Place the pot back on the heat until the curds 
and whey have heated to 105 degrees, gently stirring and moving the curds around. Take off the heat and continue stirring slowly for 2-5 more minutes. The longer the stir, the firmer the cheese. Now get your strainer and large glass bowl or mixing bowl ready to use.Using the strainer, scoop the curds into the glass bowl somewhat quickly because you don't want the cheese to cool down. Periodically tip the bowl and pour out the excess whey using the strainer in one hand and tipping the bowl with another. Whey can be saved to cook other things (ricotta cheese can be made with it
or you can add it as liquid in breadmaking. I add it to the sweet potatoes, barley and oatmeal mixture that we feed to our dog.)
or you can add it as liquid in breadmaking. I add it to the sweet potatoes, barley and oatmeal mixture that we feed to our dog.)Press gently on the curds and pour off as much whey as you can. Place the glass bowl in the microwave and microwave the curds on high for one minute. Drain off any excess whey. Gently fold the cheese over and over with a spoon, distributing the heat. 
Continue to microwave at 35 second intervals and add the cheese salt. Knead with the spoon to distribute the heat. You should do this until the cheese is 135 degrees (test with thermometer outside of the microwave.)
Continue to microwave at 35 second intervals and add the cheese salt. Knead with the spoon to distribute the heat. You should do this until the cheese is 135 degrees (test with thermometer outside of the microwave.)Knead the cheese quickly until it is smooth and elastic. I find that it is easier to do this with a large spoon.
Stretch the cheese with your hands and it will be shiny and smooth. The cheese should stretch like taffy. It should not break - reheat if that it is the case.
Roll the cheese into small balls (I make 6 balls). 
Taste now if you'd like - the cheese is delicious warm! Place the balls in the bowl of ice water for 1/2 hour to bring the inside temperature of the ball down rapidly and this will make your cheese consistently smooth throughout. Alternately, you can cool the whole batch in one ball in the ice water and cut it into logs.
Taste now if you'd like - the cheese is delicious warm! Place the balls in the bowl of ice water for 1/2 hour to bring the inside temperature of the ball down rapidly and this will make your cheese consistently smooth throughout. Alternately, you can cool the whole batch in one ball in the ice water and cut it into logs. We drain the balls and wrap them individually in a square of plastic wrap and twist the ends tightly to form a nice ball. You can store these in the refrigerator, unwrap and use however you'd like. We find that the fresh mozzarella is soft and oozy at room (summer) temperature. We slice the cold mozzarella between layers of freshly sliced tomatoes and then top with chopped fresh-from-the-garden basil leaves. Leave at room temperature, top with some fresh sea salt. We scoop this onto grilled warm slices of homemade bread. Yum! It is also delicious plain as a snack. Try to use it within a few days. We haven't tried freezing it yet (there hasn't been enough to freeze!) but we will and I'll update the blog.
Gerry made wonderful appetizers last night with Triscuits and homemade croutons he bought at the farmer's market. He topped those with assorted combinations of blackened green peppers (skins removed), roasted cherry tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper, salami, parmesan shavings and wonderful mozzarella cheese! 
