Back-to-Basics Virtual Fermented Dairy Class | March 2021
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T O P I C S M a k i n g f r e s h , r e a l m o z z a r e l l a a n d r i c o t t a c h e e s e 3www.eatlikeahuman.com 27 Back-to-Basics Virtual Fermented Dairy Class | March 2021
Stretched Curd Cheese
Mozzarella cheese as we know it is being assaulted by the modern food industry into a shortcut product that is nothing like its traditional form. The consequences are much more than a lack of flavor and character. Our body deals with these imposters in completely different ways than it does with real cheese.
Learn how to make mozzarella and a variety of other pasta filata, or stretched curd cheeses, entirely from scratch - and best of all, it is a process that can be replicated in your own home kitchen!
www.eatlikeahuman.com 28 Mozzarella Cheese Fior di Latte / Stretched Curd Cheese
Making cheese, really high quality cheese, is something you can safely and easily do in your own home kitchen. If you think it is out of your reach, just remember that our ancestors have been making cheese for thousands of years using nothing more than clay pots, an open fire, and drain molds woven out of reeds. It is something you can most certainly do in your home kitchen with all of your pots, a reliable source of even heat, and a colander. The best way to learn is to dive in and get started - so, let’s make some cheese!
It may seem like a stretch (no pun intended!) but the recipe I am including here is for mozzarella. Well, technically not mozzarella, but more accurately fior di latte. Mozzarella is actually only made from buffalo milk and fior di latte is made from cow’s milk. Both are members of a very interesting family of cheeses called pasta filata.
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Mozzarella continued Literally translated into the flower of milk, this stretched curd cheese begins as almost any real cheese does - fermentation. The milk begins to ferment either because it is raw and the natural lactobacillus bacteria responsible for fermentation are already present in the milk naturally or, it is inoculated from an outside source of bacteria through one of a number of different ways including exposure to cheesemaking equipment containing the previous batch’s remnants still adhering to the surface or trapped within its pores, intentional introduction of bacteria from whey leftover from the cheesemaking process, kefir, yogurt, clabber, or a freeze dried culture containing a isolated strain of bacteria designed for the specific cheese desired. This recipe will assume you are using pasteurized milk and will require the addition of kefir or something else to introduce the live bacteria needed to kickstart the fermentation. You could easily also use live whey or, even better, clabber if you have access to it! Stay away from live freeze- dried cultures if you can avoid them. They have no place in a kitchen where reconnecting with our food and dietary past is a priority. Plus, they are expensive and unnecessary.
Once the fermentation has initiated, rennet is added to turn the liquid mass into one giant curd. Once the curd is formed, a knife is used to cut it into equal sized cubes so that the whey can weep out and a more solid cheese is formed. The cut curd is stirred and the individual curds are allowed to settle to the bottom of the pot to knit back together into one large mass. The entire time the curd is fermenting and the pH is dropping. This is very important because the goal is to get this particular curd down from the typical 6.5 - 6.7 pH of fresh milk to 5.2. This is the magic number because as soon as the curd reaches that number it will stretch when heated. At this point, the whey is removed, the curd is sliced into thin sections so it will heat evenly when hot water is poured over it, and it is stretched and formed into individual balls. Once the curd is made it is also storable for up to a week in the refrigerator where the cold temperature slow the fermentation almost to a halt and freeze the pH to 5.2. This way, fresh balls can be created literally on demand in minutes by removing some of the curd, slicing, pouring hot water over it, stretching and forming.
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Mozzarella continued You can use this basic pasta filata recipe and technique to also make a variety of other fun and delicious cheeses.One final word before we get started. There is a 30-minute mozzarella recipe which can be found all over the internet. It relies upon vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid to drop the pH to arrive at the required 5.2 in order to stretch. Avoid it. There is no real value in doing it and you don’t learn anything nor hone your skills. It is akin to making a straight yeasted bread instead of sourdough or making vinegar pickles instead of lacto-fermented ones. The final products may superficially resemble the authentic version, but pale in comparison with the flavor and nutritional value.
Ingredients: 1 gallon of the freshest, highest quality milk available 80 grams kefir, mesophilic yogurt, clabber (or freeze-dried culture Animal Rennet (liquid, powder or tablet form) Salt
Method: Over very low heat, slowly bring a gallon of milk to body temperature (approximately 90 degrees) in a heavy bottomed pot, stirring occasionally to ensure the bottom does not burn and a skin does not form on the top. Remember, making cheese is simply an act of mimicking the natural processes that are happening in infant mammal stomachs so all you need to do here is to get the milk to body temperature. Dip a clean finger into the milk to test. It should just feel a little warm. Turn off the heat.
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Mozzarella continued
Place a medium sized bowl on a scale. Tare to zero. Weigh the required amount of starter into the bowl - we are looking for 2% of the total weight of the milk. If you are using more or less than 1 gallon adjust accordingly. Use a ladle to transfer a little of the warmed milk to the bowl. Whisk the starter and warmed milk together until smooth. Transfer back into the pot containing the milk and stir to combine. If you are using a freeze dried culture, refer to the package to determine how much is needed. Sprinkle the measured amount even across the top, allow to hydrate, undisturbed for 5 minutes, then stir to distribute evenly throughout the milk. Allow to sit, covered, for approximately an hour to begin fermenting.
After the hour has passed, place a ¼ cup or so cold water in a small bowl. Add the required amount of rennet appropriate to set one gallon of milk (see rennet - doses vary by type and strength of the rennet). Stir the rennet to distribute evenly in the water. Then, using a spoon begin to stir the warmed milk to get it moving in a whirlpool like motion. Add the rennet/water mixture as you continue to stir. Stir a few times then reverse direction and stir a few times in the other direction. Rennet is very powerful and the idea here is to distribute it evenly as possible as quickly as possible before it begins to set the milk. Cover the pot and let sit, undisturbed for 30 - 60 minutes.
After 30 minutes take a sharp knife and use the corner to cut a small piece of curd out of the thickened mass leaving a small divot behind. Take note of the edges of the divot. If the sharp edges of the cut section remain fairly sharp then you are ready to cut the curd. If they become round quickly and/or the divot you created disappears then it needs more time. Check it every 15 minutes until it is ready.
www.eatlikeahuman.com 32 Cutting the Curds Option 1 = Fresh With a long-bladed knife start on one side of the pot and make a series of parallel slices spaced approximately one inch apart. To do this start at the far end of the pot at the top of the curd and bring the tip of the knife down along the far side of the pot, along the bottom, and up again along the near side of the pot. You should have sliced entirely through the curd. Move the knife over approximately one inch and repeat the same motion. Continue until you have separated the entire curd into equal, individual slices measuring one inch in thickness. Turn the pot 90 degrees and repeat the same series of cuts perpendicular to your original series. When you have finished you should be looking down at a checkerboard pattern cuts which are actually the top of individual columns of curds each with sides measuring approximately 2 cm by 2 cm. Now for the tricky part...you need to try to turn those columns into individual cubes of curds measuring 2 cm on all side. It is impossible to do this perfectly with a tall round pot and a long knife. However, try your best to make all of the cubes of curd in equal of size as possible. The size, shape and surface area of the curd impacts how much and how quickly it loses its whey and everything should be as uniform as possible. To do this, hold the knife on a 45-degree angle and make a series of descending cuts spaced approximately 1 inch apart. Turn the pot 90 degrees and repeat. By now the whey should be visibly weeping from the curds and beginning to accumulate in the pot as a slightly green tinged liquid. 33 www.eatlikeahuman.com Back-to-Basics Virtual Fermented Dairy Class | March 2021
Let the curds rest for about five minutes to continue to lose whey in order to firm up slightly so that they can be stirred without breaking. Use a spoon to stir gently. Stirring will give you the opportunity to see all of the curds and see the ones that are not cut properly. Use the side of the spoon to swiftly slice through any columns that are longer than 1 inch. When you are satisfied all of the curds are of similar size stop stirring, let rest and continue to stir periodically (every five minutes or so) until they firm up – approximately 30 – 60 minutes.Let the curds settle to the bottom of the pot and then “whey off” or remove the whey exposing the curds resting at the bottom. Transfer the curds to cheese forms and let drain for 1 hour to allow them to knit together and form solid mass. At the end of the hour remove from the forms and place in the whey to ferment.
www.eatlikeahuman.com 34 Cutting the Curd Option 2 = pizza cheese, cheese sticks, burrata, quesillo, armenian string cheese Cut the curds aggressively with a whisk until the size of rice grains. Turn on the heat to medium and stir continuously with a spoon or your hand/arm, making sure that the curds do not stick to the bottom of the pot or clump together, until the whey reaches a temperature that is just slightly uncomfortable for your hand (approximately 120 degrees F). Turn off the heat and let the curds settle to the bottom of the pot. “Whey off”, or remove the whey and place in another container. Transfer the curds to a colander lined with cheesecloth, submerge in whey, and cover. Fermentation: The curds will take anywhere between 4 - 8 hours to ferment to the pH of 5.2. During this time the curds and whey need to maintain body temperature. This is very easy to do with a huge vat full of curds and whey, but more difficult to maintain when starting with only a gallon of milk. There are a couple of ways to maintain the temperature. You could periodically turn the burner on low to gently bring up the temperature without cooking the curd. This is dangerous because if you get the curd to hot you could kill the bacteria and halt the fermentation. You could periodically add warm water to the whey to maintain a warm temperature. This is safer, but dilutes the whey if you are going to use it later. www.eatlikeahuman.com 35 Back-to-Basics Virtual Fermented Dairy Class | March 2021
Option 2 continued You could also increase the entire mass in order to more easily maintain a constant temperature by placing this pot in a much larger pot filled with warm water. This is somewhat complicated and cumbersome. Or, you could just allow it to ferment at a lower temperature realizing that is may take up to 12 hours. This is an excellent option if you begin the cheesemaking process in the evening and allow it to ferment overnight so that it is ready when you wake up in the morning. Find the rhythm that works best in your kitchen, with your quantities, and your schedule.
Testing the Curd: When you think the curd might be ready, reach down in the whey with a knife in one hand and slice off a small, thin piece of curd an inch or so long, an inch wide, and ⅛ inch thick. Place it in a medium size bowl and add very hot, almost boiling water (180 degrees is ideal). Let it sit to warm for a minute or two and, using a spoon, pull it out of the water. If it is ready you should already witness its ability to stretch. Grab one end of the warmed curd and lift it off the spoon. If the curd is ready its own weight should be enough for it to stretch into a fine thread. Grab the other end and see if it will stretch easily without breaking. Fold it over itself and pull again to stretch. If it cools too quickly then place it back in the hot water to warm up. If it is stretching easily without breaking it is ready. If it breaks easily it needs more time. Periodically check the curd to see if it is ready. Once ready you can either stretch the curd into individual balls immediately or refrigerate the curd to pull at a later time. The chilled curd will last in the refrigerator for up to a week. However, you need to decide on one of these courses of action because if you let it continue to ferment it will pass the magic 5.2 pH and will no longer stretch.
Preparing the Brines: Use the leftover whey to make three brines (depending on the cheese you are making) - for fresh mozzarella/fior di latte you will need two brines one for salting (7%) and one for storage (2%). OR, if you are making pizza cheese (or similar variety) you will need one for brining (super saturated/about 26%). To do this, divide the whey into the number of different brines you need.
www.eatlikeahuman.com 36 Brines 7% Brine: Place a medium sized bowl on a scale. Tare to zero. Place whey in the bowl and record the weight. Multiply the weight of they weigh by .07. This will be the amount of salt you will add to the brine to make a 7% salting brine. Remove the bowl from the scale and replace it with a small bowl. Tare to zero. Measure the calculated amount of salt and add this to the whey. Stir to dissolve and set aside. 2% Brine: Place a medium sized bowl on a scale. Tare to zero. Place whey in the bowl and record the weight. Multiply the weight of they weigh by .02. This will be the amount of salt you will add to the brine to make a 2% salting brine. Remove the bowl from the scale and replace it with a small bowl. Tare to zero. Measure the calculated amount of salt and add this to the whey. Stir to dissolve and set aside. Super Saturated Brine: Place a medium sized bowl on a scale. Tare to zero. Place whey in the bowl and record the weight. Multiply the weight of they weigh by .26. This will be the amount of salt you will add to the brine to make a 26% super saturated brine. Remove the bowl from the scale and replace it with a small bowl. Tare to zero. Measure the calculated amount of salt and add this to the whey. Stir to dissolve and set aside.
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Stretching the Curd: Divide the curd into easy to work with sections. If you used 1 gallon to make the cheese then dividing in four will provide you with the perfect amount of curd to make a nice sized ball of cheese. Slice one of the sections into thin sections and place in a medium size bowl. Heat water to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour water down along the side of the bowl (not directly on the curds) until they are submerged. Keep the pot of water at the correct temperature because you may need more. Wait a few minutes for the curds to begin to warm. If the water has cooled, dump it out and add more 180 degree water. Using a wooden spoon gently move the curd slices around until they begin to come together as one solid mass. At this point you can quickly pull the mass out of the water, stretch slightly, fold it over itself into thirds and return it to the water. Once warmed again pull out of the water, stretch, fold over itself into thirds, and return to the hot water. Repeat several times to ensure chunks of curd should become incorporated into the solid, silky, shiny mass and that the curd has developed. Be careful not to overwork the cheese which will toughen it and dry it out. Once you are confident the mass is uniformly smooth, pull it out of the water, stretch and fold over itself into thirds and then take one hand, starting at the top of the curd mass with the thumb and forefinger together, bring your hand down around the ball, separating your thumb as forefinger as you descend stretching the cheese to form a skin around the ball. When you reach the bottom of the ball, curl your forefinger into a tight circle bringing your your thumb tightly around your forefinger as if you signal an overly tight “OK.” Pinch the cheese closed with your fingers and the pressure and residual heat should weld the ends together. Finally, release the ball of cheese from the little bit of cheese remaining in your clenched fingers by tearing. Mozzarella comes from the work mozzare which means to tear and it comes from this action. Place the ball of cheese into the 7% salting brine and allow it to sit there, cooling and brining for 1-2 hours depending on how salty you would like it. Eat it fresh or store for a few days, refrigerated in the 2% brine. Please note, this is a cheese that is meant to be eaten fresh - it will not store for very long. Commercial mozzarella balls are stored in a very low pH solution (sometimes as low as 2.3 pH). This is lower than your brine which is most likely in the high 4’s by now.
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Stretching the Curd:
If you want to make cheese for an occasion four days away it is better to store the curd in the fridge and make it fresh on demand. It also works well if you make and refrigerate the curd and allow the whey to sit in the pot for another day or two to continue to ferment for another day. This extra fermentation continues to drop the pH and provides a slightly better storage brine for after I stretch the cheese into balls. I take the fermented whey, add salt to create a 2% brine solution and store it all in the fridge to use as a storage brine for stretched cheese and also as a source of live active bacteria to inoculate other ferments. If you are brining the pizza cheese (or other related cheese) then brine in super saturated solution for 1-3 hours depending on size and desired saltiness.
Notes on Mozzarella Cheese
www.eatlikeahuman.com 39 Ricotta Cheese Re-cooked cheese Ingredients
Fresh sweet whey Milk (amount calculate below) Water (amount calculate below) Salt (amount calculate below)
Ricotta, or “recooked” cheese is traditionally made from the whey leftover from the production of stretched curd cheeses. It relies on a combination of acidity and high heat to promote the precipitation of whey proteins from the whey (or a whey-milk blend) where they then collect on the top and are skimmed off and drained in a cheese mold. The pH and temperature in this case are both higher than that used in mozzarella production. The pH is typically between 6 and 6.4 and the heat is around 200 degrees
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Ricotta Continued: Fresh whey is required for this to work properly and the best type is from Option 2 in the above recipe. Cutting the curds smaller and heating them release more fat into the whey resulting in a better ricotta. You will notice in the recipe below that we add a little milk and water. This is not necessary, but is done for several reasons. The addition of milk helps raise the pH and also creates a higher yield. The addition of water helps ensure it doesn’t burn as it is heated.
Calculate and add milk and water: Measure the amount of whey you have. Divide this number by 8. The resulting number reflects the amount of milk and the amount of water you need to add. Add this to your whey. The total amount should break down as follows: 80% whey, 10% milk, 10% water. So, for example, if you have 10 liters total that should contain 8 liters of whey, 1 liter of milk and 1 liter of water.
Calculate and add salt: Measure the total amount of liquid you have (the combined amount of whey, milk and water). If you are using volume, then add 5 grams of salt per liter of liquid. If you are using weight, multiply the weight of your whey, milk, water by 0.005 and add that amount of salt.
Heat: Stir to combine and heat to approximately 200 degrees. Try not to stir during heating other than that necessary to prevent burning. Any stirring should be slow and gentle. When the whey proteins accumulate at the top, turn off the heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes before skimming and collecting in drain molds. If you reach 200 degrees and the proteins have not precipitated then add a small amount (a Tablespoon or two at a time) of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and stir gently. If still no curds appear, repeat the addition of acid until they do.
Drain: Drain curds in cheese mold or cheesecloth. Can be eaten immediately, refrigerated, or used in a variety of other applications.
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Notetaking Guide
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Notetaking Guide
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