Homemade Fresh Mozzarella

Ingredients

• 2 L Whole milk
• 7 tbsp White vinegar
• Salt (Optional; add during the final stretching.)
• Ice water (Use enough to submerge the finished mozzarella balls.)

Steps

1. 1

   Pour the whole milk into a large pot and heat it to exactly 46°C.

2. 2

   Remove the pot from the heat. Add the white vinegar and stir to combine.

3. 3

   Cover the pot with a lid and let the milk mixture sit for 10 minutes, until the cheese curds have separated from the liquid whey.

4. 4

   Collect the curds and strain them from the liquid whey into a bowl. Squeeze out as much remaining liquid as possible, then shape the curds into balls.

5. 5

   Heat the separated whey in the pot to 65°C.

6. 6

   Place the mozzarella balls into the hot whey one at a time for 30-second increments to warm the curd.

7. 7

   Remove each ball from the whey and stretch and pull it until it becomes smooth and elastic.

8. 8

   Repeat the heating, stretching, and pulling process 2–4 times, until the mozzarella has a smooth texture and an elastic consistency.

9. 9

   During the final stretching, season with salt if desired, then shape each piece into a smooth ball.

10. 10

    Place the finished mozzarella balls in a bowl of ice water and chill for 10–15 minutes.

11. 11

    Store the mozzarella in the ice water or in the whey in the refrigerator. The source states that it keeps for approximately 1–1.5 weeks.

Notes

The transcript states 20–30 minutes for the ice-water step, while the author-provided description states 10–15 minutes; the author-provided description was followed. The amount of salt and ice water is not specified.

Nutrition per serving

• cheese
• Italian
• vegetarian
• gluten-free
• two-ingredient
• homemade
• no-bake
• make-ahead