Mozzarella

When the tomatoes come on, it’s time to make mozzarella. I know – you can buy it at the store and can even buy some specialty varieties. However, mozzarella is easy to make once you buy the supplies. More than that, it’s smooth, creamy, rich, melts beautifully, and you can experiment with all sorts of flavor combinations at home.

I’m not going to go through all the steps to make the actual mozzarella – you can get the supplies and instructions from any cheese making supply website. I get mine from the one on the right – the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. And they have wonderful instructions on making the mozzarella.

Some things I’ve learned:

·         Get some Lipase Powder. It adds a nice Italian cheese flavor. You can make the mozzarella without it, but I think it tastes better with the Lipase.

·         You can use 2% milk, but I like whole milk better. It makes a creamier cheese.

·         Use a big stainless steel pan to heat the milk – a gallon of milk needs lots of space.

·         Use some gloves like Playtex, not thin latex ones, to stretch the cheese. It gets pretty hot.

·         It takes only about half an hour to make the cheese, but you can’t walk away once the milk is heated, which doesn’t take long.

·         Divide after the final stretch into two or three balls, wrap in plastic wrap. That way the others stay fresh while you use one at a time.

·         The best part - you can eat the mozzarella immediately! And I do. Yes, I do.

The fun comes when you stretch the cheese for the last time. Now you can do all sorts of wonderful things with it:

While it’s still warm, divide in thirds. Pat out each of the balls till it’s fairly thin. Put on a layer of basil leaves and roll it up like cinnamon roll dough. Wrap in plastic wrap, chill till set and slice.

Before you make the cheese, roast some garlic (I’ll talk about how in the garlic section later). When the garlic is soft, mash two or three cloves. When you do the final stretch on the cheese, add the mashed garlic and incorporate it into the cheese. See the little tiny flecks of garlic?

Of course, you can leave it plain and put it on homemade pizza. It melts into a creamy smooth topping. 

I like to make little balls and marinate them: 

Marinated fresh baby mozzarella cheese balls

·      1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, coarsely minced

·      1 Tablespoon fresh basil, coarsely minced

·      1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, coarsely minced

·      1/2 cup good quality olive oil

·      2 teaspoons lemon juice

·      1/4 teaspoon salt

·      1 pound fresh baby mozzarella cheese balls

Place parsley, basil, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a zip-top bag large enough to hold the mozzarella. Squish to combine. Add the mozzarella, seal, and toss bag to coat the cheese. Open the bag, squeeze out all the air, and re-seal.

Let marinated mozzarella balls sit at room temperature for 4 hours before serving. That’s if you can stand to wait that long.

Then, this is what mozzarella is really for: Caprese. In fact, this is what summer is for. In fact, that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight. Maybe for breakfast.

CAPRESE

1-2 ripe tomatoes

Basil leaves

Fresh mozzarella

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar 

Slice the tomatoes in thick slices. Do the same with the mozzarella. Layer them alternately on a plate. Slip the basil leaves between the layers. Drizzle with olive oil, then the vinegar. You can reduce the balsamic vinegar before drizzling if you want.

Pioneer Woman’s blog (see the link on the right) has some great instructions and pictures for this salad. 

A ball of fresh mozzarella makes a great gift and is easy and inexpensive to make. Enjoy!