Fresh mozzarella on homemade arepas - now that's good stuff!!!

I pasteurize raw (goat's) milk when I occasionally use it (the dairy is 2-1/2-miles from where I live), and I would pasteurize all raw milk before using it because there are more kinds of bacteria, and more deadly bacteria, than existed even 20-years ago.

There was a day we drank gallons of raw cow's milk growing up and I used a lot of raw goat's milk for fermenting. Today I wouldn't do it, especially after taking a food safety class through Kansas State University from Dr. Karen Penner - Ph.D.Extension Specialist, Food Science. But that's going to be a choice you get to make because you'll get cheese either way. ;-)

For mozzarella I use powdered milk - which is a food storage staple at our house. That food storage cutie, "Chef Tess Bakeress" (she has her own web site), gives a great tutorial at the link below.

I occasionally make curds with water, vinegar and powdered milk. Season them to make "cheese (no burger)" patties (plain, beef- or chicken-flavored). I use the recipe in Rita Bingham's "Natural Meals in Minutes". Other recipes from the book include: Quick Soft Pressed Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Queso Blanco, Bag Cheese, Cottage Cheese and NO-Cook Cottage Cheese, Yellow Cheddar Cheese, Panir, Caraway Cheese, Jalapeno Cheese - and all the recipes are made with powdered milk. She uses non-instant powdered milk in the recipes. If all you have is instant powdered milk you simply run it through a blender to pulverize it to a fine powder, then you can measure it cup-for-cup for non-instant powdered milk.

I think you'll be surprised how easy and fun it is! Have a great time.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make American Mozzarella Cheese Out of Powdered Milk

Thanks Grainlady!

I think I will opt for pasteurized milk for our first go - we *always* have that in the house.

And thanks for the link - great visual tutorial!

Alexa

I always use local pasturized milk because that's all that's available, it's illegal to sell raw milk in Michigan. I could buy a cow share, but I don't want that much milk.

Mozzarella is dead easy, and ricotta can be made from the whey after you make the mozzarella. I used Ricki Carroll's "30 minute mozzarella" recipe, they don't call her the Cheese Queen for nothing.

I've attached a link with pictures and instructions.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Ricki Carroll's 30 Minute Mozzarella

Thanks Annie - that is the company we bought the "kit" from. I had looked at her tutorial and intended to follow it, but like I said, I like getting input from people I trust :-)

Thank you again!
Alexa

I have made both ricotta and Mozarella. I can't help you with the raw milk as I've never used it. I do know for mozarella, some of our milks in BC work way better than others. So not sure about milk from where you are from. The kits are really good, and you get to make a lot of cheese from them. You should be able to make ricotta, mozarella and a brown danish (salty/sweet) type cheese from one kit.

I haven't made either, though it's on my list to try sometime.

In doing so reading about it, I thought ricotta required no rennet....

Also, my understanding is that ultrapasteurized milk should not be used as it simply does not have enough bacteria in it.

Here is a link that might be useful: ricotta cheese recipe

I've made 'ricotta' several times using a recipe similar to the one AnnieD just posted. Except the recipe I've used is a much more specific about the temperature when heating the milk and uses vinegar for the acid source. I know the result supposedly isn't real ricotta but it works great in lasagna.

Have wanted to try making mozzarella from the whey drained from the ricotta but could NOT find any rennet anywhere in town. Junket or otherwise. And I live in The Cheese State!