Cheese Please

A couple of nights ago, my mom and I decided to embark on a whole new adventure.... cheese making! It's actually something my mom has been wanting to do for a while. She ordered a couple cheese making kits online and we decided it was time to give it a whirl.

There are lots of different kinds of cheeses you can make at home. After reading the little book, the (seemingly) easiest and quickest one to make is mozzarella. In the grand scheme of things, making your own mozzarella is not that hard. However.... it was a harder than we thought it was going to be and our first batch was a bit of a failure.... well... a total failure.

All you need is milk. Add a little citric acid... 

Add the magical ingredient called rennet... 

Wait 5 minutes... 

Ta da... you have curd and whey 

You cut the curd... 

And stir over heat. However, somewhere in here, we did something wrong because our curds are very soft

We put the curds through a sieve, which was also wrong  

It is NOT supposed to look like this!

By the time we got to the step where we were supposed to microwave it for a minute and then kneed and stretch it like dough, our curds were still the texture of yogurt... not dough. We weren't really sure where we went wrong. 

After doing some reading online, we decided to try a couple of things differently and go back into the kitchen for round two. Edison was very patient while we experimented, playing on the floor with toys, and the dog. 

Here we go again, another gallon of milk 

Hoping this time it works... 

Checking to see if the whey is clear 

Stirring over heat, this time the curds are much firmer... We're on the right track!

Removing the curds 

I know... it doesn't look that appetizing yet 

Edison checking out his new booster seat at Grandma's house! 

 Edison and Grandma 

Hot! But at least it looks like dough, yay! 

Stretching the mozzarella  

We had to take turns stretching it because it was so cool! 

Giving them a cool bath 

Giving them an ice bath 

Ta Da! Fresh mozzarella! 

Insert 'cutting the cheese' joke here 

Yum!! Edison LOVES it! He kept wanting more

Vacuum sealed and ready to take home

We sure had fun in our first adventure into the land of cheese. We're excited to try another type of cheese next and, hopefully, not have to throw out a whole gallon of milk in the process! Stay tuned...