Mozzarella Cheese Class

A few weeks ago I blogged about a cheese making class I attended in Waimea taught by cheesemaker Vicki Dunaway where we made several cheeses and about my successful efforts at making ricotta with the left over whey after I got back home.

This time it was a mozzarella making class taught by Chef Sandy Bar-Rivera, an instructor at the Hawai'i Community College School of Culinarty Arts in Hilo and sponsored by Slow Food Hawaii at the Hilo home of Kim, one of the members.

View from Kim's house includes Saint Joseph's Church, downtown Hilo and the bay beyond. 

We had been given a list of equipment to bring with us, and juggling my heavy-bottomed 8 quart stock pot, long-shaft food thermometer, 4 quart Pyrex measuring cup, fine mesh sieve, assorted long-handled spoons, long knife, funnel, apron, kitchen towel, plastic container to store the cheese in and a gallon of KTA's Mountain Apple brand whole milk, I made it upstairs to Kim's aerie home perched over a beautiful view of old Hilo and the bay.

There were 8 of us vying for two burners at the stove, so we worked in pairs. 

Friend and blogging colleague Lucy Lee Jones was part of the group and she and I took turns taking photos of each other as we were part of different cheese making duos.  Lucy was very detailed in her explanation on the cheese making part, so I won't be going into the details and urge you to click on her name above and get the instructions there.

Pouring the milk as we get started.  As you can see, Kim was a thoughtful hostess providing wine to give us courage for the task ahead...

 

Waiting for the milk to reach between 50 - 55 degrees before adding the citric acid

Continue heating and stirring after adding the citric acid to reach 95 degrees.  Curds are beginning to form.

At this point, the pot was covered, taken off the heat and left for about 10 or 15 minutes before checking for curds.

Curds are supposed to form a thick layer on top, but mine was the consistency of cottage cheese and sort of in lumps.  Sandy said not to worry, so I didn't.

Cutting the curds with the long knife.  Both my batch and Lucy's were similar in that the curd was not as solid looking, but 'cutting' through it made the curd smaller

 

Lifting the curds out with a slotted spoon to place in the sieve

Spooning curds into sieve to let whey drain into the large measuring cup

At this point it looks like the ricotta I made a few weeks ago.  I saved the whey and Lucy helped me pour it into my empty milk gallon jug to take home for more ricotta making.  I love it that nothing gets wasted, since other cheeses can be made from the leftover whey or as I was told at the Waimea cheesemaking class, it can be fed to chickens to make their feathers shinier and the eggs bigger and richer.  Unfortunately, I don't have chickens....yet, so I use it to make ricotta

After draining as much curd as I could from the pot, it was transferrred to a microwaveble bowl to start the drying out process.

Into the microwave for a minute

At this point a bit of salt was added and then popped into the microwave for 30 more seconds

Checking the temperature and stirring once more - my batch had to go in the microwave three times for 30 seconds each time  - funny how all batches reacted differently

There!  Now it looks ready for kneading

At this point you take a spoonful of the cheese and with your hands you quickly form balls - this stuff is hot, so you work quickly.  Rubber gloves were part of the list of equipment we were asked to bring, but Sandy said, she didn't like to use them as she could taste the rubber in the finished product...so we all braved it and used our bare hands.

It's mozzarella!

Dropping them in iced water stops the cooking process.

Four of them and enough to make two more....Lucy got 10, but mine were just a little bit bigger than hers.

  

My finished 6 balls of mozzarella.

As Lucy explains in her blog, the written instructions sound much more complicated than the actual process.

There are several simple and interesting recipes in the Home Cheese Making book by Ricki Carroll and I'm planning to try them soon.

  

Not the most flattering picture of me, but we had it taken with both our cameras and since Lucy used it as her opening photo, I am using it as the last.

Sandy, it was a wonderful class. 

Kim, you turned it into a party.  Mahalo for the use of your lovely home

...and mahalo to Slow Food Hawaii for making the class available!

Comments

[Sonia]

I was a lot of fun, Risa.....I can buy it here also, and have in the past...but after tasting the difference, I look forward to making it myself again....and it really is not that much trouble!

[RisaG]

Looks like you had fun Sonia. I just might make some one day. I can buy fresh mozzarella at Costco door pretty cheap so that is what I usually do.

[Sonia]

Hi, Susan!
It WAS a lot of fun! Can't wait to do it again!

[S]

Sonia,
Thank you so much for "sharing" the class with us! You sure look like you were having a great time while making the cheese. Your cheese looks delicious! What a wonderful class.

[Sonia]

Mahalo, Lucy! I told several members of Slow Food yesterday when we got together at the Hilo Coffee Mill for the tour and lunch about our two postings. Shelby said she would definitely go and read.

[Lucy]

Great job, Sonia! Our two posts really complemented each other! We'll be together in another class someday, I'm sure.
Aloha,
Lucy