PDQ Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

I LOVE cheese. I really do. I could live without sweets, bread, potatoes, even chile, but NOT cheese. I just learned to make mozzarella cheese and am making a lovely Zambini Pizza for SuperBowl Sunday. The Zambini is a fabulous pizza recipe I stole from the Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise, ID in 1993. It is made traditionally from a sourdough crust (I am using Jamie's Crust .... see an older post for this fabulous crust recipe and the sauce (also from Flying Pie and can't be beat, except for my Putanesca Sauce found in Pizza Pizzazz )...both freeze EXTREMELY well, so no worries on the crust or sauce) topped with Italian sausage ( I am using moose Italian sausage), jalapenos, purple onion, sun dried tomatoes and I add a mix on Fontina and my own new homemade mozzarella cheese. Please do look back at the older post for that wonderful pizza sauce...I've never found anything to replace this recipe.

How to make Mozzerella....(recipe from About.com) Type in 30 minute fresh mozzarella cheese recipe. Also look at the YouTube 30 minute Mozarella....it will help.

Go Saints!!!!

1/2 rennet tablet (find this in the baking section of the grocery store....near the canning stuff)
1/4 cup cool cholrine-free water
1 gallon milk (use 2%)
2 tsp. citric acid (find this in the health food section, bulk dept.....like the seasonings stuff)
salt, optional...(but I like salt)

Crush the rennet and add to the water. Pour milk into a non-reactive pan (no aluminum or cast iron). Place over medium heat. Sprinkle citric acid over milk and stir a couple of times. Heat the milk to 88 degrees. It will begin to curdle.

At 88 degrees add the crushed rennet tablet and stir every few minutes until mix reaches 105 degrees. Large curds should appear. Either strain through a mesh strainer or scoop out with a slotted spoon into a glass bowl. Press curds into a ball and drain off the whey (liquid). Cool.
Microwave 1 minute and drain off whey. Make into a ball again with a spoon. Microwave again for 30 seconds, drain. Do this one more time.

In the meantime. Heat the whey (that nasty looking greenish fluid) to 175 degrees. Massage/knead the cheese until smooth. If needed, (crumbly and not pliable) dip in the heated whey for a few seconds and knead. Store in a solution of 2 tsp salt to 1 cup water (I used a quart jar).