How do you make Mozzarela Cheese?

Been watching the Food channel all weekend and they are into Pizza and Pasta. Some of the great Pizza's are made in Naples and only use fresh Roma Tomatoes, homemade Mozzarela Cheese and Basil. They look fantastic but obviously you need the freshest ingredients vs. the store bought canned varieties and packaged cheese.

Has anyone made homemade Mozzarela? I hear it is quite easy and rather than go and cruise thru Google, would like some "real" input from you folks!

Thanks.

Don

Here's one web site for homemade cheese but there are others on the web also:

http://www.leeners.com/mozzarella.html

Thanks Zeke! I will try this. Have you tried this one? Wondering how it turned out.

Anyone else have homemade ideas?

Don

The real stuff is made with water buffalo milk, but a lot of the stuff you see in stores is made with outdated milk that is removed from store shelves. I am a fairly good cook, but when I have made cheese in the past, I was seldom able to replicate success. Cheese requires an exactness that I am not good at. If a formula says to heat milk to 104.5 degrees, it means 104.5, not 104 or 105. There are a lot of good books, and Cheesemakers Supply Company can sell you whatever supplies that you need. Try www.cheesemaking.com to get to their site. They sell a "30 minute mozzarella" kit.

tmiles - Have you tried the "KIT"?

Don

I have not tried the kit, and I am far from an expert. Have fun!!!!

Oldfrt... I'm yet to try my hand at cheesemaking, but parents, grandparents and rest of the older clan have done it for years. Simple is what they say. I saw something on Food Network about some of the, and I quote the "best pizza" they found... One place claimed that they made their own mozzarella so my investigation was on! From the recipes and instructions I found on the net, seems like it's simpler to make then the hasell of making a burger! Maybe if I get the time and motivation on one of the up and comming weekends I'll try my hand at it... Seems Mozz is one of the easiest cheeses to make....

Gonna try it also. I saw the same program and it looked delicious, especially on a Pizza!

Will continue searching for recipe's. Not into "kits"!

Don

Here's a couple links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/A485273
http://www.messygourmet.com/tips/issue6.html

Thanks Unc. Will try them.

Don

Mozzarella Cheese:

To understand Mozzarella cheese making you have to understand ancient forms of Latin. The very word Mozzarella comes to us from antiquity and is a compound Latin word. It is formed from the Latin words mozz and arella

Mozz is easy to translate, the modern English word moose is a direct decedent of this ancient word. Arella is the old Latin form meaning female. Thus the ancients inform us that Mozzarella cheese is made from milk from a female moose. They became this specific about it after trying to milk male moose with disastrous results.

After understanding the origins of Mozzarella, the rest is easy. Capture a female moose and milk it. Be very sure you are milking a female moose. You will now have the basic ingredient for a true Mozzarella. After that simply proceed with the excellent cheese making links that other posters have thoughtfully provided. Very easy once you understand the origins.

Ouch! I think my tongue went straight through my cheek on this one.