# Mozzarella cheese failing



## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

I've got an odd problem. I've been making cheese with our goat milk for 3 years now and this is the first time this has come up.

I CAN'T make the typical 30-minute mozzarella recipe*. When the goats started producing more than we could drink this spring, some new folks at the farm (my folks have a farm with various wwoofers/workers living there) started making cheese following my written instructions for mozzarella. They had a 50% success rate. I thought they just weren't following instructions so when I finally had the time, I made it and it didn't work either! First time I'd ever had it fail. We got new rennet and new citric acid. Still fail. I tried using just one goat's milk, then the next goat's, still fail. This past weekend I finally tried using the third goat who hadn't been producing enough before. It sorta worked, never got the right stretch and it ended up grainy.

I also gave some milk to a friend to use her method and ingredients. Still didn't work!

On the other hand, during this time I've made chevre, brie, feta and blue cheese, all deliciously successful.

We've done CMT tests, no feed changes, no equipment/technique changes. I'm lost!

Any ideas?

*just for more detail the recipe is:

2 gallons milk, 3 days old
3 tsp citric acid, added while cold
1/4 tsp rennet in 1/4 cup water added when 88F
Let rest 5-30 minutes until thickened. This is where it's been failing - it either never sets at all or it turns into tiny flakes in the whey that don't mat together.

If it does set, we move on to heating to 110F, draining and heating the whey to 130F and then pulling the curds in the hot whey. I did make it this far with the last batch but it was always very grainy.


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## siberiafarm (Feb 14, 2011)

It sounds as if the pH of the milk is not correct. You need to add enough citric acid to end up with a final pH in the range of 5.5-5.7 prior to adding the rennet. If your pH is too high the cheese will end up breaking instead of stretching. If your pH ends up too low your cheese will end up too soft. 

I also don't think you are heating up the whey/curds enough. We stretch ours in 170-180 degrees. 

I have always found it interesting that mozzarella is considered a "beginner" cheese. It was one of the most difficult for us to master and make consistently uniform. We are now making between 30-40 pounds of it a week, but had our share of failures before getting to that point. Hope my suggestions help.


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

> I have always found it interesting that mozzarella is considered a "beginner" cheese. It was one of the most difficult for us to master and make consistently uniform. We are now making between 30-40 pounds of it a week, but had our share of failures before getting to that point.


oh yes. I still have failures on this one, I find it very tricky. I do not care for the 30min type, turns out like plastic to me. 

I had this happen a few years ago--made it great for months, then eww. seems here my milk isn't real good for making mozz in later season. curds never looked right, often grainy. the cats ate good! a ph meter helped but in the long run I just make mozz in the first half of lactation and other cheese in the later half. 

and my gosh, you must be selling this cheese siberia, that's a lot of cheese!!


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

Thanks! Siberia, I didn't quite finish the directions. I heat to 130F and START stretching, or rather checking for stretch. I usually don't get a good stretch until 150F. I was told never to take it above 170F - specifically for the goat.

Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of the 30 min type either, but I have bought TWO pH meters and neither one of them worked. I've used them before so I do know how to operate them. Not sure why both were broken but after returning the second one, I gave up.

This weekend I'm going to try the "real" mozzarella recipe I have. Hopefully that will work better!


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