Mozzarella Cheese

Homemade mozzarella might sound like something best left to fancy kitchens, but I promise—it’s easier than you think. With just a few simple ingredients and a little patience, you can have soft, fresh mozzarella in under an hour. This isn’t the kind of recipe that requires special tools or hard-to-find items—just whole milk, a few pantry basics, and your own two hands. There’s something deeply satisfying about turning a pot of milk into something so delicious and versatile. Whether you’re layering it on homemade pizza, tucking it into sandwiches, or serving it with garden tomatoes, this cheese is pure, simple joy.

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Mozzarella Cheese

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

2 gallons milk
3 tsp citric acid
1 cup cool water divided
1 tsp liquid calf rennet or the amount listed on your container needed to coagulate 2 gallons of milk
1/2 - 2/3 cup salt

Method

Heat 2 gallons of milk to 55℉. I use raw milk that is 3-4 days old and I skim most of the cream off. You can use any milk except ultra-pasteurized.
Dissolve 3 tsp of citric acid into 1/2 cup cool water. Mix into your milk.
Heat your milk over med/low heat until it reaches 88℉, remove from heat.
Dissolve calf rennet into 1/2 cup cool water.
Cover your milk and check for a clean break after 10 minutes. If you don't have a clean break wait another 5 minutes and check again.
After a clean break, cut the curds into 1-2inch pieces and let them rest for a few minutes until they sink to the bottom. Whey will be at the top, curds at the bottom.
Ladle out 2-3 cups of the whey. add 1/2 - 2/3 cup salt to the warm whey that you removed from the curds.
Start heating the curds over medium heat, stirring gently and breaking up any curds still larger than 2 inches.
Stir by hand until the curds start sticking together, then start stretching them.
Use a spoon to stretch the cheese when your whey gets too hot for your hands. Stretch each pile of mozzarella until it's smooth and shiny.
Form into a ball or strings and placed into your salted whey until chilled.
Remove from whey and wrap tightly.
Will keep in fridge for 7-1o days and in freezer for 6+ months.