Fresh Goat Milk Mozzarella

I took the time the other day to cook up a batch of mozzarella cheese from some of my goats milk. While I have made all sorts of cheese in the past, a friend organized a coop for a Mozzarella/Ricotta kit from New England Cheesemaking Supply Co. at a price I couldn't resist and it included a a simple mozzarella recipe I had to try. I had taken a two day seminar from Ricki of NECS a few years back at the University of Wisconsin and knew that have very high quality supplies.First I mixed citric acid (from the kit)into a gallon of milk and heated it to 90 degrees using the supplied thermometer. Then I added dissolved rennet (also in the kit) and let the milk sit to form a curd. You can see see the custard like cheese has separated from the watery whey. I then cut the whey with a large knife into 1" chunks and then heat them to 110 degrees while gently stirring. Viola', curds and whey!
After draining the whey I was left with a relatively small amount of curd, which is normal in cheese making. The whey can be used in cooking and baking and animals love it!
The trick with this method is you can use the microwave to heat the curd for stretching. After removing as much whey as possible, I heated the curd in the microwave for one minute, i again drained the whey and added 1 tsp of salt and folded the whey into a chunk.
I heated the curd again for about 30 seconds, I'm aiming for a temperature of about 135 degrees to start stretching and forming the cheese. You can pull the whey into string cheese, form it into a ball, little mouthfuls or a braid and then place it in ice water to set and hold its shape.
Here I've made a classic Caprese salad with Brandywine tomatoes and basil from the garden.
Melted on spaghetti, our favorite with garlic bread!
This cheese can be made with store bought milk and I'm sure you have the utensils necessary in your kitchen, so give cheese making a try. It's very fun and rewarding! What a great way to get picky children to eat dairy.