Home made cheese

Home made produce can be fun and rewarding, but often thwarted by the time it takes and sometimes unpredictable results. Bread and yoghurt are normally reliable, but take several hours.

So I was a little skeptical at 30 minute mozzarella, but it turned out reasonably well.

The first step is to acidify the milk with a little citric acid, then heat to a temperature needed by the rennet, cut the curd and heat a little a more. The magic step is then to drain the curd and zap it a few times in the microwave – this makes it more elastic for stretching and shaping.

A quick cool in water and then the refrigerator and you have some fresh cheese in no time. My first batch needed a little more rennet to set and could have been a little more ‘melt in the mouth’ but tasted fine.

The easiest way to start is with a kit though you should be able to find the bits you need independently too, but remember to check the rennet is vegetarian.