Making my Papa Proud...

My Papa makes cheese for a living.  He makes a number of different kinds, but his specialty is fresh mozzarella.  He sells it at Whole Foods, Central Market, and at a couple of markets in the Austin, TX area.  My family started making cheese after I was married so it is not something I learned to do until...

A few weeks ago we helped Douglas buy Marabelle.  Marabelle is a dairy goat.  She faithfully produces 3-4 quarts of milk a day 7 days a week.  Now, we are a family of 7 and we can use a lot of milk, but almost a gallon a day is more than we can consume.  So...

I started making all of our yogurt.  After several failed attempts and the purchase of a yogurt maker to help me out I finally got really good, creamy, thick yogurt!  But even with making about a quart of yogurt a day I still have 2 full gallons of milk in my fridge today.  Time to try mozzarella again!


The curds resting...

I've made Chevre cheese with great success.  It was truly wonderful!  But my mozzarella has been marginally successful at best.   I'm determined to master the art and make my Papa proud!  Even Papa had to learn, I guess.




And resting at 108 degrees...

So far it is looking promising. Currently I'm holding the curds at 108 degrees for 35 minutes. I'll let you know, but I really think today is my day to make wonderful cheese!