Eat Arkansas

Thanks Belinda. Can't wait to try it.

Oh, please do, and let me know how it goes! YOu will NOT be disappointed. It's so easy, and WORLDS away from what you can buy in the grocery store. You can even approximate your own homemade version of "buffalo" mozzarella by adding cream to the milk at the beginning. This stuff is absolutely not rubbery and chewy and bland. It's rich and creamy and stretchy and yummy.

Where would I find the right kind of milk around here? (I'm not at all squeamish about "real" unprocessed milk.)

You just have to get something that's not "ultra" pasteurized. I will say on the label whether the milk is "pasteurized" or "ULTRA pasteurized." The ultra stuff is completely dead, and doesn't have enough enzymes to make cheese or yogurt or anything. Sadly, raw cow's milk is not legal in Arkansas, so if you want farm-fresh, you have to have your own cow. BUT, goat's milk can still be purchased in its fresh, raw form from the farm, and I'm going to try that next.

I think that there are "workarounds" you can use if you can't find any non-nuked milk to start with. The thing that's frustrating to me is that I can't make organic cheese, because all the organic milk (that I've found so far, anyway) comes from far away, and is ultra pasteurized for long shelf-life.

I'm pretty sure the milk I've been using is Coleman's whole milk. I bought some powdered milk the other day, too, because you're supposed to be able to get a thicker curd if you add in some powder to the mix. I want to try that and goat's milk mozzarella and chevre before I move on to hard cheeses.

Belinda,

just the other week I was joking about making mozzarella on my own. Lo and behold, you beat me to it! The pie look amazing and thanks for the links to some of the kits.

Once I get the chance, I'll share some pictures and other ideas!

All right! I'm picking up some fresh goat's milk this week, and hope to try mozz from that, as well as a chevre.