I made mozzarella cheese

On Sunday afternoon, I made mozzarella cheese.

I started with whole milk, citric acid, rennet, and salt — and ended up with 14 ounces of delicious mozzarella cheese. I followed the instructions step by step, and it actually worked! I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was (and still am). It was art, it was science, it was magic.

I’ve been wanting to make mozzarella cheese for years, so six months ago, I finally added a cheese-making kit to my Christmas wish list. The kit has been waiting patiently in my pantry ever since the holidays. So why didn’t I make cheese sooner? Well, I thought it would take a long time. I thought it would be more complicated. I thought I would become frustrated. I thought it seemed mysterious. I thought it wouldn’t turn out.

And you know what? It did take longer than the instructions said it should. It was a little frustrating when the curd didn’t develop properly. It was certainly more complicated than buying fresh mozzarella at the store. And I still think the process is rather mysterious. But it was actually pretty easy. And it turned out just fine.

I made cheese.

And now I can’t wait to make more. Last night I did some online research to see how I can get the curd to separate from the whey better, and I’m eager to tweak the process a bit.

The photos I hurriedly snapped with my iPhone along the way aren’t great, but dinner last evening definitely was.

I made the mozzarella cheese, grew the basil, baked the bread, and bought the tomatoes at a local produce stand. And I’m still a little surprised that I made cheese.