Mozzarella Cheese

Easy Mozzarella, made from cow's milk.

Dissolve 1 1/2 level tsp of citric acid in 1/2 c cool water.
Place 1 gallon milk in large stainless steel pot. Bring milk to 55 degrees and while stirring add citric acid. Mix thoroughly.
(You may add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp lipase powder dissolved in 1/4 c cool water, allowed to sit 20 min) I did not do this step because at the time I did not have lipase. I will in the future add this step for flavor. To learn more about Lipase and its addition to Pasteurized milk see this article.
Heat the milk to 90, stirring constantly, Remove from heat and stir in
1/4 tsp liquid rennet or 1/4 tablet rennet diluted in 1/4 c unchlorinated water

Stir in an up and down motion for 30 seconds, cover pot and leave undisturbed 5 min.

Milk should form one large curd with a clean break seen here. If too soft  or too milky, let stand a few more minutes.

Cut the curd with your knife all the way down to bottom of pot, vertical, horizontal and the at an angel of about 45 degrees, to make even curds throughout the pot.

Place pot back on stove and heat to 105 degrees, gently stirring. Remove from heat and stir another 2-5 min.

Scoop out curds and place in 2 quart microwaveable bowl. Use the back of your hand to remove as much whey as possible, there is a lot of liquid so you may do this a few times. Microwave on high 1 min ( use discretion with your microwave, I went 45 sec this time, it is better to do a little too short a time than too long)
Remove as much liquid as possible again with back of your hand or back of large spoon. Gently knead cheese, Place back into microwave for 35 seconds.

 Again remove excess liquid and knead. Add 1 tsp cheese salt (uniodized). Place in mic another 35 seconds. Knead until smooth like taffy, to evenly distribute heat.  If cheese is breaking it has become too cool and must be reheated. 

You may eat it now or

Roll into balls and place in ice water to cool evenly. Refrigerate wrapped for up to 2 weeks!

Enjoy!

Cheesemaking hints and supplies at

http://cheesemakinghelp.blogspot.com

and 

http://www.cheesemaking.com

I highly recommend this book, easy and many recipes, this Mozzarella came from it also.