Curds and Whey

Well, one Thanksgiving dinner down and one more to go. We have an annual tradition in my house of being gluttonous with my inlaws on Thursday and being gluttonous with my family on Friday. So, T minus 6 hours 'til the next big turkey dinner.

This morning we're recovering from last night. I feel completely uninspired to write about turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash or pie. So, instead, I'll return to the topic of cheesemaking.

I should say, first, that cheese is one of my favorite foods. This is, I think, a character trait I may have inherited from my father. Although, ironically, the only time I remember having been seriously punished by him was for taking too big a wedge of cheddar to snack on. Perhaps I hadn't left enough for his snack? It's funny that I remember that!

When we moved to the exburbs a few years ago - to a land where farm stores still sell farmfresh milk and eggs - I discovered a latent passion for cheese making. The milk from my favorite sources still comes in glass bottles, and one of the farms still delivers it to customers' front porches. So, I had this milk in half-gallon bottles, which is hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and, although it is homogenized and pasteurized, it is not ULTRA-pasturized. As I mentioned last time, this is essential for cheesemaking.

One of the easiest cheeses to make is Mozzarella. And one of the easiest ways to make Mozzarella is to use Ricki Carroll's Thirty-Minute Mozzarella recipe in her book:

Simplistically speaking, to make a 30-minute mozzarella, you start with a gallon of milk, add some citric acid, and heat the milk on the stove top to 88 degrees. When it gets to the right temperature, you add some diluted rennet, stir well initially, and then let set, and continue heating to 105 degrees. During this time, the curds are separating from the whey. You scoop out the curds and drain them. And then you have to cook the curds.

What speeds this particular recipe up is that you cook the curds in the microwave. You put the curds in a microwaveable bowl, drain off as much whey as you can, and pop them in the microwave for 1 minute. When they're done, you drain off more whey, work the curds with your hands as if you were kneading bread dough, and repeat the process two or three more times.

At this point you can add salt for flavor, if you'd like. Eventually, the curds start to cook - to melt together - and get stringy and taffy-like. And as you keep heating them and working them, they become smooth and glossy and you can shape them into a ball - a mozzarella ball!

On Thursday night, we made a batch of mozzarella. It was the second time I'd done this with my sister, and the first time that my niece had tried it. I think she's hooked, which made it super fun. I really enjoy sharing what I'm learning in the kitchen with my nieces. And I think she may well turn out to be a far better chef than I some day. She's got a great mind for figuring out how and why things work the way they do - and cooking is really just edible chemistry. She's also proving to be extraordinarily creative in the kitchen and willing to take risks. Another necessary component of culinary artistry.

With our mozzarella, we made a delicious pizza with whole-wheat crust and a veritable medley of vegetables - broccoli, red and yellow bell peppers, and onions. We topped off half of it with the small amount of ricotta that my niece made from leftover whey. It was delicious. And it didn't involve any turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash...just a humble pizza pie.

And what a great way to spend time together as a family! Cooking together, learning together, joking and laughing together, eating together...sort of reminds me of the best parts of Thanksgiving after all. Guess I'd better go get ready for dinner #2.

Eat well and be well!