Delicate Italian dishes would not be so tasty if they were not used to make mozzarella cheese. It has a lot of advantages besides the unique taste: low calorie, rich composition. And it is easy to cook at home.
Step by step mozzarella cooking
Cooking time: 80 minutes.
Calories per 100 g: 238 kcal.
To prepare, we will need the following ingredients:
- 4.5 liters of milk;
- 300 ml of water;
- 1.5 tsp citric acid;
- 0.6 tsp rennet;
- 1 tsp salt.
Cooking mozzarella does not require the use of a certain type of milk, but the ideal option is considered to be a fat country product.
The main condition is that the milk should not be pasteurized, since in this case the milk proteins break down, lose the ability to fold.
And the required enzyme can be bought in a large supermarket or in a pharmacy.
You will also need some tools and materials:
- Enameled pan. You should not use aluminum or metal products, since in this case the reaction of metal and acid may occur, which will spoil the taste.
- Measuring cup and spoon.
- Accurate thermometer for temperature control.
- Skimmer and gauze.
- Knife with a thin and sharp blade.
When cooking mozzarella, it is better not to deal with any other dishes, although this procedure will not take much time, it should be given maximum attention. First you need to dissolve the enzyme and citric acid: for the acid you will need 1 cup of cold water, for the enzyme - 0.5 glass.
Now you need to pour the milk into the pan and, while stirring, add citric acid, heat to +35 degrees. At the next stage, we introduce enzymes: remove the container with milk from the stove, slowly pour the enzyme in and stir. When the whole enzyme is in the milk, we mix in exactly 30 seconds, remove the saucepan from the stove, cover with the lid and leave for 5 minutes.
After this time, the mass should resemble custard. If it is still watery, you need to wait 3-5 minutes.
When the curd clot is ready, make several deep cuts with a sharp knife, send it back to the stove and heat it to +40 degrees, gently stirring the contents. Remove almost finished cheese from the heat and stir for about 5 minutes.
Separate the curd from the whey using skimmer, transfer it to the microwave bowl and heat for 30 seconds. The temperature should be checked with a thermometer - it should be about +60 degrees.
It remains to get the container and start forming mozzarella balls from the cubes of curd mass. Add salt to the cold whey, put the balls into it and send to the fridge. Cooked mozzarella can be stored for several days.
Cooking recipe with acidin-pepsin
Cooking time: 60 minutes.
Caloric content per 100 g: 251 kcal.
Acidin-pepsin is a drug to improve digestion. It is sold in pharmacies without a prescription, the cost is about 150 rubles. The cheese prepared according to this recipe will be not only tasty, but also useful.
To prepare for this recipe, you need the following ingredients:
- 1.5 liters of milk;
- 200 ml of purified water;
- 2 tablets Acidin-pepsin;
- 0.5 tsp citric acid.
Cooking is simple:
- Crush tablets into powder and dissolve in 0.5 glass of water.
- In 100 ml of water dissolve citric acid.
- Pour the milk into the pan, heat to +30 degrees.
- Remove the milk from the stove, dilute citric acid in it, stir for two minutes.
- Add water with a crushed tablet, mix everything thoroughly.
- Put on low heat and heat to a temperature of +40 degrees, stirring constantly. In this case, the milk should curl.
- Remove from heat, cover with lid, leave for half an hour. During this period, the mass should curl up in the curd
- Separate the curd from the whey.
- Dry the resulting mass in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
- After the liquid is drained, you need to start forming cheese.
- The mass should be well kneaded, then form balls of cheese.
- For storage, circles are placed in salted whey and sent to the refrigerator.
Alas, mozzarella is not stored for a long time, because you need to cook as much as you can eat in 2-3 days. To prolong the shelf life, the cheese must be put in a salty solution: 3 tbsp of water is required per 1 liter of water. salt.
What dishes can be cooked with this cheese
Delicate, light cheese balls are perfect for any dish. Cheese can be used to make salads, pizza and other snacks. The main advantage of mozzarella is that the mass has a dense texture, when heated, the cheese does not spread. Gentle hot dishes with viscous cheese are obtained.
Consider a few simple recipes:
- Classics of the genre can be called salad "Caprese". It looks elegant, it prepares simply, it is quickly eaten. To do this, cut the cheese into thick, round slices. In the same way, chop large tomatoes, lay them in layers, pour with olive oil and sprinkle with basil.
- Shrimp salad. Spread on a plate halves tomato, cubes of cheese, chopped green onions. Season with salt, olive oil, basil, garnish with shrimps on top.
- Pizza "Margherita" with mozzarella. A great option for those who do not want meat. Making pizza is simple: put garlic-tomato sauce, a couple of basil leaves and oregano on the dough. Bake the product for 5-10 minutes, then sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven for another five minutes.
- Cheese, breaded. Great snack for beer or wine. It is necessary to chop the mozzarella into pieces about 1.5 cm thick. Dip them into the egg, roll in breading and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes.
And if there is no mozzarella on hand or you couldn’t replace it with anything, you can use Adygei cheese, suluguni, cheese.
