Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. First of all, let's talk about milk. Mozzarella is traditionally made with water buffalo milk, but unless you live in India you probably don't have any on hand. What kind of milk can you use to make your cheese?
2. How much milk do you use for a nice batch of cheese?
3. You'll need three more ingredients to make your cheese. The first is citric acid, a natural chemical. It acidifies the milk to help make nice stretchy cheese. You can buy this at your local Jewish deli or other store carrying Jewish items. What will it be called?
4. The next ingredient you'll need is rennet. Rennet coagulates the milk. Rennet has two sources- what are they?
5. And you'll also need some salt. Which kind of salt is best for cheesemaking?
6. What equipment will you need to make your cheese?
7. All that gear that you use to make the cheese should be as sterile as possible. What is NOT a good way to sterilize your cheesemaking stuff?
8. All right, let's make cheese! Put that milk in your pot and stir in some citric acid dissolved in a quarter cup of water. How much citric acid do you use?
9. Now put the cheese-making pot in a sinkful of nice hot water, stick the thermometer in it and stir it every once in awhile. How warm do you want it to get?
10. Once it's at the correct temperature, take the pot out of the water and add 10 drops of rennet, mixed in a quarter cup of water. Let the pot sit, covered, for 15 minutes. What will happen?
11. Using a long-bladed knife, cut the curd into 1-inch cubes. Put the pot back into the sink and add enough hot water to the sink to bring the temperature up to about 115 degrees F. Stir gently every now and then for 40 minutes.What will you see happening in your pot now?
12. After 40 minutes, line a colander with the cheesecloth and balance it over a big pot or bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the colander. Let sit 10 minutes. What will you have in the colander?
13. It's almost cheese! Break off a cup of curd and put it into a glass measuring cup. Sprinkle it with a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Stick it in the microwave on high for 50 seconds. What will it resemble when you take it out?
14. Using a stainless steel spoon, stretch and compress the ball of cheese a few times, like pulling taffy. Stick it back in the microwave for 25 more seconds. Take it out and stretch and compress it more, like playing with a lump of Play-Doh. Pour off the excess whey and continue stretching. When it's cooled a bit, take it out of the cup and pull it out and form it back into a ball a few times. Then roll it into a nice ball. What do you do with it now?
15. Repeat the steps until all the curd is used up. Ta-da! You now have about 4 balls of mozzarella cheese! What's the best way to preserve whatever you don't devour immediately?
Source: Author
crisw
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
ozzz2002 before going online.
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