We love science, and since cooking can and does involve science, we end up doing lots of kitchen experiments–sometimes they involve food, sometimes just mixing stuff together to see what happens 
This week, though, we’ve had a focus on cheese-making, mozzarella cheese-making to be specific.
Before we made our first attempt, I did lots of research online. Mainly because two of the ingredients you need (Rennet, Citric Acid) are a bit challenging to find in a local store. In order to get my hands on the rennet, I spoke with the cheese department at Lund’s in NE Minneapolis. They sent me to the Lunds in Uptown, where I bought two boxes so I had plenty to work with. Citric acid, which I thought wouldn’t be that difficult to find, well, I never actually found any. I ended up using lemon juice (despite some recommendations not too). After the first batch, I found some ‘Fruit Fresh’ which contains citric acid & absorbic acid, both of which I had read were acceptable. (NOTE: you can get these ingredients online from a variety of places, I’d recommend one, but I didn’t order it online. If you have a source, please share!)
Anyway, we’ll share more of the details on each specific batch on February 27 when we post our experience on Two Kids Cooking TV. But, in the meantime, if you want to try you’re own, here’s the main recipe I followed:
How to Make Great Fresh Mozzarella Cheese at the Instructables website…it is step-by-step and easy to follow.
I also had some questions answered The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.
My advice:
-lemon juice does work (I used about 1/8 to 1/4 cup)
-If you use tap water, boil and cool it first–it does kill the rennet if you don’t
-do Not over stretch it, it gets really dense if you do.
Again, we taped our second try and will be sharing it on the show in a couple weeks, so if you want to see how we did it, make sure to get on our mailing list, follow us on Twitter or Facebook or subscribe to our feed.
