Up until a few weeks ago I had been living under the impression that making your own pumpkin puree was hard. Like, so wildly hard that there was no reason to ever attempt it. Have you ever made pumpkin puree from scratch? I just didn’t see the reason to do it, and this coming from someone who has made her own butter. And then I was talking to one of my colleagues from work and everything changed.

We were talking about what we were going to make for the upcoming cake sale (where I made pumpkin butterscotch cookies), and we got to talking about cooking with pumpkin. She said she’d made a pumpkin pie once and that she had made her own puree. I was gobsmacked. And then we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: What?! You made the pumpkin puree?!

Her: Yeah, how else do you do it?

Me: Get it from a can!

And then we both looked at each other slightly confused. At least, that’s how I remember it.

Needless to say, after this conversation I felt a little silly. Why was I so dependent on a can? Where had I learned that making my own pumpkin puree would be so hard? Now I was determined to try it out for myself.

What I learned is, the hardest part of making your own pumpkin puree is ensuring that you don’t get attached to your pumpkin. I went to Waitrose with my friend Sarah and picked out what I thought was fine pumpkin. She pointed out it was ugly looking on one side. I said, “It’s fine, we’re going to eat it.” And then I got home and told Ryan I bought a pumpkin. He got excited and asked if we were going to carve it. “No,” I said, “we’re going to eat it.” A word of advice to you my friend: don’t name it, don’t carve it, don’t get attached to your pumpkin!

Even though I wasn’t carving the pumpkin, preparing the pumpkin for cooking starts much the same way. You slice off the top and then scoop out the insides. I cut the pumpkin in half before scooping out the insides. Save the seeds if you’re into that. Then cut your pumpkin in quarters and put on a roasting pan to then cook the slices in the oven. Put the slices in the oven plain – no seasoning or oil. This is so you have the purest pumpkin puree, which I think is really the reason to make this yourself. Sure, opening a can is easier but by making this yourself you’re getting the freshest ingredients with no unknown or unnecessary additives.

When choosing a pumpkin buy one on the smaller side. Save that big impressive gigantic pumpkin for carving. My research said that big pumpkins result in less flavor and a less pleasant texture. This guy here weighed 1.2 kg (2.64 pounds) and resulted in 393 grams (about 1 3/4 cups) of puree. This is probably just slightly less than what you’d get in a can from the super market. The end result was really tasty (because yes, I ate some plain with a spoon). It’s smooth, but less perfectly smooth than a can. I credit that with magical additives used in the canning factory plus also my food processor is mediocre.

What I like best about making my own pumpkin puree is how excited I am to use it. I am itching to make a pumpkin pie and I think I’ll be especially proud when the finish product is extra homemade.

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman.

Messy level: I am giving this four spoons only because I hate, hate, hate cleaning the food processor. It’s so many pieces and such a pain! Also, it’s a little messy in peeling the pumpkin. Some pieces of skin just peeled off, and some fought back a little. It was annoying, but it was a good excuse to taste test what was stuck to my hands.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

 

Print

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Serves: 1¾ cup

Ingredients

• 1 smallish pumpkin (or more depending on desired final amount)
• water, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Cut the top of the pumpkin off near the stem. About 1" of the top cut off is fine.
3. Cut the pumpkin in half.
4. Use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds and inner gunk. You can throw this away or set the seeds aside to roast if you like that.
5. Cut the cleaned pumpkin in half again so you have 4 pumpkin quarters.
6. Put the pumpkin quarters on to a roasting pan.
7. Roast the pumpkin for 45 minutes or until you can easily stick a fork into the flesh.
8. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let cool until you can safely handle them.
9. Use a knife, a peeler, or your hands to remove the pumpkin skin. It will mostly come off easily, and where it's difficult just use a peeler.
10. Put the pumpkin flesh into a food processor and blend until smooth. If you notice your pumpkin is too dry then you can add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have your desired consistency. (I added 2 tablespoons of water) If you're finding your pumpkin is too wet you can strain off some of that liquid after you're done with the food processor.
11. Transfer your pumpkin puree to a bowl if you're going to use immediately or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator if you'll be using it later.

3.3.3077

The post How to Make Pumpkin Puree appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Sushi we made during our class at Sur la Table

A trait I get from my father is that when I really want something, but maybe it’s a little frivolous, I take forever to actually jump in and do it. If Papa wants golf clubs or a new television, he’ll research characteristics and prices, he’ll go online and in stores, and he’ll talk about it. He’ll visit, and re-visit stores. And my mom will eventually say, “just buy it!!!”  But he needs to take his time. It’s what makes him feel comfortable. And I’m pretty much the same way. For a long time (like over 2 years, I’m embarrassed to say) I hemmed and hawed over a sushi making class. I wanted to go, but it seemed a little expensive and unnecessary. I mean wouldn’t it be too hard? Wasn’t class too expensive? Would I ever really make it at home? Why did I even want to make sushi? Who would I go with? And so I thought about it. And I researched which places had classes, and I price compared, and menu compared. I did this when I lived in DC, then when I lived in NYC, and then again when I moved back to the DC area. And then, as can be expected, I never signed up. But I talked about it and thought about it a lot. So, I’ve inherited this trait and now Ryan has to deal with my crazy inaction.

And like my Mom, who tells Papa to just buy it, Ryan gave me the push I needed. He suggested to Santa that I might want a cooking class for Christmas. And, Santa, Ryan and my parents came through.  (The same also happened for blooming tea, which I talked about and researched to death, and then my family finally bought it for me and I now have 4 different kinds of blooming tea).

For a Christmas gift my parents bought me a gift certificate to Sur la Table and I used it to sign up for sushi class (after repeatedly asking Ryan if we really should do that class over something else). No more thinking and planning, I was going to make sushi! And I’m happy to say, the class was totally worth it. Thanks Mama and Papa! Is making sushi at home faster or cheaper? No, it’s not. But is it more awesome? Absolutely. And shouldn’t we make the world more awesome? Yes. Now go watch the Kid President (who also wants to make the world more awesome) video I just embedded so you can feel awesome. No wait, finish reading my blog first.

Silicone sushi mat

Ryan and I finally went to class at Sur la Table in February and we made spicy tuna and salmon rolls, and a veggie hand roll. It was much easier to assemble and create than we expected. And after class I called my parents to gush about how fun and amazing it was. And we had so much fun, and so much success that we bought a sushi mat after class. There were two options for sushi mats: bamboo and silicone. Bamboo is the traditional option, but to use it at home you need to cover it with plastic wrap. According to our instructor, bamboo mats are easy to ruin and difficult to clean, which is why you need the plastic wrap. Silicone mats are modern and don’t look as nice, but you don’t need plastic wrap and  you can clean the mat in the dishwasher. We went with the silicone mat.

Prior to class, making sushi seemed like one of those secret mysteries that must be hard to put together. And real sushi masters, I’m sure, do much more complicated things with their ingredients and rolls. But for the average home cook, sushi at home is a possibility. Then, a few after the class our friends Steve and Jess came to visit and suggested we take a crack at making sushi at home. Steve and Jess are great friends to have visit. They’re easy going, but also up to try different things. The main goal being just to have a nice weekend. They’d been to DC before, so were open for less site-seeing and instead  welcomed a weekend of eating and drinking in Arlington. And for us, an eating weekend is becoming the norm. When they visited in New York we spent the whole weekend taking them out for pizza, ramen, and to drink boots of beer in dingy dive bars. Anyway, back in Arlington, we took them to El Chilango, a great Mexican food truck, and to Bayou for beignets. But the highlight was definitely spending the afternoon together making up sushi combinations and gorging ourselves on what we’d put together. It’s a great way to have an adventure and catch up with old friends. Also, making sushi at home allows you to  customize your rolls and create something that’s both delicious and brag-worthy.

I’ve made sushi once more since they came to visit and took more step-by-step pictures that hopefully will help be a guide if you decide to make sushi yourself. I’ll try to be as straightforward as possible, but some things need explanation and stories to show what to do. But I hope you decide to take on sushi at home. It’s a fun activity and even if it doesn’t come out perfectly, it will still taste delicious.

My focus in this post is mostly on the way to make sushi. I’ll leave fillings mostly up to you, but I have included a recipe for spicy tuna. This is sort of a long post, so let’s get started.

Sushi Rice:

Ingredients –

1 1/2 cups short grain rice (You can also buy rice called “sushi rice.” So far, every short grain rice I’ve found also had “sushi rice” written on the packaging)

Rice Vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

2 teaspoons coarse salt

Directions – 

Note – Sushi rice is seasoned! It’s not just plain white rice. The basic instructions are first you cook the rice, then you let it cool a bit, then you season it, then cover the rice to keep it moist. Also, this amount of rice will make about 6 rolls, which equals about 36 pieces.

1. Using a fine mesh strainer, rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. This might take 2-5 minutes. Using your hands to gentle turn and move the rice so you can make sure all the rice is being rinsed off. This step removes excess starch from the rice.

2. Cook the rice according to package directions.

3. While rice is cooking, mix the vinegar seasoning. In a small bowl stir vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Or mostly dissolved, I have a hard time getting the coarse salt to dissolve all the way. Set bowl aside.

4. Once rice is cooked, remove the pot from the heat, let it stand covered for 5 minutes so the rice can cool.

5. Using a large flat spoon (you can also buy a traditional paddle in stores) gentle transfer the rice to a large platter. Traditionally a wood platter is used. In the classroom the instructor used a rimmed baking sheet. I used a glass Pyrex dish. Throughout this whole process you will probably need to rinse your spoon occasionally as rice gets stuck to it.

6. Once the rice is transferred, use your spoon to gently fold the rice over in your dish. This is giving it air so the rice cools a bit. While folding, fan the rice. (Sushi kits often come with fans, but I just used a stiff piece of paper). You want your rice to be cool enough that it doesn’t wilt or melt the nori when they come into contact. But you don’t want it so cold that the rice loses its stickiness. You want the rice to be “tepid,” according to my instructions from Sur la Table. Room temperature is fine, but if it’s a little warm that’s ok. If it’s a little warm the nori might get wrinkly (I had that happen) but the roll can still be made.

7. When the rice is the right temperature pour the vinegar mixture 1 tbsp at a time over the rice. You might not use all the vinegar mixture. You want to distribute the vinegar mixture evenly. Use your spoon to gently fold the rice and coat it all with the vinegar. Continue this until the rice has a sheen.

8. Cover the rice with damp paper towels. You can also use a kitchen towel, but the instructor said that detergent scents and flavors can be transferred through cloth, so paper towels can be preferable.

Fillings:

1. Chop up vegetables into matchsticks. I used red peppers, carrots, radishes, and cucumbers. You can really use whatever vegetables you like. Heck, use whatever you like – string cheese, Twizzlers, pretzel sticks. All of those things could easily be in matchstick form.

Spicy Tuna:

I think the part that makes people nervous about making sushi at home is buying the fish. How do we know what will be good? Am I going to get sick? I can’t make you any promises about the fish you buy, but I can tell you what I know. Our instructor at Sur la Table said that “sushi grade fish” means that it is fish that has been frozen down to a certain temperature so that bacteria will be killed. She said you can ask at the fish counter about what they recommend to use in sushi. She also said some sushi bars, and sushi bars in grocery stores, will also sell you fish.

Ryan, Steve, Jess, and I went to Whole Foods. I asked the man behind the fish counter what we could use for sushi. He told me that he wasn’t allowed to recommend any of the fish for sushi, but that people do it all the time, and in Europe this fish would be considered ok for sushi. So the four of us looked at each other and decided were were going to go for it anyway. We also went to the sushi counter at Whole Foods and I had the most ridiculous conversation where neither the lady nor I understood the other.

Me: Do you have fish we could use to make sushi?

Lady at the Sushi Counter: This is sushi

Me: No, no. I want to make it at home. What fish can I use?

Lady at the Sushi Counter: Sushi is here. You can eat this.

Anyway, I walked away and we bought the salmon and tuna from the fish counter and none of us got sick. Now back to the recipe.

Ingredients: 

4 oz yellow fin tuna

1 tbsp Sriracha

1 – 1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise (If you can find Japanese mayo – which I can’t! – use that)

1/2 tsp mirin (it’s a liquid and you can find it in grocery store in the “ethnic food” section)

1-2 tbsp finely chopped green onions (more or less to taste)

1 tsp lemon zest

Instructions:

1. For the sauce, mix the ingredients together. Taste. If it’s too hot put in more mayo. Not hot enough, add some Sriracha. Based on my research, basic spicy tuna sauce includes hot sauce, mayo, mirin, and green onions. Mix those basic ingredients to your liking and you’ve got sauce.

2. For the tuna, remove any tough sinewy parts of the fish. In the picture below I’m holding a tough sinewy part. In between the tuna layers there is sinew, but you only really need to remove what is tough (and therefore what would be hard to chew). You can tell what’s tough because when you try to cut, you’ll have some resistance against your knife. There are two ways to remove the sinew. #1 Use a knife and cut the tuna into cubes. You can cut around the tough bits  pretty easily #1 Use a spoon to scrape off the layers of tuna. This will scrape the meet from the sinew and give you small pieces of tuna.

3. Once you’ve removed the tough parts what you want it small pieces of tuna. You can do this by cutting the tuna into small pieces or by scraping the meat using the spoon.

4. Mix the tuna with the sauce. Set aside until you’re ready to fill your roll.

Making the Roll:

Make sure you have a spacious work area. Within your reach you’ll need a sushi mat, nori, the rice, cut up veggies, fish, knife, damp towel, and bowl of water. The first time we made this at home we made an epic mess. The second time I used my giant cutting board as a work space. This way I could spill, drop rice, and make rolls without getting stuff all over my table. To gush for a second, I’m crazy for my huge cutting board. I got it from the Container Store and it’s 20″x15″. Huge rights? It’s great because there’s space for EVERYTHING. Space for cutting, space for what’s on deck to be cut, space for what’s already been cut, and space for the bits that need to be discarded. Sure it doesn’t really fit in the sink, but it does fit in the dishwasher. Gush over. Let’s get rolling.

Sushi rolling set up

1. Place your sushi mat in front of you.

2. Put a piece of nori, shiny side down, on the sushi mat. The bottom of the nori and bottom of the sushi mat should be aligned. The nori is likely perforated. You want the perforation to be parallel to you. You also may want to break off 1 to 1.5 lines so you don’t have too much nori. I like to break off a bit of nori because it had a chewy mouth feel and I don’t want more of that.

3. Using the bowl of water lightly wet your hands. You want a light sheen on your hands. This is so the rice won’t stick to you too much.

4. Grab a baseball size ball of rice and put it in the middle of the nori. Using your fingers gently spread the rice across the nori. You want a thin layer of rice. Grab more rice and fill in any holes so that your whole nori sheet it covered.  If your hands are getting too covered in rice, use the bowl of water to wipe off the rice.

Jess spreading her rice

5. If you want nori on the outside of your finished roll move on to the next step. If you want rice on the outside of your roll, flip the nori over. Now the rice will be touching the sushi mat and the nori will be facing you. About 1/3 of the way up the nori from you, put a thin layer of rice.

6. Place the fillings about 1/3 of the way up the nori (if you are doing rice on the outside, you’re putting your filling on the thin layer you just made in the previous step). Layer your fillings parallel to you. Try not to go crazy, it’s easy to overfill.

This is an example where the nori will be on the outside of the finished roll

7. Put your thumbs under the sushi mat. Put the rest of your fingers on the fillings. Hold the fillings in place as you use your thumb to pull the edge of the sushi mat up and over the fillings. Press gently. What you are doing is creating a seal and locking the fillings in the roll.

8. Check on your roll to make sure it’s sealed. Then, gentle pull the sushi mat over the roll again, but this time keep pulling so you’re rolling the entire sheet of nori. You should not have a log of sushi.

Sushi rolled is sealed! Now to roll it all the way over. This is an example with rice on the outside of the roll.

9. Using a sharp knife cut the sushi into six pieces. You will likely need to use the damp cloth to wipe your knife between cuts. The knife will get very sticky from the rice and fish. I like to cut the middle first, then cut each half in thirds. Your end pieces might be a little sad and have things falling out. All you have to do it take some extra rice or fillings and stuff it in there to look nice. It’s your roll, in your house, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.

You can see the end piece is falling out a bit. I just shoved everything back in and placed it cut side up. Then you can’t tell it’s messy.

10. EAT IT! You earned it! Hope it’s delicious.

Messy Level: High. At least the first time, this was an epic mess. I’m sure professional chefs have this down to a science, but not so for me the at-home cook. The first time we had spills, rice, and soy sauce all over the table. The second time we were less messy,  but there were still a lot of dishes. Making sushi takes a lot of utensils, plates, paper towels, and ingredients. It’s another reason why you should make sushi in a group because then you have help cleaning up. Also, if you stay away from spicy tuna and stick to just plain, non-saucy fish you’ll probably have less clean up.

The post Sushi at Home appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Cheese from Rome and a little key chain for scale

Ryan and I have been crazy about mozzarella since we studied abroad in Rome (we were there at different times). What’s crazy fancy and expensive here in the states is all over the place (and not expensive) in Italy. My roommate and I would buy huge balls of mozzarella at the grocery store and then eat it with a fork as an afterschool snack. It was creamy, gooey, salty, and terribly indulgent. Who just eats a ball of cheese for a snack? Answer, cheese lovers and twenty-year-old girls.

Anyway, the first time I thought about actually making cheese myself, in my own kitchen, with my own hands was after I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I love this book and think pretty much everyone should read it. The book is about Kingsolver and her family’s decision to spend a year living in a rural area and they will only eat local foods or foods they produce. They do allow for some exceptions and the book is about their adventures, mishaps, and challenges. For story alone, it’s a book that’s funny, heartwarming, and captivating. If you’re in to seasonal, local foods and cooking this book is even better. There are great recipes broken up by season and they are so easy and delicious.

One of the recipes is for mozzarella, but the first time I read it I was intimidated. I’d have to order specific ingredients (rennet and citric acid) and I needed a stainless steel pot. I decided it was too much and too hard. But the idea didn’t leave that if I wanted to, I could do it at home.

So, a few weeks ago I was lusting after this and that on Williams-Sonoma’s website when I saw they had a ricotta-mozzarella cheese making kit for $25 that included everything I needed. I thought it would be fun for Ryan and I to try it, so I bought it! And then I read the instructions…

I had forgotten about the stainless steel pot! I told Ryan we couldn’t make the cheese yet because we needed a specific pot – because apparently aluminum and cast iron (the only pots we have!) can be reactive with the cheese.

Ryan asked, “Don’t we have a stainless steel pot?”

Me, “We did… but I donated it.”

Oops. Flash back to 8 months ago, we were getting married, moving, and had just gotten a great set of fancy, high-quality pots. We didn’t need our cheap old pots anymore, or so I though, so I donated them. Sigh, bad move.

So then, I asked  Ashley, my neighbor and friend, if I could borrow a pot from her. We bartered and I took her pot and she took my kitchen chairs – and I thought I was on my way. But no, the pot wasn’t big enough.  I went to Target and bought a new cheap stainless steel pot that looks almost exactly the same as the old one. Now we were in business.

Before we started I asked Ryan if he thought it would come out well. He said no, and I had to agree. I didn’t think it was going to be mind blowing cheese either. And it wasn’t. But don’t get discouraged, I did eventually have cheesy success.

Making cheese is one of those things that takes practice. We were nervous and didn’t want to ruin it so we followed the provided recipe to the letter. And sometimes, reading it too closely causes anxiety. What does it mean when it says heat it and fold it as little as possible? Had we over worked it? Had we worked it enough? It didn’t look right, but should we work with it more? Is there a point where it’s irrevocably ruined? The first time, we just didn’t know.

Also, we didn’t know what it should look like or shouldn’t look like. It’s hard to know if you’re doing it right if you don’t know what doing it right looks like. The Williams-Sonoma kit directions were mostly fine and we were successful up until the point we had to work with the curds out of the pot. Our finished product ended up crumbly and a little lumpy. The texture was more like ricotta than mozzarella. Even though it tasted fine we were a bit disappointed. Ryan always tells me that we can’t expect it to be right the first time.

Our slightly lumpy first attempt

But I could tell that we were so close to doing it right. The next day I looked up the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle recipe and it was pretty similar to the Williams-Sonoma recipe, but it had more directions on what the cheese should look like and feel like at each step. As well, because I had done this wrong once before I was a little less gentle and a little more fearless this time. Finally, Barbara Kingsolver’s recipe is a little more encouraging, telling me to keep going, keep heating, keep folding, until I got it right.

And got it right I did. It became a smooth ball, with the right texture, and the right flavor. And it’s good cheese. I’ve been having it for lunch every day since. Be advised, the cheese is good but it’s not high-quality fancy imported good. It delightful and impressive to guests and should be made – but don’t give up yet on the store bought stuff.

Even so, Ryan and I are one tiny step closer to our cheese empire dream. We may never be international cheese mongers, but now at least we can share our creations with friends and family. And who knows, maybe we will come up with something new and exciting.

For the recipe below, I’ll try to right it as straightforward as possible but I warn you that it will be a little anecdotal. I want to tell you what we did at each step and how I think we did well or could have improved. This recipe is really a mix of Williams-Sonomas and Barbara Kingsolver’s. Blending the two is what I found worked best. Happy cheesing.

Ingredients:

Large stainless steel pot

Kitchen Thermometer

Non-wooden slotted spoon

~ 2 quart microwaveable bowl

1 ½ cups cool water

¼ tablet rennet (Barbara Kingsolver used ¼ tsp liquid rennet)

1 ½ tsp citric acid

1 gallon pasteurized whole milk (I’m told you can use 2% or whatever you like, but that it’s easier with whole. And DO NOT get ultra pasteurized milk because it won’t work)

1 ½ tsp cheese salt (more or less to taste)

Herbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour ½ cup of the water into a small bowl. Dissolve the rennet tablet in the water
2. Pour remaining 1 cup of the water into another small bowl. Dissolve the citric acid
3. Pour the milk into a large pot. Heat on low-medium heat until it reaches 55°
4. Pour in the citric acid solution. Stir occasionally with the slotted spoon.
5. When the milk reaches between 88-90° slowly stir in the rennet solution. Use an up and down motion to stir this together. Stir for about 15-30 seconds.
6. Heat until it reaches 105°. You should begin to see it curdle and the early formation of curds and whey. The curds are the white more solid looking pieces. The whey is the yellowish liquid. If the curds look like yogurt then gently stir the mixture for about a minute. If the curds look like clumps of melty cheese it’s time for the next step!
7. Using the slotted spoon move the curds to the large bowl. Now the first time I did this, Ryan and I just used the slotted spoon to move the curds. It took forever, the curds were slippery, and a lot of whey was still in the bowl. Also because it took so long I think the temperature of the curds went too low and that led to our failure. The second time I did this, I used the slotted spoon to move the big pieces of curds. Then I used a fine mesh sieve and poured the contents of the pot through the sieve. The curds that got caught in the sieve I moved to the large bowl.
8. Now there will likely be whey in your bowl. Gently press on the curds to squeeze out more whey. Pour out the extra whey so you have just curds. To do this, Ryan and I put a lid on the bowl and strained out the whey. Still, some stubborn whey was left behind. Then what I did was hold the curds back with my hand and tip the bowl over the sink and pour out the whey. This gave me greater success and flexibility because I was able to tip the bowl further and get more out.
9. Microwave the curds on high for one minute. Note: There is a method of making cheese using the leftover whey, but I haven’t tried it so won’t be including that information
10. Take the curds out of the microwave and knead the mixture. This should push out some more whey. You might want to do this with spoons or while wearing rubber gloves because it gets hot. I was a beast and did it barehanded. Yes, I am challenging you do be as awesome as me.
    

    The curds after removing the whey and doing some kneading

11. Pour out any whey
12. Microwave two more times for 35 seconds. After each microwave, knead the mixture and pour out excess whey.
13. Add the salt and herbs if you are using them. Knead them into the mixture so they are spread throughout.
14. Knead and pull the cheese until it’s smooth and elastic. It should be stretchy like taffy. If it’s not stretchy, and instead crumbly repeat step 12 until you can stretch it. Williams-Sonoma said the right temperature for this is 135°. Barbara Kingsolver said it was 175°. I found I was able to stretch at 135-140°. And this is the reason why making cheese well must take practice because you can’t always adhere doggedly to the directions, sometimes you have to go by what looks and feels right.
15. Once the cheese is smooth and maybe a bit shiny roll it into one or more balls. You can eat it immediately or put it in the fridge for up to a week!

Congrats you made cheese!! Before I made cheese I had a few friends ask me why I would make cheese. I love cheese. It’s in my top #5 favorite foods (pasta, chocolate, strawberries, cheese and I’m not sure about the fifth). I told Ryan and he said, “why make anything?” Today we can go out for every kind of food we want. Why make anything? Because it’s fun. It’s nice to spend time together. It’s fun to experiment and have an adventure. It’s a good chance to be creative. It’s fun to share. Why do you make things?

Messy Level: Medium. Scooping out the curds leads to whey spillage. Also, all the pouring out of whey, kneading, and folding leads to hands covered in cheese goop. It’s not a crazy mess by any means, but there will be flecks of curds and whey in weird places on the stove, sink, and floor.

The post Make Your Own Mozzarella appeared first on Cooking is Messy.