Customer Reviews

Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese Making Kit

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Oh my goodness!
I called all of my friends. I can't believe it! I make my own cheese. It's so fast and so much fun and I can add all sorts of stuff to it. The key is the amount of time and the temp. at which you knead it. If you knead too long, it's more like regular mozzarella, (not the fresh kind) but still delicious. If you knead just the right amount of time, it's less dense and more like fresh mozzarella.
Seriously, you gotta make your own cheese. Who knew it was this easy.
I LOVE IT!

We had this kit sent to us while serving in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh, a place not known for its cheese. Mind you, I had dysentary and lost 20 lbs over 2 weeks (effective diet though I wouldn't recommend it). It made great raw cheese and I regained some of the poundage. ! Keep in mind that it is an art form so people that complain that its too hard or too soft normally have little experience. Once you get it right, its easy.

In terms of using the cheese for cooking, most Americans are used to using packaged cheese to make things like pizza. Fresh moz gives you a different texture that takes form getting used to; now I prefer it to every chain except Papa Johns (I have no idea why).

I will say that in order to make the best cheese, you need to have tough hands. After you get curds you have to super heat them and then knead. Instructions say to use spoons but for best results, I've found quick and senseless hands give smooth and creamy goodness.

My first attempt at making mozzarella was a great success! I can't believe how easy it was! Before the cheese cooled I rolled it into small bite sized boccocini, put them in a jar with some olive oil, basil, sun dried tomatoes and pepper flakes and let them marinade over night. It was wonderful! However, as other reviewers mentioned the cheese was tougher than the fresh mozzarella I was hoping for. I put in an order for some lipase powder which I hear makes a lighter, tastier mozzarella. I can't wait to try my second batch.

I love this kit. It conatins everything you need to start out with, although if you have a local cheese making supply near you you could just buy the stuff separately. I don't like the thermometer, but that's personal preference. I use my kitchen instant-read one instead. Ricotta is super easy, and I have had no problems with the fresh moz either. Once I tried making cheese with organic milk (it didn't say if it was ultrapasteurized on the label) and I couldn't get curds. I only use a local, nonorganic (but rBST free) brand now, and it always works perfectly. We are hooked, and cannot buy store-ready brands anymore!

A tip for straining the curds, though.... I've found that I waste less by just scooping them into a fine mesh metal strainer instead of the muslin cloth. It's easier to clean up also.

After buying this kit and realizing how insanely easy it is to make homemade cheese, I branched out and purchased cultures for buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, and some soft cheeses as well. It's a great way to get introduced to the process, and I highly recommend it!

This was my first attempt at making any type of cheese. I have made 10 batches since I started and have gotten mixed results. The first batch was so soft that when I cut it the sides bulged out and whey form droplets on the cheese (I didn't drain it long enough). The second batch was more like tasteless plastic, (I drained it too long and worked it too much.). I poured two batches down the drain because the curds didn't look like the pictures (I later learned that they would have still worked if I had put them in some cheese cloth and let them drain until they stopped dripping.)
I ordered some lipase powder and tried that for extra flavor. It works (just remember to use ½ tablet of rennet instead of ¼ recipe calls for).
Liquid smoke works if you like the smoky flavor in your Mozzarella. I used 1tsp per gallon of milk.
This kit does have everything you need to make Mozzarella and Ricotta except for the milk and a pot to heat the milk in. The instructions included in the kit are simple and illustrated and include some recipes for using the cheese once you make it. (Unless you eat it all before it even has a chance to cool).

I've made mozzarella several times now and the fresh cheese is wonderful! The "in 30 minutes" is a bit of an exaggeration though :P

We tried four times with different milk and could not make the mozzarella! It was a disaster- the cheese came out hard as a rock! But, the ricotta was a success!

This kit has everything you need for making mozzarella or ricotta cheese (cheese salt, rennet tablets, cheesecloth, thermometer and instruction booklet with quirky illustrations of Ricki the Cheese Queen and lots of cows)- and it works! I found my second effort worked better than the first, but that's to be expected. Be sure you have non-ultra-pasteurized milk and a non-aluminum pot big enough to hold a gallon of milk.

I bought this kit to use with my kids for a study of enzymes. My daughter couldn't wait to try it out and we made cheese for the first time today. The mozzarella turned out great. I will make some minor modifications in our method next time, but I have no complaints about the results.

I am overall happy with this cheese kit. But one thing disappointed me. A mercury-in-glass thermometer is not suitable for cheese making because a temperature scale does not show numbers between tens, i.e 10-20,20-30. And it is crucial for cheese making, as the instruction says (95, 135 degrees), to get the right temperature.