Say Cheese .... 30 minute Mozzarella

I Love, Love, Love Cheese.  Cabot's Hunter's Seriously Sharp Cheddar, Munster, Mozzarella, Goat Cheese, etc. I could just keep going.  A few years ago I purchased Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll.  My recommendation is start with the soft cheeses because:
1. They are easier
2. You don't have to wait that long to eat them
3. The equipment is minimal (no need for a cheese cave, although it would be really cool.... if you had a cheese cave what would you name it?)




Ingredients:
1 1/2 level tsp citric acid dissolved in 1/2 cup of cool water
1 gallon of pasteurized milk (no ultra pasteurized-won't work)
1/4 tsp liquid rennet (animal or vegetable) diluted in 1/4 cup of cool water
1 tsp of salt (optional)

Directions:
Heat milk up over low/medium heat.  When the milk reaches 55F, mix in the citric acid solution.
Once the milk reaches 90F stir in the diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion and heat till the milk reaches 100-105 F.
Turn off the heat.  The curds should be pulling away from the sides of the pot (3-5 minutes).  The curds should look like thick yogurt and have some shine to them.  If the whey (liquid) is still milky white, let it stand a bit longer.

Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon into a microwaveable bowl. Pressing the curds, pour off as much whey as you can.  (reserve the whey).

Microwave the curds on high for 1 minute. Drain the whey, and gently kneed/fold over the cheese with your hand or spoon.

Microwave the curds two more times for 30 seconds following the same directions above.  You can add salt after the second time you microwave the cheese.
As you kneed the cheese, it turns into a smooth texture.

Now you can either consume it immediately (very hard to resist),  or you can shape it into balls and put it in cold water to cool it down and then refrigerate. 

The whey you have left over is perfect to use as soup stock. You can either use immediately, put it into the fridge for a week, or freeze it for future soups.