Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese Making Kit

Great product and so easy to use! The mozzarella came out perfectly. Great instructions for a beginner.

I had started researching cheesemaking and decided to give this kit a go since it had everything I needed in one package. I literally just finished making the 30 minute mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. The mozarella is nestled in the fridge and the Ricotta is hanging from a cabinet knob.Both cheeses taste great, though I had hoped the yield of the ricotta would have been more.Now for the process. Easy but tedious. Stir, stir, stir. You might want to pull up a chair for this (I did). The 30 minute mozzarella was a little longer than that, but I forget to time it. All of the time is devoted to warming the milk. I guess it depends on your stove, the time can vary. I had two diffusers on the burner (natural gas) because my stove on the lowest setting can go from 0-boiling in no time and I didn't want to take that chance. Microwaving and pulling. Follow the directions and wear grilling gloves -- this stuff is HOT. I didn't follow the directions and wear gloves. I'm telling you to even though in Ricki doesn't in her 30 Minute Mozzarella video on youtube.For the ricotta, once again, stir, stir, stir. It took a while for the milk to reach 195F. Let it rest a little while and then spoon out the curd. You do not want to pour it out, those little guys are delicate. I used a mesh strainer like this one:HIC Brands that Cook Nylon Mesh Strainerhttp://amzn.com/B0042X9XAYI was able to pull all of the fine curd out of the whey in no time. I had tried and failed with a slotted ladle/skimmer.I didn't use the thermometer that came with the kit, instead, I opted to use one of my wireless digital meat probes.I don't understand why some reviewers had less than favorable results with this kit. They're doing something wrong or haven't read the instructions for different types of milk (the temperature, and citric acid measurements are different). I used plain old Tuscan whole milk I got on sale at Waldbaum's and everything turned out perfectly using the instructions and recipe provided in the kit (which I had seen a review where they said not to use the recipes because they are off. Nonsense, the recipes work).One thing I will say is that before you use the kit, watch some youtube videos (there are a bunch of 30 minute mozzarella) and go to Ricki's site cheesemaking.com (New England Cheesemaking Supply Company) -- there's a ton of useful info there along with the 30 Minute Mozzarella video.So, yes, I'll buy this again.

Got this from my mom, and am now buying it for my boyfriend's sister as a present. This cheese making kit is actually a really great gift to give someone who is mildly interested in either cheese or cooking at home. It's a little expensive considering that you can buy all of the ingredients separately in bigger quantities for less money, but I think that for a gift, a prepackaged gift like this is absolutely perfect. So I tried the cheese making kit for the first time about three weeks after my mom had given it to me, set out to do something inexpensive and fun at home rather than going out on a Friday night. I followed the instructions to a tee and...failed miserably. I figured I was a massive idiot, so I went to the interwebs and found a few YouTube videos to watch.After getting stuck in a YouTube vortex for quite a few hours I discovered something quite amazing, it wasn't me that was the problem! The instructions in this kit are not clear AT ALL, and in fact, they're written in a way that makes the process more difficult than it has to be. Okay, so anyway, after watching the videos again, I tried making mozzarella cheese again and...ta da--it came out delicious and mildly aesthetically pleasing. I was so excited by the results that I tried making ricotta the following night (this was one hair raiser of a weekend as you can tell) and that also came out pretty delicious. So, here's my review: four stars, because the products all work together when you do actually put them together, and the kit is really fun, but these damn instructions are written terribly.Update: I've continued on my journey to becoming a fromagère and have continued making cheeses since I originally posted this review. I have to say, while this cheesemaking kit is a really fun gift, you can totally buy the ingredients individually and get more bang for your buck. For example, I bought this Regency Natural Ultra Fine 100% Cotton Cheesecloth 9sq.ft, this Liquid Animal Rennet - 2 oz., this citric acid Citric Acid Powder - Ultra Fine Pure Powdered Crystals - Natural Preservative Food Grade Quality (16 oz) , and this Cheese Salt 8 oz., for about the same price BUT, I use the cheese salt for lots of other things (making pretzels for one) and the citric acid is my all purpose household product. It would have been cheaper all together had I purchased less of the citric acid, but I recently discovered its many uses and have been using it for making bath bombs, cleaning my garbage disposal, making fruit smoothies, AND kicking ass in the cheesemaking game.

Ricki's kit comes with everything you need to make great mozzarella, including the thermometer. Made my first batch this morning and it came out just fine. Some hints and tips:1. We live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We used Jilbert's pasteurized whole milk which I believe is produced in Marquette, MI, and it worked well.2. In step 4 of the instructions, stir gently while bringing the milk up to 90 degrees.3. In step 6 we left the pot undisturbed for 25 minutes instead of 5 minutes. This is consistent with some other instructions on the internet. Ended up with a perfect pot of curds and whey.4. Step 15 in the microwave method is critical. microwave for 30 seconds at a time, draining the whey, WHILE BRINGING THE TEMPERATURE UP TO 135 degrees. I microwaved and drained but wasn't checking the temperature. I had what appeared to be a crumbly mess that would not stretch and pull like taffy. Fortunately I was able to reheat it and end up with a reasonably decent product. In fact, a very good product.I formed the end result into two logs and cooled it in an ice water bath. Sliced off a couple of slices and it was excellent. Can't wait until tonight when we have some caprese sandwiches.