August 11, 2009

The train from Chicago is due to arrive in Sandusky at 3:55 a.m. and Jennifer and Katie should get home around 5:30 if it is on time (lol, we're talking about Amtrak).

Today, the boys and I made quick mozzarella and dill pickles.

Here is the mozzarella curd in the pot. This "quick" mozzarella is set with citric acid and rennet. Traditional mozzarella has a much longer ripening time to develop the acidity. The recipe is called "30-minute mozzarella" but it takes us longer than 30 minutes, probably closer to an hour. As soon as my acid titration kit (for testing pH) arrives in the mail I want to try the traditional recipe.

Here are the pickles. The recipe is simple for 1 quart: cucumbers, tablespoon of good salt, small handful of pickling spices, dill, garlic clove (optional), 1/4 cup whey, water to cover. The whole pickles will ferment at room temperature for 3 days and the slices for two before moving to cool storage. If the temperature of our kitchen was lower I would leave them longer at room temp but it's about 80 degrees in there. In the background of the photo is my jar of kombucha and in the foreground is the swiss cheese I made the weekend before last. It has developed a rind and is inside now to develop the eyes, thanks to the propionic shermani.