Cheese Making

For years I have been making yogurt and a type of Arabic cheese called labne. It is quite easy to do and contrary to all the books I have checked out at the library-you do not need a silly yogurt machine to make the stuff. I just use a big pot, a gallon of organic whole milk and organic, plain yogurt for the starter. Pour the milk in the pot, bring milk almost to the boiling point, I stick my finger in it to check to be sure it is not too hot, then I add a huge spoonful of yogurt. If it melts, the milk is too hot. I let the milk cool down a bit. Then add the yogurt. I gently stir once or twice, put the lid on and cover it with a couple of tea towels. Sam laughs because I always put the pot under the buffet to sit overnight. It should set up and be ready in the morning. I then stick it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before we eat it or I strain it and make labne. Easy right? So should be cheese. At least that is what I think.

I found a recipe for 30 minute Mozzarella. Click on the link below for the instructions.
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/food-and-kitchen/cheese-making-14872.aspx#mozz

I am not a recipe or pattern or instruction follower. But I tried really hard on this one to follow every single detail. I got all my utensils out first and even had citric acid and vegetable rennet ready to go. I heated the milk to the right temperature. (first picture). I waited until the milk curdled and then squeezed out the whey. It was really hot! Then there is this whole technique about heating the curds and quickly kneading them so they become pliable. O.K. this did not happen with me. I kept heating and kneading and burning my hands. Heating, kneading, burning..Nothing. The stupid curds would not work with me. So I was not able to make mozzarella cheese, but ended up with this great tasting concoction that is tasty on crackers with tomatoes! If you try this and have better success, please let me know. I think I should have waited for the curds to jell up better before I removed them from the pot. I will do it again in a few weeks to see if I can figure out what went wrong.