I made some mozzarella again today and I noticed that one half came out pretty tough. I've watched some videos on making mozzarella and it always comes out elastic and really shiney on the video. I think my trouble comes when I go to microwave it. I took half the curds and microwaved for 1 minute like directions said. I salted and worked it, then microwaved again for about 20 seconds. It would not smooth out at all and it was pretty squishy when I worked it. I made a ball and put in ice water. The water got pretty milky looking. Afterwards I tasted and it was tough and no longer salty. Did I end up cooking it instead of heating it up? The second half turned out much better, I didnt microwave so long. Still not as smooth as it should be I think but tastes good. Anyone have any tips?
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20 drops of rennet is 1/4 tsp, so that should have worked if it was regular rennet. Double-strength is usually labeled as such. A year old isn't that old.
I don't see why it would not be okay to keep citric acid in the frig, but you don't need to do that.
Based on your second description -- you could see the folds -- it actually sounds like you didn't microwave it for long enough. And if the water was really milky, that would mean you didn't work out enough of the whey. My husband can usually get away with microwaving it only once or twice, but I usually have to do it 2-3 times -- one minute first time, then 30 seconds the second time, and sometimes another 30 seconds. I know I need to do it a third time if it is not stretching and if whey is still squirting out when I squeeze it and it is cooling off and getting hard to work. If your microwave doesn't get very hot, you might even need to do it more than this.
I used a recipe that calls for 1 1/4 tsp citric acid and 1/4 tsp of rennet per gallon of milk. It does seem that it isnt very elastic. I added more rennet this last time since it is about a year old. Maybe its time to break open the new bottle. I get it from Hoeggers Supply and it doesnt say on the bottle what strength it is. Is it okay to keep citric acid powder in the fridge? That's good to know about the microwave, I dont know why the first half of the batch turned out that way. It looked real dry and you could see all the seams where you folded it in on itself.
I've overheated mozz BADLY, and it turned out fine. Of course it had to happen when I was teaching a class. Turned out the microwave timer wasn't working, and one of the students finally said something as it was approaching two minutes! It was quite melted, but it actually stretched very easily, and the whey worked out of it faster then normal. I didn't even heat it a second time. I am wondering if you have the correct amounts of citric acid and/or rennet. Did you use 1/2 tablespoon of citric acid? The water does get a little milky when you put the mozz in it, but if you didn't use enough citric acid, your yield will be really low. Tough cheese or cheese that doesn't melt and stretch is usually caused by not enough rennet or old rennet. I use 10 drops double strength rennet for a gallon of goat milk, which would be 20 drops regular rennet.