non-homogenized milk

I stand corrected, dairies will label their produce non-homogenized, if it is not. This it the top of a old-fashion two quart milk jug with a plastic handle. As you can see, it says Pasteurized-non homogenized on the cap. This came is several styles, I chose the kind with the cream on the top because I thought that would be better for cheese.

I went to Savory on Platte St. at 15th. It's near My Brother's Bar, the whole area is quite Yuppie in atmosphere. There's a Vitamin Cottage across 15th from My Brother's Bar. Everybody is so helpful and sweet. I parked in front of an upscale wine shop so I went inside and chatted it up with the owner. Then went over to savory to get citric acid and while there yakked it up with the whole staff. They love me in there, apparently, because it seems I know what I want. I love hanging out there, it's a very interesting shop. A guy could get totally lost in the world of spices. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, a big bag full, actually. Now, instead of chili powder, I have powder from specific types of chiles. You'll never find that in the spice aisle at the grocery, it's just too specific. Also their selection of curries is outstanding. They also have a fine selection of sea salts and various peppers. I also got more of the real-deal wasabi, and a big bag of sage, which I can not seem to keep around. The first thing I did when I got home was sprinkle some vindaloo

So. The non-homogenized milk was found at Whole Foods, and the citric acid was found at Savory. Two of my favoritest shops ever.

Naturally, I set right off on another batch of mozzarella. I'm a surprised how little curd comes out of milk and how much whey is left behind. At least now I know what that Little Miss Muppet rhyme is talking about. She was eating ricotta cheese moistened in the whey left over from making it. I think. What an odd thing to be eating, dontcha think? I took a toothpick and ran it through the veins of blue cheese I have on hand, the poked it into two of balls of mozzarella I made previously. That mozzarella is more dense than it's supposed to be, more like a hard cheese, so I wanted to see if I could inoculate it with blue mold from a commercial cheese. It's a long shot, but I wanted to see. I've been looking at cheese makers supply sites to see what they sell to give me an idea what people are up to. I'm surprised to see so many pages online on the subject and how many people have the same questions that I do. I think I'll buy a book. Right now I'm reading the reviews of the books at Amazon. A lot of times people say, "This book is OK, but this other book is better." I want to read them all before I get one. Also, I noticed the rennet that's broadly marketed has a bunch of non-rennet junk in it. I don't trust it. So that made me buy some pure liquid rennet from a place I found online. I'm glad I kept looking because I found a place that's really reasonable compared to all the rest. I love it when their price is the lowest, their quantity is the greatest and they include shipping in the cost. Yay!

The mozzarella I made is just a white ball like the previous three so I didn't photograph it. It worked fine, but it didn't work the way the pictures describe so I'll just keep trying and reading until I understand what's going on. The result is as good as any mozzarella I've bought.