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Ingredients:

Yield: about 1 lb. of cheese

kosher Salt
2 gallons water
1 lb. fresh mozzarella curd

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot add the water and enough kosher salt until it tastes like saltwater.
   
2. Bring the water to a simmer and remove from heat.
   
3. While waiting for water, Mozzarella curd needs to be shaved with a knife into thin layers. Place curd into a bowl.
   
4. When water is ready, ladle over the shaved curd, just enough to cover.
   
5. Allow curd to warm before you begin forming your mozzarella.
   
6. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until the curd begins to pull (it should have string-like affect).
   
7. Work quickly with the curd to achieve a consistent silken texture.
   
8. Hold the cheese in the bowl with wooden spoon and pour off excess water.
   
9. Take the cheese in your hands and begin to fold under itself creating a round shape of desired size.
   
10. Pinch between your thumb and index finger, place fresh mozzarella in a bowl of cool water, continue this process until all the fresh mozzarella is formed.

Mozzarella Curd

• Mozzarella curd is fresh and therefore perishable.
  
• The curd needs to be kept refrigerated 34-40 degrees. It normally has a shelf life of two to three weeks in its original sealed packaging.
  
• If there is a need to freeze the curd, this is possible, but the key is to thaw the cheese slowly in the refrigerator.
  
• Once opened, the cheese should be stored in a tightly sealed container with the water it was packaged in. Refrigerate.
  
• A great source for where to buy the curd is Egg Farm Dairy — their email address is www.creamery.com. In fact, they also provide a kit for making your own Mozzarella.
  
• Rennet is an enzyme that is used in cheese making — it's added to coagulate and curdle the milk, which will form the cheese.
  
• Rennet comes from the stomach lining of cows and occasionally pigs, and there is also vegetarian rennet, made from specific fungi and bacteria.

Chef's Note: Michael Chiarello's mention of vitamin C or rennet in the show referred to the water remaining from making fresh mozzarella. By slightly heating this liquid and then adding vitamin C or rennet to this solution, Ricotta cheese can be produced.