# Recipe for making regular mozzarella? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130 "2016-01-04T04:49:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/1 "2016-01-04T04:49:49Z")
Yes, a billion recipes for the very delightful fresh mozzarella. And I like fresh mozzarella very much. But fresh mozzarella and regular mozzarella (is there a word other than “regular”?) are different beasts. They taste very different, they have very different textures, and most of all, they have very different shelf lives! So anyone know of recipes for making home made “regular” mozzarella? ---
**Author:** ![windin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6f9a4e/32.png) [@windin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/windin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/2 "2016-01-04T04:52:59Z")
Go to [Chowhound.com](http://Chowhound.com) and go to their homecooking section. Ask there. They’ve always been very helpful. Actually, do a search there first. It may have already been answered and have a whole thread of suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/3 "2016-01-04T14:41:47Z")
What do you mean by “regular” mozzarella? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/4 "2016-01-04T14:50:00Z")
Yeah, what’s regular mozzarella? You need a Water Buffalo for some types. You can start with whole milk, whey, or just get curds. I don’t think there’s a generally regarded regular, but the fresh mozzarella style is most common for home-made. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/5 "2016-01-04T16:01:19Z")
She’s talking about low-moisture mozzarella, you know, the stuff that 95% of Americans think of when they hear “mozzarella.” I assume it needs to be pressed a bit, but that’s all I’ve got. I don’t have an actual recipe. ETA: Best I could find is [here](https://books.google.com/books?id=c7cacFl04bgC&pg=PA338&lpg=PA338&dq=homemade+%22low+moisture+mozzarella%22+pressed&source=bl&ots=avkkAT2NMN&sig=1pJ6SA5pGozicVKVYT7CvHuHCAw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiG37HhxJDKAhVGLSYKHe8nC2wQ6AEINzAE#v=onepage&q=homemade%20%22low%20moisture%20mozzarella%22%20pressed&f=false), but on a commercial level. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/6 "2016-01-04T16:07:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > She’s talking about low-moisture mozzarella, you know, the stuff that 95% of Americans think of when they hear “mozzarella.” Sorry, I should say "the stuff most Americans think of when they hear ‘mozzarella’ " without the “you know,” as I’m not necessarily speaking to an American audience. Mea culpa. It’s a drier, meltier form of mozzarella cheese, with a texture similar to something like a young provolone (well, maybe a little bit softer now that I think about it.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/7 "2016-01-04T16:12:43Z")
Pizza cheese is drier and saltier. Bacterial action isn’t required to make mozzarella but I believe it’s encouraged in pizza cheese to give it a stiffer texture. And it’s definitely a lot drier than fresh mozzarella to give it a longer shelf life. ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-for-making-regular-mozzarella/742130/8 "2016-01-04T17:03:20Z")
Do you mean low-moisture mozzarella, the stuff that’s generally used on nationwide chain pizza? I thought that it was just fresh mozz that had been salted and aged for some time. You can try just putting freshly made mozzarella in a cool brine (2 pounds non-iodized salt to 1 gallon water) for about an hour and then aging in a cool dry place (45 F). Just brining the cheese will probably extend its life though, if that’s the primary goal.