Homemade Burrata Cheese

Well, I launched myself down a rabbit hole again.  I found a recipe I wanted to make that called for burrata cheese.  And while I’d heard of it and knew it was a creamy cheese, that’s as far as my knowledge went.  I decided that I’d probably just use mozzarella in the recipe, but then decided to dig a little deeper to make sure mozzarella would be the best substitute for burrata.

And that’s when I found out the burrata is essentially mozzarella with more mozzarella inside of it.

Okay, it’s a bit more than that but not much.  Basically, fresh mozzarella ends up stuffed with Stracciatella, which is torn up fresh mozzarella mixed with cream.  Sooooo…..mozzarella stuffed with mozzarella.

And since I know how to make my own mozzarella, it was obvious that I could just make my own burrata.

It got a little tricky trying to figure out the stracciatella, since most recipes assumed that the mozzarella was already made and needed to be pulled into teeny tiny pieces to make the stracciatella filling.  Since I was already making the mozzarella, I decided to cut that step by removing some of the mozzarella curds and mixing it with the cream for the stracciatella step.  Is this the correct thing to do?  No clue, but it certainly worked for me and now I can share my way of making burrata at home!

Homemade Burrata Cheese

Adapted from Farm Steady

Mozzarella Base

½ gallon whole milk

¾ teaspoon citric acid diluted in 1 ½ tablespoons water

⅛ teaspoon rennet diluted in 1 tablespoon water

½ teaspoon salt

Stracciatella Cheese Filling

Adapted from Laura Loves to Cook

2 ounces curds (from mozzarella)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Pinch salt (if curds removed before salting)

Pour the milk into a large pot.  Stir in the diluted citric acid.  Heat over medium-low heat to 90 degrees F.

Stir in the diluted rennet.  Stir for 15 seconds.  Keep on heat for another 2 minutes undisturbed, then move off heat and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.

At the end of 15 minutes, the curds should have risen to the top, and the mixture should give slightly when pressed and be approximately the texture of gelatin.

Use a butter knife to cut the curd into 1-inch squares.  Line a colander set over a bowl with cheesecloth and pour the mixture through to separate the curds (solids) and whey (liquid).  Allow to drain for 5 minutes, then gently squeeze to remove the remaining whey.

Pour half the whey back into the pot and half into a bowl and add a handful of ice.  Heat the pot of whey to 180 degrees F.

Meanwhile, remove the curds from the cheese cloth and knead the teaspoon of salt into the curds, forming a rough ball that just barely sticks together.  

Remove 2 ounces of the curds.  Add the heavy cream and stir to mix. Set aside.

Divide the remaining curds into 4 portions.

Flatten a piece of curds onto a slotted spoon to dip into the hot whey for about 10 seconds.  Remove onto a heat proof cutting work surface and knead 3-4 times, then return to the spoon and hot whey.  Repeat 3-4 times or until the cheese stretches and creates a smooth ball.

Stretch the cheese into a disc.  Add ¼ of the stracciatella mixture and pinch to close.  Place the burrata balls into the cold whey to set.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Enjoy within 3 days.