Scamorza (Aged Mozzarella)

I have made mozzarella for the better part of 15 years, but just a few years ago, I learned about scamorza, an aged mozzarella. ( Read more here: https://spiritedrose.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/in-love-with-scamorza-cheese/ )

If you’re looking for a quick but exciting fresh slicing cheese, give scamorza a try!

SCAMORZA RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 gallons raw whole milk (Our milk is at minimum 5% butterfat. I do not like skim milk mozzarella. If using skimmed or milk from cows with lower components, you could add 1/4 – 1/2 cup cream to increase the creaminess of the final product.) 
  • 1/4 tsp thermophilic culture (I used Thermo B)
  • 1/8 tsp mesophilic culture (I used MA4001)
  • 1/16 tsp lipase (optional, I used calf lipase for a milder taste) dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water
  • scant 1/2 tsp calf rennet (1.5-2 ml) diluted in 1/4 cup cool water.
  • 1/4 cup salt, approximately

STEPS:

  1. Use fresh, warm milk or gently heat milk to 80-90°F
  2. Add cultures. Sprinkle on top, let hydrate for a minute or two, then stir into the milk gently for a minute or two.
  3. Warm milk to 95°F. Turn off heat and cover pot with a thick towel.
  4. After 30 minutes, add lipase and gently stir in.
  5.  After another 30-60 minutes, check temperature and adjust to 90°F. The pH should drop slightly here (to about 6.4). pH strips are what I use, but I’ve found it just as effective at the homestead level to smell the milk – by the time I add rennet, I want the milk to just start smelling “cheesy”.
  6. Add rennet by slowly pouring in as you stir. Stir for only 15 seconds, then swiftly slow the movement with your spoon. Cover pot with towel. Let set around 30 minutes.
  7. When the curd cuts clean, cut into 3 pieces, turn 90° and cut into 3 pieces again. Scamorza is a little different than regular mozzarella (from my reading, I’ve gleaned this…) in that the initial cuts are larger. Let set 10-20 minutes.
  8. Gradually increase temperature to over cow body temperature (101.5°F) while stirring occasionally and breaking the curd into smaller, even-sized pieces. I increase to 104-107°F – the temperature needs to get high enough for the thermophilic cultures to activate. Reach the temperature in around 15 minutes.
  9. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot. Let the curds settle and ripen.
  10. After an hour, check the curd – the pH should be around 6.0 If higher, continue to let set. If lower, immediately proceed to next steps. In my experience, the pH is more likely to be slow to drop – I’ve been using fresh milk out of the cow, so likely a bit higher initial pH.
  11. Pour off most of the whey, leaving just enough to cover the curds. Flip the curd every 30 minutes and check pH until it drops to below 5.4.
  12. If lacking pH measurements, no worries, you can check the pH by testing the curd during stretching. I do this step even when using pH strips (which are not super-exact-accurate). Warm water to 170°F. Pull off a small piece of curd and set in a bowl. Gently add the hot water to the bowl, pouring to the side of the curd. Stretch curd like you’re making a mini mozzarella ball. Does the curd stretch easily, align smoothly into a pizza-cheese-like stretch? If yes, then proceed to stretch all the curd. If still lumpy or tough, allow the cultures in the curd to work longer – check in another 30 to 60 minutes.
  13. When the curd is properly acidified, stretch the curd in 1 gallon of 170°F water. Stretch just as long as it takes to smooth the curd into one solid mass.
  14. Then separate into 2-3 pieces and form the scamorza shape – like a snowman with a fat body and a small head. Immerse into a bowl of cool water with a little salt added. (1 tsp salt per cup of water, for example.)
  15. Once the curds have cooled and firmed, I prefer to salt by dry salting instead of using a brine. It’s simple: I sprinkle or roll the cheese in salt – enough salt to cover all the surfaces fairly thickly. Then I wrap the ball in a cheesecloth or thin cotton towel.
  16. Hang by the neck to age for 2-3 days. When attempting this recipe initially, I would take down a sample each day to test the saltiness of the cheese, texture, and flavor. I found that by initially dry salting one time, that was the perfect amount of salt.
  17. Brush off any excess salt flakes. Store in the fridge in a breathable container (I use glass pyrex with a glass lid). The cheese should remain fresh for 2-3 weeks. In most cases, the cheese never lasts that long as it’s quite addicting to eat!