Step 1

Mix 1 ½ teaspoons of citric acid with one cup of lukewarm water, stir until dissolved, and set aside.

Step 2

Mix ¼ teaspoon of liquid rennet or crushed rennet tablet with ¼ cup of tepid water and set aside.

Step 3

Pour the gallon of milk into the stockpot and add the citric acid mixture. Stir well and heat over med-low heat. Stir gently every few minutes until the milk reaches 90 degrees. Remove the milk from the heat.

Step 4

Add in the rennet mixture and stir gently for 30 seconds. Cover the milk and let the rennet do its magic for five minutes.

Step 5

After five minutes, curd should form. You can test by slipping the wooden spoon in at the edge of the pot. The curd should pull away from the side, kind of like milk gelatin. If it’s still a liquid, cover the pot again and let it sit for another five minutes.

Step 6

Once your curd is set, take your knife or spatula and make slices, all the way to the bottom of the curd in a cross-hatch pattern.

Step 7

Place the pot back over the heat, set to low, and bring the curds up to 105 degrees. You want to stir them occasionally being very gentle. Try not to break up the curds.

Step 8

Remove the pot from the heat and let it stand for about 5-10 minutes. Put a sieve or strainer over a bowl and using the large slotted spoon scoop out the curds and into the sieve. Gently press the curds down to squeeze out the whey. Once you’ve removed all of the curds to the strainer, let them drain for about 10 minutes. At this point, the curds will mostly be in one large mass. Remove the curd to a clean cutting board and cut into two or three similar-sized masses.

Step 9

While you’re waiting, put the pot with the whey in it back on the stove and add the tablespoon of salt. Heat over medium heat to 180 degrees. Pour some of the hot whey into a bowl and add one of the curd blobs. Put your gloves on and get ready to stretch some cheese!

Step 10

Pick up the curd mass and check the temperature when it reaches an internal temperature of 135 degrees begin to pull the cheese. Slowly pull your hands apart and let gravity do the work. Try not to tear the cheese; it should be smooth, silky and elastic. Between 3 to 5 stretches should do the trick.

Step 11

Wrap the cheese curd in on itself, forming a ball and tucking the edges up under the bottom.

Step 12

To set your cheese, you can place it in a bowl of ice water for 2-3 minutes or put it in a bowl of room-temperature salted whey for 10-15 minutes.

Step 13

Pat dry and enjoy!