Milk to Make Mozarella Cheese

[luther]

Looking for milk that isn't UHT or reconstituted from powder.

On another Thai Visa thread someone mentioned that there is "Chiang Mai Agricultural outlet store." Seems it is located on the canal road. Coming from Hang Dong you would turn left on 121, drive until it connects to the canal road, turn right on to the canal road and head towards town for half a kilometer.

Can anyone tell me what the building looks like? Is it right on the road? Sign? What's next to it?

Thanks

[MESmith]

Untreated cow's milk available by the kg here 18.722994,99.041083

Head south on hwy 11, make u-turn before Thai Watsadu DIY store. Dairy on your left.

[masuk]

I use the Thai-Danish milk factory, opposite the Chiang Mai zoo entrance. 5 litres of pasteurised milk is ฿140. Makes a fantastic Greek yoghurt and Kefir drinking yoghurt.

They also sell un-pasteurised milk.

[FolkGuitar]

Traditionally, I believe Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk. I see lots of buffaloes around. Must be some milk somewhere.

[GrantSmith]

Traditionally, I believe Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk. I see lots of buffaloes around. Must be some milk somewhere.

They're all sick.. Didn't you know this? There's a farang run NGO trying to help their plight, but it seems never ending.

[FolkGuitar]

Traditionally, I believe Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk. I see lots of buffaloes around. Must be some milk somewhere.

They're all sick.. Didn't you know this? There's a farang run NGO trying to help their plight, but it seems never ending.

Oddly enough, I have surprisingly little contact with water buffaloes in my day-to-day existence. Almost none, in fact. I wonder if this is what makes my life feel so empty?

[butterisbetter]

Traditionally, I believe Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk. I see lots of buffaloes around. Must be some milk somewhere.

They're all sick.. Didn't you know this? There's a farang run NGO trying to help their plight, but it seems never ending.

Oddly enough, I have surprisingly little contact with water buffaloes in my day-to-day existence. Almost none, in fact. I wonder if this is what makes my life feel so empty?

You really have to get out more.

[butterisbetter]

Traditionally, I believe Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk. I see lots of buffaloes around. Must be some milk somewhere.

They're all sick.. Didn't you know this? There's a farang run NGO trying to help their plight, but it seems never ending.

The Royal Project used to make buffalo milk mozzarella. For all I know, they still do. It was superb. They are still making buffalo milk yogurt which is delicious. So I guess that, they, at least, still have some healthy water buffaloes. About 5 years ago, there was an article in the Bangkok Post about various private interests starting up buffalo milk dairies. Some were importing water buffalo from Europe because they are more prolific producers of milk. Sorry to hear they're not thriving.

[cmbe]

You can buy buffalo milk at Royal agricultural research, Tha Nuea, Mae On. https://maps.google.co.th/maps?q=Tha+Nuea+Chiang+Mai&hl=th&ie=UTF8&ll=18.696985,99.301472&spn=0.087643,0.110378&sll=18.573362,99.217529&sspn=1.392848,1.766052&oq=tha+n+Chiang+Mai&gl=th&hnear=%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A5+%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B7%E0%B8%AD+%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94+%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%88&t=m&z=13&layer=c&cbll=18.697166,99.30151&panoid=jwQap7tLNEbl72ZetBI08Q&cbp=12,139.82,,1,6.95

and another place is daily buffalo farm in Chachengsao. http://www.murrahmilk.com/index_en.html

[GrantSmith]

Traditionally, I believe Mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk. I see lots of buffaloes around. Must be some milk somewhere.

They're all sick.. Didn't you know this? There's a farang run NGO trying to help their plight, but it seems never ending.

Oddly enough, I have surprisingly little contact with water buffaloes in my day-to-day existence. Almost none, in fact. I wonder if this is what makes my life feel so empty?

Likewise, apart from their tales of woe that find their way to these fine forums... Tragic...

[zeichen]

The buffalos raised in Thailand make a very poor milk though. First of all they don't produce even half the amount of milk that the traditional buffalo does. The fat content isn't as high either but you could adjust by adding powdered milk with a higher fat ratio.

You don't want to buy pasteurized milk either. You need raw milk and you need to have the right bacterial cultures and liquid rennet but I assume you have that already. CMU and Mae JO agricultural departments both used to sell raw milk. Like another poster said by the kilo. I thought it was 22 baht a kilo not 18 but I haven't done it for a long time.

The real problem you will face is getting the humidity and the temperature right for extended periods. A wine fridge isn't a bad option but pricey. Overall you will spend a lot more making a few kilos than you would if you flew it directly from Europe. The average novice cheese maker will ruin about 100 kilos of milk before they successfully make a product worth eating. But it is fun trying.

[luther]

Thanks for pinpointing it, MESmith, May try the Danish Milk stand near the zoo first (since I’m out towards Mae Rim.)

As for making Mozzarella, pasteurized and raw milk have both worked me, just not the UHT (Ultra High Temperature) or powered milk. Mozzarella is pretty straight forward. All you need is a thermometer, a decent pair of rubber gloves, rennet, and citric acid. And milk. Here’s a decent video on doing it without a microwave.

[butterisbetter]

The buffalos raised in Thailand make a very poor milk though. First of all they don't produce even half the amount of milk that the traditional buffalo does. The fat content isn't as high either but you could adjust by adding powdered milk with a higher fat ratio.

You don't want to buy pasteurized milk either. You need raw milk and you need to have the right bacterial cultures and liquid rennet but I assume you have that already. CMU and Mae JO agricultural departments both used to sell raw milk. Like another poster said by the kilo. I thought it was 22 baht a kilo not 18 but I haven't done it for a long time.

The real problem you will face is getting the humidity and the temperature right for extended periods. A wine fridge isn't a bad option but pricey. Overall you will spend a lot more making a few kilos than you would if you flew it directly from Europe. The average novice cheese maker will ruin about 100 kilos of milk before they successfully make a product worth eating. But it is fun trying.

Actually, the milk from the swamp buffalo, the kind that is native to Thailand, is richer than the riverine or Murrah breed. The swamp buffalo just produces a lot less of it.

As for making mozzarella, it's a fresh cheese. Maybe a little bacterial activity is good to make lactic acid, but not a lot. Like a very, very mild yogurt. Essentially, it's a curd cheese like cottage cheese. You don't want to age it. The fresher it is, the better it tastes. We used to make it at an Italian restaurant I worked at.

Here's a link to the original article, the source of all my formidable expertise about the water buffalo,from the bangkok post. It's actually located on another website now. http://www.learners.in.th/blogs/posts/82698

Edited August 12, 2013 by butterisbetter

[MESmith]

Can you buy rennet in Chiang Mai? If so, where?

[JohnJohn]

Can you buy rennet in Chiang Mai? If so, where?

Hi,

I'm long time home cheesemaker.

I.m italian and I have some few extra rennet, calf liquid and goat in paste, imported from my country, as unable to find in Thailand.

I produce weekly "fior di latte" (mozzarella from raw cow milk.)

PM me if I can help you

cheers !!

[butterisbetter]

Can you buy rennet in Chiang Mai? If so, where?

Hi,

I'm long time home cheesemaker.

I.m italian and I have some few extra rennet, calf liquid and goat in paste, imported from my country, as unable to find in Thailand.

I produce weekly "fior di latte" (mozzarella from raw cow milk.)

PM me if I can help you

cheers !!

I've tried JohnJohn's mozzarella and it's first rate.

Edited August 13, 2013 by butterisbetter

[masuk]

I bought freeze-dried yoghurt cultures in Australia earlier this year.

They also came from Italy. Now I'm making Greek and Kefir yoghurt here in Chiang Mai for my own use..