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UPDATE: Make Mozzarella Potlucks Announced!

by:
April 10, 2012
157 Comments

UPDATE! We've announced the hosts of the 30 potlucks happening around the country -- join one near you!

Last October, the FOOD52 community came together to celebrate the release of our cookbook -- and the subsequent potlucks were quite the festive events. We love it when our digital community gets together in the real world, and we want to do it all over again: we're thrilled to announce our Make Mozzarella Potlucks, sponsored by California Olive Ranch and scheduled for the weekend of April 20, 2012.

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We'd like you to get together and host events in the houses of FOOD52ers around the world to make mozzarella from scratch (don't worry, we'll show you how!), enjoy a lovely potluck meal, and have a tasting of California Olive Ranch's two most popular olive oils. Each potluck host will receive the Chef's Favorite 2-Bottle Tasting Set: a 500ml bottle of Arbequina (rated the number one California-grown olive oil by Cooks Illustrated) and a 500ml bottle of Miller's Blend (winner of gold medals in Italy, Israel, and California) as well as tasting notes to share with guests during the meal.

The deadline to sign up for hosting a potluck is Friday, March 30. We have Tasting Sets for only 30 potlucks, so pipe up in the comments now! You'll have three weeks to plan the potluck with your guests -- not to mention learn how to make mozzarella! -- before the weekend of April 20. Don't forget: we'll be accepting all photos, videos, recipes, and write-ups to share on FOOD52! 

How to Get Involved

• WANT TO HOST A POTLUCK? Post a comment below to sign up before Friday, March 30 -- be sure to tell us your city or metro area so that others can join. We'll be periodically updating this post with locations and hosts. We'll get in contact with you to send the California Olive Ranch Host package. All potlucks have been claimed! Click here to message a host near you and join a potluck.

• WANT TO JOIN AN EXISTING POTLUCK? Click here to view the potlucks and message hosts for details.

• Looking to drum up excitement for your potluck? Get in on the fun with the Twitter hashtag #makemozzarella. And we hope you'll tweet and Facebook photos of your party in real time when the potluck date rolls around!

• Never made mozzarella before? No worries! Check out our step-by-step guide to the process here.

• Don't know a thing about olive oil? Keep an eye on Feed52 for a primer to the many flavors, colors, and scents of California Olive Ranch's offerings.

• Can't make it to a scheduled potluck? Don't worry, we've got a fantastic Twitter and Facebook giveaway coming up as the potluck weekend nears. And on the week of the potluck itself, we'll be featuring a fantastic deal in the Shop to buy the Chef's Favorite 2-Bottle Tasting Set!

Let's make mozzarella together, and don't forget to sign up to host a potluck below!

UPDATE

The 30 #makemozzarella potlucks have been announced! Message the host in your area for details and to join.

California
• Palm Springs - message Christy, Confessions of a Culinary Diva for details and to join
• Piedmont - message AntoniaJames for details and to join
• San Francisco - message kristah for details and to join
• Ontario - message My Imperfect Kitchen for details and to join
• Colusa - message .Sharon Zwald for details and to join
• San Jose - message TiphanyP for details and to join

Colorado
• Denver/Golden - message Carrie G for details and to join

Connecticut
• Old Greenwich - message rrcooks for details and to join

Hawaii
• Honolulu - message vivbest for details and to join

Indianapolis
• Indianapolis - message lorigoldsby for details and to join

Illinois
• Chicago - message tuscanfoodie for details and to join

Massachusetts
• Boston/Cambridge - message tarabellucci for details and to join

Maryland
• Cambridge - message AnnieHynes for details and to join

Missouri
• Kansas City - message RedDog for details and to join

North Carolina
• Durham - message greeneats for details and to join

New Jersey
• Maplewood - message annemai for details and to join
• Mays Landing - message Connie Perks for details and to join
• Ridgefield - message PistachioDoughnut for details and to join
• Haddonfield - message kathy gold for details and to join

New York
• Brooklyn (Carroll Gardens) - message cristinasciarra for details and to join
• Brooklyn (Prospect Heights) - message margaret.spring for details and to join
• Manhattan (Upper West Side) - message ubs2007 for details and to join

Pennsylvania
• State College - message lc's kitchen for details and to join
• Reading/Lancaster - message phoebe's pure food for details and to join

Texas
• Austin - message arielleclementine for details and to join
• Houston - message paula fisher for details and to join

Washington
• Edmonds - message Firewife54 for details and to join
• Walla Walla - message The Fiery Epicurean for details and to join

Wyoming
• Jackson - message jacksonholefoodie for details and to join

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • cdilaura
    cdilaura
  • Brain Health Kitchen
    Brain Health Kitchen
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • phoebe's pure food
    phoebe's pure food
  • BethyH
    BethyH
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157 Comments

cdilaura
cdilaura May 1, 2012
As requested. How nice of you to send a note -- I'm sure California Olive Ranch will appreciate hearing from you! Glad to hear the olive oil was a big hit at the mozzarella potlucks.

Kirsten Wanket
Oroville Office
2675 Lone Tree Road
Oroville, CA 95965
 
Brain H.
Brain H. May 1, 2012
That's a great idea AntoniaJames. I am about to order some olive oil in bulk from them, so I'll be sure to pass it on. We had the BEST time making mozzarella and designing our "Chick Pizzas". We even invented a Food52 Fig Olive pizza using Kayb's Fig and Olive Tapenade as the base. It was the so goo with pears and mozzarella on top. Here's the blog post: http://www.jacksonholefoodie.com/1/category/mozzarella%20cheese%20making/1.html
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames May 1, 2012
Editors, would you please post the name and postal address of your point person at California Olive Ranch? I'd like to send a thank you note for their generous sponsorship of these parties. I'm sure others here would like to do the same. Thank you so much. ;o)
 
phoebe's P.
phoebe's P. April 24, 2012
we had a wonderful time meeting new folks, making new things and tasting, tasting ... tasting...blogged here http://phoebespurefood.com/2012/04/22/cooking-class-how-to-make-mozzarella-via-food52-part-1/
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 24, 2012
Wow, I'm really looking forward to your next post, phoebe. I've seen several sources that suggest using the microwave for heating. That makes a lot of sense! We spent a lot of time heating whey to use as the stretching medium -- we made three batches of cheese and the whey cooled down before the cheese was stretched and shaped -- it got rather messy , too. I have a gallon of milk left and was planning to make another batch when I finish my time-sensitive client projects in a few days. But now, raw milk?! I am eager to hear more! ;O)
 
phoebe's P.
phoebe's P. April 24, 2012
hey there antonia, you can find my 2nd post (the food everyone brought, my cheese experiment, and olive oil paring) on my blog.... this was all a kind pricey experiment but so much fun! I found after many gallons and much reading raw milk is what worked. I could not find low heat treated, even in the local brand. Also found that adding an entire rennet tablet (junket brand) sped up the set.
Took my last gallon of milk to my nephews last night to teach them. FUN!
heating the whey... i tried the double boiler which was effective but messy to clean. Microwave made it fast and easy. not as romantic :) good luck with the next batch..... one of my guests made dulce de leche with her left over whey. here is her post ... she's a food 52'er http://mygardenerstable.wordpress.com/tag/dulce-de-leche/
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 24, 2012
This is so helpful! I just (yesterday) noticed too that my darling independent grocery store sells "Junket" tablets. I was calling around everywhere looking for tablets, and no one had them. I finally got one (just one, can you believe it?) in a "cheesemaking kit" from Sur La Table. I had zero time due to the demands of my law practice, and that was the only option I had, mostly due to SLT's evening store hours, so I just bit the bullet. I had tried one batch the week before using liquid rennet, but it didn't turn out, primarily I think because I didn't get the stretching liquid hot enough. So looking forward to trying with raw milk and using the microwave. Thanks again! ;o)
 
phoebe's P.
phoebe's P. April 24, 2012
glad you located the tablets. i'm lucky to live in farm country. in every recipe i have seen it reads that the cheese will set in 5 minutes. that never happened once, in all of our batches. one gals cheese was still a loose "cottage cheese" texture after 15 min so we added the other 1/2 of the rennet and it set right up. the best site to trouble shoot is http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html. good luck! look forward to hearing how it went.
 
BethyH
BethyH April 24, 2012
Thanks, FOOD52 for the great party idea! We had a blast on Saturday at AntoniaJames' place, making cheese and chatting about food. Check out my blog post on the party: http://www.learningcurd.com/2012/04/food52-make-mozzarella-potluck.html

Thanks again!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 24, 2012
And thank YOU, Bethy, for joining us, making the party so much fun, and taking all the photos! We got so lucky, too, didn't we, with the (very) rare warm weather for our dinner outside. Love your blog post, and wish you all the best with LearningCurd.com! ;o)
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 22, 2012
A quick report/advisory for people who have yet to begin your mozza making. The editors are absolutely right about making the liquid that you use for stretching as hot as possible. It makes a huge difference. We made three different batches. The last one, with really hot whey -- we used that instead of water, on hardlikearmour's suggestion -- turned out best, at least in terms of making the cheese easier to stretch. ;o)
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 22, 2012
A quick report/advisory for people who have yet to begin your mozza making. The editors are absolutely right about making the liquid that you use for stretching as hot as possible. It makes a huge difference. We made three different batches. The last one, with really hot whey -- we used that instead of water, on hardlikearmour's suggestion -- turned out best, at least in terms of making the cheese easier to stretch. ;o)
 
phoebe's P.
phoebe's P. April 20, 2012
folks near the LANCASTER county PA area.. I have about 2 spaces left and am hosting saturday the 21st at 4pm... (ps if you are the nice person from DC I lost your email just send again, sorry about that...don't know why I'm even allowed to use computers!)
 
.Sharon Z.
.Sharon Z. April 18, 2012
for anyone in the Northern California area, I am hosting the potluck on 4/21 at 3:00 pm. Looking forward to learning how to make Mozzarella with fun folks. Bring an appetizer to 257 Hwy 45, Colusa CA my number is 530-58-4197. Thanks!
 
.Sharon Z.
.Sharon Z. April 18, 2012
for anyone in the Northern California area, I am hosting the potluck on 4/21 at 3:00 pm. Looking forward to learning how to make Mozzarella with fun folks. Bring an appetizer to 257 Hwy 45, Colusa CA my number is 530-58-4197. Thanks!
 
LC's K.
LC's K. April 16, 2012
Food52ers in Central PA--I am sponsoring a potluck this Friday, April 20th. Connect with me through my blog, http://happyvalleylearntocook.wordpress.com for all the details.
 
Kitchen T.
Kitchen T. April 15, 2012
Oh man, why didn't I see this sooner! I would LOVE to host a Kosher mozzarella potluck. Darn. Hey, if any space becomes available to host, I think it would be great to have the option for a Kosher potluck. Let me know. http://www.kitchen-tested.com/
 
RedDog
RedDog April 13, 2012
Email [email protected] for the KC details!
 
GreenEats
GreenEats April 12, 2012
Hey NC folks! I'm excited to host a potluck, you can e-mail me at [email protected] for more info! There might even be swag involved...
 
Devangi R.
Devangi R. April 11, 2012
Oops! A small correction - My place is in Ridgefield Park not Ridgefield, although both are neighbours and close to each other.
 
Devangi R.
Devangi R. April 18, 2012
Hi NJ Folks! I am hosting one on 21st April , if interested in attending one please send me a message. I am excited!
 
tuscanfoodie
tuscanfoodie April 11, 2012
Chicago food52ers: more info on my potluck can be found on my blog. If you want to join, leave a comment there, send me a tweet or message me on FB to let me know. http://www.tuscanfoodie.com/2012/04/mozzarella-party-with-tuscan-foodie-on.html
 
GreenEats
GreenEats April 10, 2012
Woot! NC folks might just luck out and get a ricotta lesson as well...
 
Merrill S.
Merrill S. April 10, 2012
Check out the updates in the post above for new potlucks that have been recently added to the list!
 
bella S.
bella S. April 2, 2012
Have I missed something? Are there any in San Francisco?
 
BethyH
BethyH April 9, 2012
I commented weeks ago that I wanted to host, but haven't heard anything since. Let me know if you find one in SF--I'd love to attend!
 
dalibor
dalibor April 1, 2012
Houston?