Storing homemade fresh mozzarella

Been making my own mozzarella, but it usually gets used immediately. If I need to make it in advance and store it a couple of days, what should I do? Keep it in cold water? Olive oil? Or just salt it and put it in a container in the fridge? I've heard all three. What works best?

[kimberlygator]

I stored mine in tap water - that was a mistake. It made it very soggy and was sticky.

I weigh (wey?) in on light brine. Salt is a preservative, so salt water is as well.

I'm not a fan of fresh mozzarela (mouth-feel + salt) but to each his/her own. The root of the answer is in how it is sold commercially. And that is in a brine.

Salt alone is bad because anything exposed is in danger, and to eliminate exposure means too much salt. Oil is ok, but a waste of oil. Brine is natural and salt is part of / (the only) flavor.

As a non-biased aside, the brine can be used to add or remove salt flavor if you botched an earliet step.

[ttoommyy]

The local salumeria that my family has bought fesh mozzarella from for 50 years or so does not hold theirs in brine; they hold it in the liquid leftover from making it.

[kimberlygator]

I made a new batch today and put some of the leftover whey in with it. I accidentally used tap water for to dissolve the rennet in so I'm not sure how it's going to hold because of that. :/ If it's not one thing it's another :)

Store in water.. or the excess fluids from making it... don't salt unless it will be stored for more than three days or so if you want it to taste like fresh mozzarella. If you want to store it salted or in olive oil just remember that it will change in taste and texture. Not a bad thing... salting it will firm it up and draw out moisture. Hell you can get a nice new taste storing it in oil with herbs... (garlic, rosemary, peppercorns, etc.) it will get more firm and pick up the olive and herb taste... it all depends upon what you want.