Will Dean's whole milk work for making cheese?

Sure, but I suspect it really depends on what kind of cheese you're making.

Not really an issue with mozzarela. Pasta filata method will kill lots of the micro flora, and it's a fresh cheese anyway, so not a huge benefit from unpastaurized milk.

I disagree TC.  To make mozzarella from pasteurized milk often requires the addition of calcium chloride, and that doesn't even always work.  My opinion, creating curd to make cheese is probably going to require you to buy rennet from a specialty store of some kind, or order it online.  With that much effort involved you could just buy some mozzarella curd. Poly-o makes a very good one.  If you're not familiar with the technique, get the curd, practice, and once you've mastered it, start making your own curd. Making your curd is far more difficult and time consuming than the actually cheese making from the curd.

Maybe you are already an experience cheese maker. But best put, know how to grill a sirloin before you begin butchering cows.

Good ol pasteurized skim milk, however, will make cottage cheese

Curd setting is only a problem with UHT pasteurized milks. Some dairies are edged up to that temp range.

Making curd will always require rennet. Unless you're making some sort of acid set cheese, they won't be suitable for mozzerella.

You're right, I should have mentioned the calcium chloride issue. How much are you using? I've read 0.02%.

i've used 1/8th t per gallon, so percentage whise that'd be... 0.00016%?

Hmm, I'm going to go try and find a dairy science book.

What do you think about adding powdered milk to firm up the curds. I do that with yogurt sometimes.

Well I haven't tried making any cheese besides mozzarella, ricotta, and cottage. But milk curd is produced one of two ways.  Coagulation by acid, or by lactic bacteria or yeast.  Those three are all made by acid coagulation and require no maturation at all.  While that trick that works for yogurt definitely may work for curds made via bacteria or yeast, I wouldn't bet on it working for acid based curds.  I am by no means, however, telling you no. I don't honestly know, but that's what my logic tells me.

And seriously.  You find a book all about cheese making, please recommend it to me.  I'm a very "dont buy what I can make" kind of person.  You get me the info I need to stop buying my gruyere, you may be somewhat of a hero to me.

I cracked open the Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, and surprisingly, it wasn't too much help. The sciency articles didn't offer any advice on how much calcium chloride to use. It appears to be quantum satis.

On the other hand, there was some discussion on the legal limits. In the USA, according to 21 CFR § 184.1193 puts the limit at 0.2% in cheese.

Well I'm going to figure that the calcium chloride ultimately ends up in the whey and not in the curds. So I don't think a more or less than absolutely scientific amounts will ruin your curds.

The why I understand it is that the calcium is the link where the casian proteins join up.

I honestly don't really know the science behind it. I just used to make the stuff for a deli i was working in. We ordered curd whenever available, otherwise whole milk and calcium chloride was used. and a very small amount. That is the other good thing about getting the curd. you know exactly how much cheese you're going to get. while milk you MIGHT get a lb from the whole gallon, if you did everything consistently.

Any of youse guys use the citric acid method for mozzarella? I'm thinking of doing that with a lipase treatment.