This is really fun and easy to make. You have to have a little patience to heat the milk slowly so that it doesn’t burn or scald. After that, it’s a piece of cake (well, it’s a piece of ricotta cheese). I made ricotta once before, quite a while ago – don’t remember. There seem to be two ways to do it (maybe more): either with buttermilk or vinegar. The vinegar measurement is a little arcane – I mean, 1/3 cup plus a teaspoon? Go figure.
The recipe below I found somewhere on the net. It calls for a whole gallon of milk. I reduced it to a quart and did the math on the vinegar. For 1 quart you use 1 ½ tsp white vinegar.
The amount of cheese I ended up with will be perfect for a deconstructed onion soup I plan to make tomorrow morning.
Homemade ricotta cheese
1 gallon whole milk
1/3 cup white vinegar plus 1 teaspoon
salt (a couple of pinches or more accordingly to your taste)
Heat the milk over moderate heat to a temperature of 185 degrees. This will take a good half hour. Of course you will need a thermometer in it to gauge the temp.
At 185 degrees, remove the pan from heat and stir in the vinegar. Stir gently for 1 minute. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel and let it sit at room temp for at least 2 hours (I went 3).
Line a colander with cheesecloth and gently transfer the curds, using a slotted spoon, into the colander. Let it drain overnight in the refrigerator. Squeeze out excess moisture and you are done. The ricotta will be creamy and fun. Use it for anything you like.
The recipe below I found somewhere on the net. It calls for a whole gallon of milk. I reduced it to a quart and did the math on the vinegar. For 1 quart you use 1 ½ tsp white vinegar.
The amount of cheese I ended up with will be perfect for a deconstructed onion soup I plan to make tomorrow morning.
Homemade ricotta cheese
1 gallon whole milk
1/3 cup white vinegar plus 1 teaspoon
salt (a couple of pinches or more accordingly to your taste)
Heat the milk over moderate heat to a temperature of 185 degrees. This will take a good half hour. Of course you will need a thermometer in it to gauge the temp.
At 185 degrees, remove the pan from heat and stir in the vinegar. Stir gently for 1 minute. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel and let it sit at room temp for at least 2 hours (I went 3).
Line a colander with cheesecloth and gently transfer the curds, using a slotted spoon, into the colander. Let it drain overnight in the refrigerator. Squeeze out excess moisture and you are done. The ricotta will be creamy and fun. Use it for anything you like.
Nicely done! I keep saying I'm going to make my own ricotta, but it always seemed a bit on the difficult side...but you make it sound sooooo simple!! Gonna have to try this...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI never even knew you could make ricotta cheese! How fun!
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