Do you remember the very first time you tasted a spoonful of fresh, creamy, silky, mildly sweet ricotta cheese? If not, it’s time you did. It’s easy to make, and nothing you buy will ever compare to a batch of fresh homemade ricotta. Nothing.
Ricotta Recipe
Adapted from Donna Hay
Yields 1 Cup
Ingredients
6 cups full cream milk (not ultra pasteurized) ~ I used Snowville Creamery Whole Milk
2 Tblsp white vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice (I prefer a little tang of lemon in my ricotta)
Method
1. Place the milk and a candy thermometer in a saucepan over medium heat and heat to 176 degrees F.
Remove from the heat, add the vinegar and lemon juice and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until curds form.
2. Line a colander with three layers of clean cheese cloth and place over a deep bowl. Use a slotted spoon
to carefully spoon the curds into the colander leaving as much of the whey behind as possible. (Save for another use.)
Don’t rush as to not break up the curds. Allow to drain for 5 minutes.
3. Gather the ends of the cheese cloth and tie around a wooden spoon, suspend over the colander and bowl to allow
for more drainage. I left mine in this state for a half hour for a thicker ricotta.
4. Spoon the ricotta into a glass or ceramic dish and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up
to one week.
Now that you have your freshly homemade ricotta, what will you do with it? I made this with some of mine:
A Potato, Brussels Sprouts, and Ricotta Focaccia. You can find the recipe on page 106 from our
513{eats} Summer 2012 Issue.
