Introduction
Homemade ricotta tastes better than store bought and it's pretty cheap and easy.
Ingredients
1/2 gallon of WHOLE milk. You can use pasteurized, but do not use ultra pasteurized (most organic milks) as that will not work.
1/3 - 1/2 cup lemon juice (this normally takes 1-2 lemons) or white vinegar
Salt to taste
Preparation
In a large pot, heat milk on medium high heat to 200 degrees F. Stir occasionally to keep the milk from sticking to the bottom. Remove the pot from the heat and add 1/3 cup of the lemon juice or vinegar. Add salt too. Stir and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes. It should curdle during this time. If you don’t see a lot of separation of the solids from the liquid, add more lemon juice or vinegar, stir and allow it to sit for a few minutes longer. Place a strainer over a large bowl and lay cheese cloth in the strainer. Pour your milk through the strainer separating the curds (solids) from the whey (liquid). Let the solids sit and strain for about 30 - 60 minutes, depending on how dry that you want your ricotta to be. You can taste your ricotta at this time and if you would like to add a little more salt, do so while it strains. Once it cools, place the ricotta in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. It should be good for at least a week.
You’ll have a lot of whey leftover. You can use it to make bread or other baked goods where water is required, or use it to water your plants. Some folks like to use it in their smoothies as well.
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