Homemade Basics: Ricotta Cheese
June 30, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Uncategorized
If you have never made cheese before homemade ricotta is such a great place to start. It is so easy and fresh, really fresh ricotta is so different from anything you can buy in a store. You only need basic ingredients, nothing fancy that you have to order off line and when you make a homemade lasagne or ravioli with homemade ricotta and homemade pasta and homegrown vegetables you are going to feel….hmmm….empowered!
You can use this like you use any ricotta cheese, in pasta, desserts, or whatever. Starting with raw milk is best but you can get a gallon of organic at the grocer and that should work fine. I use goats milk of course. It makes a very tender, flavorful and sweet ricotta…You can figure on about 3-4 cups of ricotta from a gallon of milk….or about 2 lbs.
Goats Milk Ricotta
- 1 gallon goat’s milk or milk from a store
- ¼ cup organic apple cider vinegar
- ¼ c organic, unsalted, melted butter
- ½ tsp baking soda
Heat the milk to 195F.Be sure that the milk does not boil or stick to the bottom of the pan. It took about 2 hours on low heat for me to get it there, stirring every few minutes. Once it has reached 195 stir in the vinegar very slowly. Almost like you are adding oil to eggs when you make mayonnaise.
There should be a clear separation of the curds and the whey. The whey will be a greenish color. As soon as there is a clear separation of the whey from the cheese curds stop adding vinegar. If they do not separate at all then increase the temperature of the milk to 205F.
Using a slotted spoon gently ladle the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth. Allow to drain for one minute.
Again the word is gently, spoon them into a bowl.
Gently (are you getting the gently part?) stir in the melted butter and baking soda. Mix very well.
This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Yield: two pounds ricotta cheese
Images:Marye Audet
This is so cool, I woould have never thought to do this, thanks for the instruction.
My great-grandma told me once about making homemade cottage cheese when she was a girl. I don’t remember all of it, but one thing that struck me was how she said her mother would put the soured milk into a pillowcase and hang it on the clothesline to drain!
Thanks for the recipe. Yours sounds much more flavorful than others I’ve seen.
Thanks for this recipe. Looks easy, just gotta be gentle as you said… hehe.. I never tot of making ricotta cheese before and its just what I need for my mushroom ravioli soup.
one question thou, I have apple cider and unsalted butter but they are not organic (just to get the goat’s milk from the groceries store), must it be organic??
Cathy- it is a little time consuming but it is fantastic.
Julie- I have made cottage cheese before and that seriously is the best way to drain it. You can’t make it with store bought milk though..the pasteurization messes it up
Lynn- I use organic because I prefer it. YOuc an use whatever. Do NOT buy the goats milk at the store though..it is NASTY. USe cows milk if you don;t have goats or know someone who does.
Ive never made my own cheese. I must remember to make ricotta sometime
ahhh… thanks Marye for the tips… I dunno many ppl in the town besides Terry’s frens but I sure do know there is a goat farm in this area.. gonna enquiry if they sell their goat’s milk.. hehe.. thanks again
Lore -it is much more flavorful than the store kind
Lynn- good luck!
Yum! This looks both delicious and doable. I’ll have to try it. BTW… we made your brownie recipe last night and we are IN LOVE. I added bittersweet ghirardelli chocolate chips for my 3/4 cup “add-in”. Those are. the. best. ever.
I may never eat anything else chocolate again.
Seriously.
It feels good being able to make this doesn’t it?
Jen- I am so glad!
Cynthia- Oh yes it does!
That looks good. I have been wanting to try making ricotta cheese at home for a while.
You should, Kevin. It makes a difference!
Impressive yes. I did make ricotta several years ago just with cow’s milk and it was so above anything I’d ever had from a store. Incredibly good.
Tanna- You should make it again. I had made it before with cows milk but never with goats milk…I was amazed at the flavor difference.
Now, to make some homemae mozzarella, homemade ricotta, homemade lasagne noodles and then make a lovely sauce from my garden tomatoes!!LOL!
Marye–
A month or so ago, you posted a link that sent me on one of those endless web scavenger hunts, and I ended up making Quark cheese for a Key Lime cheesecake you linked to. It was incredibly easy, and the result was equivalent to cream cheese. I took 1 gal. milk, poured in 1/2 c. buttermilk, and left it sit in my (very warm) garage for three days before straining. Easy and so yummy. Thanks for the Ricotta recipe, I’ll try it next.
LOL! Kelly…I think you will like it.