Ricotta Recipe
My first memory of ricotta wasn’t pleasant. I remember thinking that the cheese was tasteless and had a consistency of something akin to white mud rather than some wonderful food concoction. Fast forward about 20 years and I’m in love with ricotta (and the associated ricotta recipe) and value its subtle flavor profile and creamy texture (not to mention it’s versatility). Note to parents: introduce as many distinct foods to your young kids as early as possible!
On the versatility front, ricotta can be used as a spread on crunchy slices of bread, as a simple sauce for linguine (with plenty of fresh ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and grated cheese), and, of course, baked with tomato sauce, pasta, and a good melting cheese like mozzarella (here’s my lasagna recipe).
Making ricotta at home should be made mandatory in my view given the tasteless junk sold at most supermarkets and the outrageous premium “gourmet markets” charge for homemade ricotta. Ricotta is very easy to make and it stores fairly well. My mother makes homemade ricotta about oncee per month and you can make it more often if you’d like, especially if your carton of milk is about to expire! Here’s a quick and easy recipe:
- Heat one gallon of whole milk in a large pot (it's important to use whole milk) until it reaches about 200°F and transfer milk to a clean pot so that it can cool to about 100°F
- Add 2 tsp of kosher salt and stir well
- Add ⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar and stir gently.
- At this point, you'll notice curds will begin to form (this is good). Mix and then cover the pot with a clean dish towel and let sit for about two hours.
- After the ricotta has rested for 2+ hours, take cheesecloth and place it over a colander and ladle the ricotta into the colander. Drain as much as the water from the mixture as desired (depending on your preference for how creamy you'd like your ricotta). You can also lift the cheesecloth and create a small bundle and squeeze out any excess water (this will get most of the water out and yield a super rich ricotta!). Ricotta will stay fresh for about a week in your fridge.
This is essentially also paneer, which I make every month or two. If you press it after draining you get paneer, which is often used in Indian cooking. I use lemon as my coagulant.
Recipe: How to Make Homemade Chèvre (or Goat Milk Cheese)
(photo: moist curds <ladled after 12 hours> before hanging to drain further, courtesy of Dr. K.)Our good friend Dr. K has passed along his homemade chèvre (goat milk) cheese recipe and I’m excited to be able to share it…
Fried Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes Calabrese Style and Baked Eggplant Rolotini
(photo: red and yellow peppers fried along side red onion and potatoes, including plenty of hot peppers)The region of Calabria, and the birthplace of my parents, is widely known for its variety of peppers, including the hot and sweet…
Top 12 Southern Italian Cheeses – Pecorino, Caprino d’Aspromonte, Provolone, Caciocavallo, Burrata
(photo: Pecorino from Aspromonte, Calabria <one of the few DOC foods in Calabria>) Unlike other parts of the world, Italy is blessed with varied micro-environments. The micro-environments help preserve the varied culture, foods, and tr…
What We’re Reading
(photo: my mother’s homemade ricotta, click here for the recipe) Eater.com – I’m a big fan of having practical skills regardless of profession and education. With the aforementioned in mind it’s a good thing to know how to butcher meat …
Vince-I am definitely trying your recipe! I love ricotta with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of honey. You are right, the store bought variety in the US is terrible. Thank you!
I add a cup of heavy cream to the gal of milk and I use lemon juice (6 lemons) as I like that flavor profile. I save the whey as my ricotta will dry quite a bit after a night in the fridge so I will add the whey for creaminess the next day. Also, the recipe can be halved but you must heat the milk slowly. I plan on about 50 min. and the result is lots of curds. 2lb. for a gal of milk. 🙂
good alternative! do you have a pic of the end result?
yes, now to move it from my phone and figure out how to post it here! I have it on FB also.
This is the ricotta I made with just 1/2 gal of milk, 1/2 c cream and juice of three lemons.