By Tiffany Bader:
Ricotta is commercially made from the leftover whey in the cheese making process and literally translates to “recooked.” The process I am describing here is different, but will give very similar results and can be made in a home kitchen very easily. This recipe was developed to take the mystery and fear out of cheese making, it’s really as simple as heating up milk and adding an acid once the milk comes to temperature. After that you just scoop out the curds and drain away the excess whey until you get to the texture you like. There are just a few tips and tricks to remember to help ensure success.
Most importantly, you will need to use milk that is fresh and not UHT (ultra heat treated), as it will not curdle properly. In Canada where I live, I find that many brands of organic milk don’t work well, so I just use regular (non-organic) milk and it works very well. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where you have access to raw milk, please use that as it will give you an incredibly flavored cheese. If you have concerns about raw milk, just use pasteurized commercially sold milk instead.
Many recipes call for lemon juice for the acid in ricotta, but I much prefer using white vinegar. Vinegar provides a consistent acid level which will give you more predictable results. Some lemons are more sour than others and tend to give inconsistent results. I often find that I have to add more lemon juice when I use it, so now I just use vinegar and never have issues.
I also find that that by heating the milk slowly at medium heat works better than if I heat it up more quickly on high heat. I don’t know the science behind why this occurs, or if it’s just some strange juju that happens in my kitchen, but it just seems to work better for me so I encourage you to follow suit.
You will need some basic equipment to make the ricotta, but most items should be in your kitchen or can be easily obtained. You will need a large non-reactive pot to warm the milk (ie. not aluminum), ladle, spatula, strainer, large bowl, thermometer and cheese cloth.
Ingredients
- 4 liters whole milk
- 1 liter full fat whipping cream (un-whipped)
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 6 tablespoons white vinegar
Method
Pour the whole milk, whipping cream and salt into a large metal pot. Turn the heat on medium and keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally to ensure that the milk doesn’t scorch or stick on the bottom of the pot or boil over.
Heat the milk until it gets to 185 degrees Fahrenheit and then turn the heat down to low. Add the vinegar and stir very slowly and gently with the spatula for another minute. You should start to see the curds begin to form a bit and the whey will begin to separate. The whey looks like watery milk with a yellow tinge to it. After a minute of gentle stirring, remove the pot from the heat and cover with a lid and set aside for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, you will need to remove the curds from the whey. Set up a large bowl or pot with a strainer on top lined with three single layers of cheese cloth. To prevent breaking up the curds too much and ruining the texture of the cheese, gently scoop out the curds with a ladle and place in the strainer. When you’ve removed most of the curds, slowly pour the leftover curds and whey through the strainer. Allow the cheese to drain for at least an hour to two hours. If your strainer has smaller holes or if you’ve put more layers of cheese cloth this may take a bit longer.
If you are planning to use the ricotta for the Tortelloni with Ricotta and Nettles recipe on Anchored Outdoors, you want the ricotta to be about the same texture as commercial ricotta. This recipe will make more than you need for the stuffing. The extra cheese is fantastic topped on crostini with sea salt and good olive oil drizzled on top.
