Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Fresh ricotta cheese is light, moist and creamy.  It really is easy and quick to make and more delicious than if you bought it from the store

It can be ready to be used in cheesecakes, ravioli, lasagna or as a spread in half an hour.

Really.

And you know how “they” say that you will make this all the time? You might, at least when you need some nice fresh ricotta cheese instead of buying it.  It is fresh, light and creamy.  You can make this lighter or richer, depending on what you need it for, and you can make as much as you need.

When you are done, well, you just made CHEESE!

This will keep well, refrigerated and covered for up to 4 days.

You can use either fresh lemon juice or vinegar.  The acidity makes it separate (curdle) like if you were making soured milk.

Lemon juice is nicer to use if you are having sweet things with the ricotta.

I have used four parts whole milk and one part 35% cream.  It makes it creamy and smooth for baking and especially delicious when used as a sweet or savoury spread.

It is still much lighter in fat and calories than cream cheese.

You could use only whole milk but it is less smooth and a bit more grainy.

Do not try using milk lower in fat than 3.5% as there won’t be enough fat to produce anything good.

Its fresh subtly sweet taste makes an excellent base whether spread on toast with preserves, in baking sweet or savoury.  Used similarly as cream cheese, but it is much lower in fat.

Milk scalds at 170°F (77°C)

Higher than that (over 200°F (93°C) or so, but we aren’t going there) it will boil over. 

So around 180°F (83°C) is a good holding point, or just as it comes to a boil, when the little bubbles start to become big bubbles.  Stir or carefully swirl the milk, because this is also when the milk sticks to the pot. 

Then I wait and as soon as it starts to boil I pour in the acid.

Commercially, ricotta is actually a fresh cheese made from a by-product of cheese making.  

Cheese is milk that has been heated then rennet is added. 

Rennet is an enzyme that changes the sugars in the milk into lactic acid and that acid clumps (curdles) the milk casein protein in the milk that bond to make cheese, the liquid left from those cheese curd is whey protein, then that whey left from the cheese making is again heated and an acid is added to coagulate the proteins left from making the cheese to make the ricotta, so should not taste “just like milk”.

See?  Cooked, separation, then cooked again or re-cooked.  Ri-cotta.  I did not figure that one out all by myself.

So allow the acid to work with the milk and cook for a bit.  Ricotta is a fresh cheese and has a taste all its own. Allowing proper heating and using good full fat milk should give you a nice fresh tasting ricotta that is slightly sweet and a bit grainy in texture but still has a rich smooth finish.

Ricotta with Muffuleta

The byproduct of this is the whey, that high in protein pre and post workout supplement that is sold in powdered form at health stores. 

It is good for hydration, and an easy to digest source of probiotics.

It is similar to buttermilk but without the thickness.

It is tangy of course because of the acid added but has a creamy finish even though it is low in fat. Like the ricotta cheese.

It is a very healthy drink, in moderation as anything is, and you can consume it in the same healthy way you would use protein powder.

How to Make Ricotta Cheese

1. To prepare

Cut and lay the cheesecloth in four layers to line a large sieve.

Have a large, preferably deep bowl for the ricotta to drain over.

2. Heat the milk, cream and salt.  Bring just to a boil, around 180°F (83°C) is a good holding point.

3. Now add the lemon juice.

4. Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on for about 10 more minutes to let it genly cook.

It will separate right away and the liquid whey left should be clearish milky yellow.

5. Scoop the curds into the lined colander over the bowl. 

Let it drain 1 hour to be thicker and for the cheesecake recipe.

I would suggest not pouring the entire contents of the pot with the curds and the whey, scoop some of it out, otherwise it will take a long time to drain.  You could after removing some of the ricotta cheese.  I use a small sieve to scoop the bits left in the pot.

If you decide it is time to pour the whole thing out, make sure you have something to catch the whey if you are saving it.

Let stand for about 20 minutes to drain before using.   

Let it drain for about 1 hour to be thicker and for the cheesecake recipe.

The longer you let it drain, the more moisture it loses, so it will be thicker.  

When the ricotta cheese reaches the consistency you would like, put it into a container for keeping and don’t let it drain any more. Put the date on the container.

The liquid whey is left after draining and scooping from the pot