Homemade Ricotta
What an easy process it is to make homemade ricotta and it’s so worth it..just wait til you taste the fresh creaminess of those warm curds. It’s amazing how effortless this really is. All you do is bring whole milk and heavy cream to a boil, take it off the heat, add white vinegar and salt and watch the curds and whey separate into a luscious homemade ricotta. All the work is in waiting for the curds to form and the whey to completely drain through the cheese cloth. You’re likely to become a ricotta snob and never buy store bought ricotta ever again! Put a dollop of your homemade ricotta in the middle of a bowl of penne dressed with tomato sauce and voilà you are a culinary genius. If you are going to stuff pasta shells with this ricotta you should make my slow cooked pasta sauce 101, authentic Italian meatballs, pasta crepes from Mama Maria’s manicotti or lazy-man’s lasagna! Then you can end with a “BEST” blue berry pie ever recipe 🙂
Ingredients:
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp white vinegar
- Cheese cloth
Directions:
- Wet the cheese cloth and ring it out
- Set up a large bowl with a fine mesh strainer inside
- Drape the damp cheese cloth over touching the strainer as shown in the photo…making sure all of the ends of the cheese cloth hang over the edge of the strainer
- Add the 4 cups of milk and 2 cups of heavy cream to a large heavy bottom stainless steel pot like all-Clad
- Bring to a boil on medium/high heat stirring every few minutes
- This will take about 20 minutes
- As soon as it starts to boil take off the heat and add the vinegar
- Stir for 30 seconds
- Add the salt
- Stir for 30 seconds
- Let it sit in pan for 20 minutes
- Then pour cheese curds and whey into the cheese cloth and let sit for 1 1/2 hrs
- You will need to drain the liquid after the first 10 minutes and then again at the end
- Gather the ends of the cheese cloth, twist and squeeze the fresh ricotta gently to get the last of the excess liquid out as shown in the photo
- Use right away in pasta shells, lasagna, on toasts or put into a container and into the frig
- This will last in the frig for 4 days