A couple of summers ago I became interested in cheese-making. I was talking to someone who casually mentioned she made fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese. My ears perked up. I mean, up until that day I always thought any type of cheese-making involved a cave. Not so!
My cheese-making adventure began with goat cheese and from there I've been experimenting with mozzarella and now homemade ricotta cheese. The best ricotta cheese recipe is made with sheep's milk. Sheep's milk is hard to come by in the U.S. so I am using cow milk. Ricotta production is dates back to the Bronze Age. Evidence of specialized milk boilers has been found in various pastoral sites.
A little cheese history
This type of cheese was most likely made by shepherds and eaten on site due to its short shelf life. The first pictorial depiction of ricotta can be seen in a medical treatise. It shows a family making a ricotta-like cheese over a fire in the middle of a walled courtyard with a thatched cottage in the background. Another depiction of ricotta is found in a painting by the Renaissance artist Vincenzo Camy titled "The Ricotta Eaters" The scene shows rough, burly, uncouth men feasting on ricotta.
What is ricotta?
Ricotta cheese is similar to Indian paneer and the Romanian cheese urda. Ricotta is a culinary carte blanche. It can be salty or sweet. For example, ricotta is a key ingredient in La Pastiera, a typical Easter tart from Naples.
In the Emilia Romagna region, the budino di ricotta made with almonds, sugar and lemon is a popular dessert. I don't need to go on about the many savory uses of ricotta cheese of which one is a great appetizer I already have on my blog. I think once you've mastered ricotta cheese, you will never buy it in the store again. I know I haven't! I also love the spread it on some toasted baguette "crostini" with some raspberries and pine nuts.
Steps for how to make ricotta cheese
In order for the whey to drain properly make sure you hang the ricotta from your faucet. Every now and then give it a gentle squeeze.. When no more liquid drips, it's ready to transfer to a glass container.
Note: you will definitely need a thermometer for this. I use a candy thermometer, however, if you don't have one you can use an instant read thermometer and dip it into the liquid every now and then. Now, here's a kitchen hack for you: If you don't have a candy thermometer, take a small office binder clip (not a paper clip) and place the rod of an instant read thermometer along one arm of the clip. Using a bread tie, tie the rod of the thermometer to the clip arm. Attach to the side of the pan! Voila!!!! Make sure that the tip of the thermometer rod never touches the bottom of the pan or your reading will be inaccurate.
BTW...You might want to save a bit of the whey (1 cup is enough) in case you feel your ricotta is too dry.
Bonus: If you want to immediatly turn your homemade ricotta into something special, try my Ricotta Gnocchi with Arugula Pesto and Pancetta.
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Ricotta Cheese Recipe Card
Ingredients
- ½ gallon whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup lemon fresh squeeze juice
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
Instructions
- In a heavy pot, heat milk and cream to 180'F .
- When the mixture reaches temperature, remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt, and vinegar.
- Gently stir a few times to combine. Allow it to sit undisturbed for 10-15 minutes.
- Place a colander lined with cheesecloth over a large container.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture into the colander.
- Gather the cheesecloth around the ricotta and tie it with kitchen twine.
- Hang from your faucet and let it drip for about 1 hour, gently squeezing excess moisture every 15 minutes or so.
- Store in a glass container for up to three days. Makes about 2 cups.
Nutrition
Jeannie Johansen
Good morning Analida. This is a really informative topic, thank you for sharing. I enjoy your blog so much. I don't typically write a comment but I often save your pages to Pinterest.
I recently went through my email and unsubscribe to a lot. I have enjoyed these blogs through the years...but because I spent most of a morning just going through email I decided I need to cut back. 😢 I am now writing to say thank you and let you know your writing style is enjoyable and your topics informative. To fit into a cheese article let me just say, you are the cream that has risen to the top of the good milk for me. 😉
Analida
Jeannie, thanks so much for your kind words. I am so happy to hear that you enjoy my blog. I can certainly understand unsubscribing. Email can somehow take over your life. 🙂 BTW... I love the pun at the end! 🙂
Kristen
THANK YOU!!! I love this recipe and have been wanting it to make it home, so I am so grateful for this recipe
Analida
You are welcome Kristen. It is very easy, you will see.
Denise Wright
I have made homemade ricotta and mozzarella too....but I have never perfected it. I can't wait to try this because nothing tastes better. I am constantly pinning homemade cheese recipes and now I have another. I haven't tried goats cheese though....that sounds yummy!
Analida
Denise, it is really good and so easy to make. Goat cheese is easy to make. give it a try! My next cheese adventure is going to be cheddar.
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables
This is so cool!!! I've never tried making my own cheese but I LOVE ricotta so I might have to try this!!
Analida
Hi Liz! Give it a shot. It is very easy and very tasty. I like mine creamy, so that is why I use heavy cream. 🙂
Rahul @samosastreet.com
This is the same method I use to make paneer, a type of cheese used in Indian dishes, like Palak (spinach) Paneer or muttor (peas) paneer. I never realized that it is whey that I drain from it…Can I retain the whey and use it
Analida
Hi Rahul, I know some people reserve the whey and use it to make soup stocks. I've also read that you can use it to boil pasta or use it in bread making.
Shirley Wood
I don't know if I am brave enough but I'd like to try it. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.
Analida
Shirley, it is very easy and I think a no fail recipe. Love sharing at Merry Monday.
article marketing
Hey would you min stating which blog platform you're using?
I'm going to start my own blog soon but I'm having a tough
time dehiding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I'm looking
for something unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Analida
I use WordPress
Beth Smnith
How is this different than your goat cheese recipe? I've been milking our goat for a whole 2 months now (such a rooky) and an looking for easy delicious recipes.
Thank you!
Analida
Hi Beth, it is actually a very similar recipe. for the ricotta I use cream as well as milk.
Ashley Pulley
I am in the same boat as the above reader. Have some milk frozen as well as some in the fridge and I want to jump into cheese making. For this recipe do you buy regular heavy cream from the store?
Thank you
Analida
Hi Ashley,
I always use the freshest possible whole milk and heavy cream or it is sometimes labelled heavy whipping cream on the package.
Enjoy!
Ann-Marie
How is this different from your original goats cheese chevre other than adding in cream?? I am not trying to offend. I have a lot of goats milk right now and trying to find very simple ways to use it up. Years ago I used to make all kinds of cheese but you forget over time and I remember it as a much more involved project. I used to keep the whey for breadmaking, soup etc. but I remember using rennet not lemon juice / vinegar. Will this whey make a differnce ? I hope you can answer this. Thank you.
Ann-Marie
So sorry didn't see the above question..... I would still like your view on the whey though!
Analida
Ann Marie, in most cases the whey is thrown out. I do know of people who live on a farm who use it to feed their animals. I know a chef who uses it to make additional cheese, but I have never tried this before. Rennet will give you a different consistency; I use it to make fresh mozzarella. Rennet will give a firmer texture. Since I don't have concrete experience with whey, I cannot give you any solid advice. I simply toss it. Thank you for the rating.