Cheesemaking might seem intimidating but I truly believe that ricotta is a great place to start! It’s low barrier of entry and delicious results will surely get you hooked on making cheese at home! This week, we start with the ricotta recipe and then later this week, I will share two recipes on what to make with ricotta - there will be something sweet and something savory, everyone’s happy!

If you make this today - it will keep for the week! Will it last that long? Can’t promise that!

Whole Milk Ricotta

Ingredients

1 gallon whole milk. not ultra or flash pasteurized

1 cup cream

6-10 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Process

1.     Pour milk, cream, and salt into a non-reactive pot. While gently stirring over low-medium heat, bring milk to 195 degrees F. Turn off heat.

2.     Add half the lemon juice to pot, gently stir, then wait 10 seconds. Slowly add one more tablespoon, then stir the pot twice. Examine the pot. Do you see curds? Is there a clear separation between the curds and whey, or does the pot still look milky? If three is a clear separation, stop stirring. If there isn’t, continue adding acid one tablespoon at a time, stirring the pot slowly, and pausing between each addition. Once you see curds form and the milk turn into a yellowish liquid, stop stirring, you have ricotta! You may only use 3/4 of your acid. This is fine.

3.     Let the pot sit untouched for 15-20 minutes as soft curds form throughout the whey.

4.     After 15-20 minutes, gently ladle the ricotta curds from the pot to a colander lined with butter muslin cloth or small mesh pasta sieve. Once you ladle most of the ricotta from the pot, slowly pour the remaining curds into the colander. Let drain from 20 minutes to 1 1/2 hours until desired consistency. 

5.    Will keep refrigerated for from 3-5 days

*   substituting equal amounts of white vinegar for lemon juice will also provide delicious results