Homemade Ricotta
The first time I made ricotta in a cooking class in Italy I was thoroughly surprised how incredibly easy it was. It takes under thirty minutes, only uses three ingredients (one of which is salt,) and you have a beautiful, versatile ricotta to have on hand when you need it!
And why exactly do I say versatile? With homemade ricotta you can choose the texture and viscosity of your cheese depending on how long you drain it and if you re-blend. So, this same recipe is perfect for the firm texture you need to easily stuff pasta without it getting soggy, the crumbles that roast well on pizza, and the creamy, spreadable consistency you need for toast!
Homemade Ricotta Ingredients
Yield: 1 Quart Homemade Ricotta
1 Gallon Whole Milk
1/3 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (2-3 Lemons)
2 Tsp Sea Salt
Tools: Cheesecloth, Thermometer
*Ingredients are key here. Use the highest quality fresh lemons, salt and milk (not ultra-processed) that you can find!
Homemade Ricotta Method
Set up a thermometer in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. I use a candy thermometer that clips onto my Le Creuset dutch oven.
Pour in the full gallon of milk and turn the stove’s temperature to medium. We want to warm up the milk slowly and consistently.
Warm up the milk to 200º F (93ºC) The milk will start to steam, bubble, and may even form a slight film on top. Stir gently every few minutes so the milk is a consistent temp. Remove the milk from heat if it boils.
Once the temp comes up to 200ºF, turn off the heat and gently stir in the fresh lemon juice and salt to evenly distribute. Then let it sit without touching it!
At about ten minutes you’ll notice that the milk will have separated. There will be fluffy, white milk curds and a liquid, yellow whey. *If you see that there isn’t a distinguishable separation between curds and whey, add another tablespoon of lemon juice at a time and wait ten minutes and repeat until separated.
Place a strainer over a large bowl and line the strainer with cheesecloth. I make this so often that instead of ‘typical’ cheesecloth, I use a reusable cotton cheesecloth that I love!
Pour the pot of curds and whey into the cheesecloth and strain for between ten minutes for a creamy, more liquid homemade ricotta or for up to an hour for a drier, crumbly texture. And if you strained for too long? No worries! You can always add whey back in either by hand or with a stick blender for smaller, creamy curds.
Pour the pot of curds and whey into the cheesecloth and strain for between ten minutes for a creamy, more liquid homemade ricotta or for up to an hour for a drier, crumbly texture. And if you strained for too long? No worries! You can always add whey back in either by hand or with a stick blender for smaller, creamy curds.
Let cool completely and store the homemade ricotta in an airtight container for up to one week. But make sure not to let that whey go to waste! Save some in the fridge with the ricotta to edit the texture as you use your ricotta, but also freeze the rest! I freeze in ice cube molds so you can defrost just a bit at a time.
You can substitute whey for the water in a lot of baking applications- think bread and pancakes or even to add extra flavor to soups! I use it 1:1 replacing water. However, do remember that because we used lemon juice the liquid is slightly acidic. So, think that this would be used more buttermilk than milk!
Homemade Ricotta
Equipment
- Cheesecloth
- Thermometer
- Heavy-bottomed pot
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon Whole Milk Not extra-processed
- 1/3 Cup Lemon Juice As fresh as possible
- 2 Tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Setup a thermometer in a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
- Pour in the full gallon of milk and turn the stove’s temperature to medium.
- Warm up the milk to 200º F (93ºC) The milk will start to steam, bubble, and may even form a slight film on top. Stir gently every few minutes so the milk is a consistent temp. Remove the milk from heat if it boils.
- Once the temp comes up to 200ºF, turn off the heat and gently stir in the fresh lemon juice and salt to evenly distribute. Then let it sit for ten minutes without touching it!
- At about ten minutes you’ll notice that the milk will have separated. There will be fluffy, white milk curds and a liquid, yellow whey. *If you see that there isn’t a distinguishable separation between curds and whey, add another tablespoon of lemon juice at a time and wait ten minutes and repeat until separated.
- Place a strainer over a large bowl and line the strainer with cheesecloth.
- Pour the pot of curds and whey into the cheesecloth and strain for between ten minutes for a creamy, more liquid homemade ricotta or for up to an hour for a drier, crumbly texture.
- Letcool completely and store the homemade ricotta in an airtight container for upto one week.
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