Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Homemade Ricotta Cheese


I recently picked up a fabulous Italian cookbook at the used bookstore the other day that had a recipe for homemade ricotta cheese or as Giada likes to call it, "Ree-Coat-ah". My husband and I were intrigued with the idea of making cheese and were curious how it would taste compared to a store bought one. Well...I can tell you...it was delicious! The texture is creamy and it taste fresher than store bought. The best part is it doesn't take that long to make. The homemade ricotta was a great accompaniment for this salad which included sundried tomatoes, capers, red onion and romaine lettuce. 

For more cheese making posts, check out Maggie's blog Notes from Maggie's farm. For those of you who are lucky enough to live close to Austin, Maggie is offering cheese making classes this fall. For a preview, click here.

 

Homemade Ricotta:

4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed, strained lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
**cheesecloth for straining**

Directions:

Pour milk, cream, lemon juice, and salt in a small heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan. Do not stir and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, set the saucepan aside until mixture has cooled (about 5 -10 minutes). Line a strainer or colander  with cheesecloth and place it in the sink. Gently scoop up the curds out of the saucepan and place in the strainer to drain. You can use the ricotta while it is still warm or you can place the cheesecloth filled with cheese over a bowl to drain and store in the fridge for 2 days. 

Makes approx. 8 ounces. 
Adapted recipe from a fabulous used Italian cookbook.

Note: I would double or triple the recipe. Our cheese went pretty fast!

Enjoy!



16 comments:

  1. i've been wanting to make homemade ricotta + this sounds great! must give it a try soon!

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    1. Amy, I promise you will not be disappointed. It is creamy and delicious!

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  2. I made a homemade vegan ricotta last night. Love all the lemon flavor you have going on!

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    1. Vegan ricotta sounds yummy! I need to check that out. I try to eat vegan a couple times a week.

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  3. I've never made homemade ricotta, but I really want to! My sister makes it all the time and tells me it's so easy and much cheaper!

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    1. Wendy, I have to agree with your sister. I was blown away by how much better it taste. My salad was inspired by the salad they serve at Dough's pizzeria:)

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  4. You beat me to it! I've been wanting to make homemade ricotta for ages. Now I know I absolutely must!

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  5. Renee, you will love it. The only thing I would do differently is make more of it next time:)

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  6. Oh Steph your cheese looks amazing! And I can honestly say after taking Maggies class that it's worth it to make your own all the way. FYI we are going to be in San Antonio Saturday for a blogger field trip-Maggie Kathryn and I will be riding together. Our first stop will be the Farmers Market It sure would be cool to accidentally run into you and finally meet you in person.

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    1. I'm definitely going to try to meet up with you guys. Can't have you so close and not see you:)

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    2. Cool let me know what the best way to reach you is. FB? Twitter? e-mail?

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    3. The best way to get in touch with me is via email. My email address is steph-kw@satx.rr.com. See ya Saturday:)

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  7. There is nothing like homemade ricotta for sure! And this looks particularly yummy.

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    1. Thanks Mary. I was surprised how easy it was to make.

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  8. Thank you SO MUCH for including me in your fabulous blog post. You are so gracious, always promoting others' work, and blogs. Can't find the words to express my gratitude. I'm looking forward to trying this method, too!

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    1. Awww Maggie...Thank you! It was such a pleasure to finally meet you. Your blog is such an inspiration to me:)

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