HOMEMADE RICOTTA CHEESE

Yesterday was one of the most exciting days of my life in the kitchen. My co-workers/friends Kevin, Angela, Gina, Cathy and her husband, Dave came over for a “cheesy party”. Kevin, the cheese master, showed us how to make ricotta and Boursin cheese. He did most of the heaving lifting, while we were munching on snacks. ha! I have to say I have the best co-workers, who share the same passions – billing software (we have no choice because that’s what we do for living ha!), sushi, Bruschetta and cheeses or we can say food in general. ha ha

This post is all about ricotta (stay tuned for Boursin, cheese cake, and ricotta buttermilk pancakes!). From start to finish, it takes less than an hour. It was the best ricotta cheese I’ve ever had and everyone at the cheesy party agreed.

Who knew it was so easy and trust me, once you have this fresh Homemade Ricotta Cheese, you’ll never want to buy it from the stores again. It’s good by itself, in or on things like Berries Ricotta Toast , Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage, pancakes or even cheesecake. Anything that needs ricotta cheese.

Also, the best part is there are only 3 ingredients! whole milk, apple cider vinegar and salt.

For the kitchen tools, Kevin used his stainless steel pot (or you can use enameled pot such as Le Creuset) and a digital thermometer to ensure the best result. You can try to eyeball it if you want to be adventurous but investing in good kitchen tools is always a good thing.

Let’s cook some food! (Let’s make some cheese!)

Heat up milk in a large pot, medium high heat.  We used 2 quarts and ended up with about 4 cups of ricotta. It’s good in the fridge up to a week. Give some to your friends or neighbors and they will love you forever. 🙂

While waiting, line a colander with couple layers of cheesecloth.

Next, once the temp reaches 198 ºF, lower the heat.

Add about ¼ cup of apple vinegar into the pot. Some recipes use lemon juice, you can try if you want.

Stir slowly. The cheese will start to curdle.

Transfer to cheesecloth-lined colander.

Let it drain for a few minutes. By the way, the liquid from the cheese is called “the whey”, you can mix it with some milk to make another batch or other kind of cheese or feed it to your chicken, if you have them… said Kevin.

Tie into a cheese bag and hang to drain for another 1-2 minutes. I used my purse hanger. ha ha But you can hang it anywhere you want, door knobs, etc. The longer you let it drain, the thicker the ricotta. If it ends up to thick to your liking, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream.

Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and gently fold everything together. Cover or transfer into a container. Keep it in the fridge up to a week.

It’s so easy and it is going to be the best ricotta cheese you’ve ever had. I really hope you give this Homemade Ricotta Cheese a try and let me know how it goes. The recipe card and comment box is below.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Author: Mink

Serves: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2 quarts of whole milk
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Heat up milk in a large stainless steel pot or enameled pot such as Le Creuset until it reaches 198 ºF. Lower the heat.
2. Add the cider vinegar. Stir slowly.
3. Once the ricotta curdles, transfer to cheesecloth-lined colander.
4. Let it drain for a few minutes.
5. Tie into a cheese bag and hang to drain for another 1-2 minutes. The longer you let it drain, the thicker the ricotta
6. Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and gently fold everything together. Cover or transfer into a container. Keep it in the fridge up to a week.

Notes

The liquid from the cheese is called "the whey", you can mix it with more milk to make another batch.
If it ends up to thick to your liking, add 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream.
Also, some recipes use lemon juice, you can try that instead of using apple cider vinegar.

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