Ricotta Home Made

Ricotta is a very easy cheese to make at home. Here is my recipe. I am sure there are other ways to make ricotta.

You can make ricotta from cow, sheep or goat milk, avoid UHT milk, and low-fat milk doesn’t have much fat left in the milk to separate into curds and whey.

2 litres of milk

350ml cream (optional)

1/3 cup lemon juice or vinegar (1/4 cup if omitting the cream)

salt (optional)

Makes approximately 2 cups of ricotta (depending on how long it’s left to drain)

Put milk and cream (if using any) into a pot and slowly bring to 85oC to 90oC, stir from time to time.

If you don’t have a thermometer, it’s about the temperature when the milk starts to simmer.

Add salt if desired. Add the lemon juice or vinegar. You should notice the tiny particles of white protein starting to coagulate. Let sit for at least 10 minutes or longer.

Pour into a colander lined with a fine cheesecloth and place over a pot, allow to drain. The longer ricotta drains off the drier it will get. Try to find out what consistency you like. You can add some more cream after it has drained to give the ricotta a richer and moister flavour.

Ricotta can be used on pizza, lasagne, ravioli and in desserts.

In Sicily where ricotta comes from, they put the ricotta in a buttered crock pot and bake it for about 30 minutes (some other ingredients added). As soon as a brown/red layer is building over the ricotta it shows it’s ready. This kind of ricotta is called ricotta infornata.

Herb Cheese Made from Ricotta

My aunty adds salt and herbs to the ricotta. She ties the cheesecloth ends into a knot and hangs up the ricotta for a few days to dry.

Ricotta made from leftover milk can be used as chicken food

I use small batches of leftover milk to make ricotta for chicken food. I use a splash of vinegar (not lemon juice) when I make ricotta for the chickens and I don’t remove the whey. I add corn or wheat grits or oats and let them steep in the hot ricotta till all is cooled down.

Whey the by-product from ricotta making can be used in bread or pizza doughs.

History: In the olden days’ ricotta was made from whey which is a by-product of cheese making. This whey contains starter cultures and rennet. It is different to the whey from ricotta making.