I’m here to let you know that fresh ricotta cheese can be made very easily at home. It’s basically a fool proof recipe that takes just an hour to prepare!
What exactly IS ricotta cheese?
Ricotta translates to “recooked”. This is from cooking pasteurized milk and adding an acid. This causes some science-y shit where the liquid, called whey, separates from the milk solids, called curds. Think of old milk curdling. Same deal, but you’re doing it deliberately with milk that ain’t old. Everything gets strained for several minutes, and what’s left is fresh ricotta!
What tools and equipment do I need to make fresh ricotta?
While it is super easy to do, there are a couple of tools that you’ll need to execute this correctly that you may not have in your home:
-Mesh strainer: A colander (pasta strainer) works really well with this as well.
-Cheesecloth: You’ll need this to properly separate the curds from the whey. You can get this really cheap at your local grocery store. It definitely comes in handy when you need to strain liquids to catch solids that a regular strainer can’t catch.
Aside from that, you’ll also need a wooden spoon for stirring, a small pot for heating the milk, and a bowl to fit the mesh strainer
What to do if you can’t find cheesecloth?
Cheesecloth can sometimes be hard to find. Or maybe you want to save a trip to the grocery store. No worries! I’ve strained the ricotta cheese with a clean dish towel when don’t have cheesecloth available.
I’ve also tested this out using 3 paper towels. Not the best option for straining excess liquid out of the cheese. But if you’re fine with your ricotta being very creamy, the paper towel option does work! Just be sure to use durable paper towels and not the cheaper stuff!
Is old milk safe to cook with?
To go back to the comment of old milk curdling: Don’t toss out that milk that expired a couple of days ago…..you can cook with it folks! Now, wouldn’t go as far as keeping milk in your house 3 weeks after it’s expired. But, if you so happen to have older milk (or even half and half, or cream), and have plans to cook something with it, you’ll be safe!
Now, only do this for dishes where the food will be cooked in some way. You can also get away with using it for baked goods. Overall, it’s best to use expired milk for things where the milk isn’t one of the main ingredients.
For example, I’ll use older milk and cream for mac n cheese sauce. While the milk is a big component in the sauce, it isn’t the absolute main ingredient. It’s a star, but not THE star for the cheese sauce. In turn, I will NOT use expired milk or cream to make chicken alfredo. The cheese to milk ratio isn’t as close as it is for mac cheese. So basically, do not use this for your cereal or your hot chocolate or else you’ll be mad AF.
Long story short: if the milk doesn’t stink, it’s still safe to use for cooking. The furthest I go past an expiration date is 1 week for milk, and 2 weeks for half and half and cream.
If you don’t feel safe doing this, don’t worry. I’m just tryna help everyone and save some money or a trip to the grocery store.
What is the best type of milk to use for homemade ricotta?
I’ve made this recipe with both whole and 2% milk, and it all comes out pretty good! However, my recipe does also use heavy cream to help the cheese come out creamier. But with that being said, use whatever milk you have on hand!
It’s best not to use skim milk, since there’s hardly any milk fat left to create the curds.
Can I make fresh ricotta cheese without the heavy cream?
You most certainly can! Just replace the heavy cream in my recipe with the milk of your choice.
Again, my recipe does make a creamier ricotta cheese, so omitting the heavy cream will make the recipe a little less creamy. But cooking this with just milk still comes out pretty good! If you go this route, whole milk is the more flavorful option.
What should I do with the leftover liquid from straining ricotta?
Whey, that leftover liquid from straining your fresh ricotta, does not have to be thrown out! If you have a pastry recipe that uses water, use the whey instead! It’s like a flavorful water. Think of it like using chicken stock instead of water for a soup.
Lemon juice substitution for homemade ricotta
I get that not everyone has fresh lemons on hand to make ricotta cheese. No worries! You can use equal parts vinegar! White vinegar or apple cider vinegar works best.
Vinegar of course has a stronger taste than lemon juice. If I make a batch of ricotta cheese this way, the vinegar taste is present, but not super strong. So I prefer to use this ricotta cheese for savory dishes that will be cooked even further (like lasagna). Ricotta made with lemon juice works for any cooked recipe as well as fresh.
Homemade Fresh Ricotta Cheese
Equipment
- Mesh strainer or colander
- Cheesecloth
- wooden spoon
- Small saucepot
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- On medium high heat, combine milk, cream, and salt into a small pot.
- As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, immediately remove from heat.
- Add the lemon juice to the milk. Stir once with a wooden spoon. Keeping the milk in the pot, set aside for 20 minutes. Lumps will begin to form in the milk, but do not touch this mixture at all while it’s sitting.
- While the milk is sitting, prepare to strain the liquid. Place a mesh strainer or colander into a bowl. Cover the strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth.
- After the milk has sat, slowly pour it onto the cheesecloth in the strainer. Once all the liquid has been poured, set the bowl aside for 30 minutes. The ricotta can be left to strain for an additional 30 minutes if you’d like a thicker ricotta cheese.
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