Has anyone made ricotta?

[funkymonkey]

ever since i saw one of the chefs make ricotta on "the next iron chef", i've wanted to give it a try. it doesn't seem that difficult. surprisingly, not a single one of my hundreds of cookbooks includes a recipe, but i found this and will probably try it:
http://italianfood.about.com/library/...

but first, i wanted to see if anyone here has made it or has a recipe or a technique to recommend. thanks!

funkymonkey
thebestbite.blogspot.com

[JeffW]

The following recipe is one we've enjoyed immensely for homemade Ricotta. It's easy too!

Enjoy,
Jeff

Homemade Ricotta

1 quart whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 scant teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Have ready a strainer lined with dampened cheesecloth and set in a bowl that’s deep enough so the strainer doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.

Pour milk and cream into a 4 qt. saucepan. Add the salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

When the milk is simmering, turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar. Leave alone for about 1 minute. Then start to stir slowly and gently. The milk will start separating into curds and whey (milky liquid); you are looking for the whey to become clearish, which will take about 1 minute of stirring. Once this happens, pour the mixture into the strainer. Lift the strainer out of the bowl and pour out the whey. Set the strainer back in the bowl and let the cheese drain for 15 minutes (or longer if you want a denser cheese). The ricotta is ready to serve now, but you can also refrigerate it, covered, for up to 5 days.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

[Gio]

I've been dying to make ricotta..... thanks so much for your recipe. It certainly looks easy enough.

[Nettie]

That recipe looks good. I've made it before, but the recipe I used called for maintaining it at a specific temperature for a while, which I find nearly impossible on my nemesis, the ceramic cooktop stove in my kitchen. I used the ricotta in an italian torta di ricotta, and I either didn't make the ricotta correctly or didn't drain it well enough, but a lot of liquid did drain out of it into the pasta frolla crust, which wasn't a good thing. I'm tempted to try it again with the recipe that you posted, though!

[mnosyne]

Once or twice during the draining, I will gather up the cheesecloth and give it a gentle squeeze near the top (not around the cheese) to help it along. Once it looks dry enough, I decant it into a ricotta basket or another container, add milk or cream, and store or eat. I should note that I don't add salt only because neither SO nor I like it salted. We do like creamy, however!

[mnosyne]

Bring a gallon of full fat milk to 184 degrees; remove from heat; add 1/4 cup white vinegar; stir once; let sit for 2 hours; spoon curd into a strainer lined with cheesecloth; allow to drain;
At this point, I usually add a couple of teaspoons of milk or cream to soften the cheese up. It stores well and is delicious.

[pitu]

I've sure thought about it, and saved this link (with pictures!)
http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/diy-recipe/recipe-diy-ricotta-023326
which will include some other links, including this other one...
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ricotta-C...

[chef chicklet]

Please report back to us! And good luck!

[alex8alot]

good, your request for a report will further motivate my butt :)

[chef chicklet]

doncha love it when that happens!

[alex8alot]

On Serious Eats they featured Micheal Chiarello's Napastyle recipe that uses buttermilk instead of vinegar or lemon juice. I liked his instructions and am going to try it this weekend.

[alkapal]

mr. alka and alka love m. chiarello. food so unpretentious, and so tasty! (gosh, jfood is going to dis me, stealing his schtick!)

[jeanmarieok]

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

Looks easy, doesn't it? I've had this bookmarked to try ever since I saw it in the magazine....

[centrejack]

Hey stranger - it is one of my dreams. I have always wanted to try it. Wanna come over sometime and do it as a project ;-)

[funkymonkey]

sounds good to me! especially if we can include some kind of cured pork product on the menu...

xoxo!