Question about type of vinegar to use when making ricotta

[Benjamin68]

Yesterday, I made ricotta for the first time and thought it came out fairly well, however, I would have preferred that it had slightly less of a vinegar taste, yet also have larger curds and slightly firmer texture (it wasn't quite as firm as I would have liked). I used white wine vinegar and am wondering if next time I should use apple cider vinegar or something else. Would apprecite any suggestions for addressing these issues.

[anzu]

I've made ricotta using the cooking light recipe (I think it was cooking light; it might've been Cook's Illustrated), and from what I remember, it doesn't call for vinegar. All it calls for is buttermilk and 2% milk and some salt. It's easy and delicious.

[Benjamin68]

I'd appreciate it if someone could post that recipe.

[anzu]

It wasn't cook's illustrated; it was cooking light. Here's the recipe. You need cheese cloth and a thermometer, but other than that, I found it really easy to make. (And it's low fat to boot, b/c you use 2 percent milk.)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/rec...

[howchow]

I make ricotta by using lemon juice - works perfectly.

[Benjamin68]

Thanks, for both ingredients (buttermilk and lemon juice) what kind of proportions should I use?

[howchow]

3 T lemon juice for 1/2 gallon whole milk.

[Benjamin68]

Thanks. The recipe I used, from "The Best American Recipes - 2005/2006," called for a quart of milk, a cup of heavy cream, a teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of white vinegar.

[Benjamin68]

This weekend I made ricotta again, but this time with lemon juice. It was vastly superior to the recipe with vinegar. If you're interested in doing it, the recipe is "Fresh Homemade Ricotta" on Epicurious.

[Gooseberry]

sorry - been out of the loop. With buttermilk, I use 1C buttermilk to 4C milk. Don't substitute yoghurt unless you want ricotta flavoured yoghurt. I'm going to be trying lemon juice next time, since I always have it on hand.

[Gooseberry]

I tried with vinegar and had the same problem with the taste. I use buttermilk instead - doesn't leave a flavour.

[drgreg]

Saw a Good Eats yesterday where Alton was making cottage cheese using vinegar. He strained the curds in cheesecloth and ran it under the faucet, massaging it in the cheesecloth to break up the curd and (I assume) rinse out the vinegar.

[Benjamin68]

Yes, I strained most of it out but there was still a residual taste. Do you recall what type of white vinegar he used?