Home made ricotta cheese
I dont make very many meals using ricotta cheese. Mainly because it is expensive and I am cheap!
I found a “recipe” online that seemed pretty easy so I gave it a shot a few months back and it worked! It was easy and cheap! Two of my favorite things!
What you will need:
Large saucepan
spoon
3 cups whole milk (or 2% but you wont get as much cheese)
1/3 c white vinegar (I have heard lemon juice works too but never tried it)
Place the saucepan on the stove and dump in the milk (recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled if you need more cheese). Turn the burner on to medium low and heat the milk for 10 minutes. Milk should be hot, but not boiling. Set the timer for 10 minutes and walk away – no stirring necessary. After 10 minutes, dump in the vinegar and stir. You will instantly see it start to separate into curds and whey. One the curd has completely separated out you can stop stirring. You can tell if the curd is completely separated out because the whey will be clear and no longer white. If you stir for 2 minutes and the whey is still white or slightly white, add another glug of vinegar from the jug….precise measurements are not necessary.
Once everything has separated, let it cook (medium low) for another 10 minutes. No need to stir it or baby sit it.
Once the timer goes off, strain the curd from the whey through a fine mesh strainer. If you dont have a fine mesh strainer, line a regular colander with cheesecloth or plain cotton, and strain away.
Once most of the whey is drained off, rinse the cheese under cold water. Let it drain again. Use immediately or store (covered) in the fridge for up a to a week. I have never tried freezing it, but it would probably work.
This is what it looks like about 30 seconds after you add the vinegar
Once the curd and whey are completely separated
While straining
Voila! Ricotta cheese. Easy Peasy.
