Recently, the Secret Recipe Club had a bit of a transition – our beloved founder, Amanda, turned over the club reigns to April and, with the change, some groups got a bit of a shuffle. I have moved my stilettos to Group “A” and my fearless group leader, Jane, assigned me Parsley, Sage and Sweet for my October Secret Recipe Club assignment.
Lisa is the gal behind “Parsley, Sage & Sweet – A Food Blournal” and I can’t tell you how much her blog inspired me to really start thinking “out of the box”. The more I learn about food and the effect of various processed ingredients, the more I am inclined to attempt to make things from scratch. Not to mention, her recipes are top notch. I have a bit of a “culinary bucket list” of sorts and, one of the recipes on it is Homemade Ricotta Cheese. So, when I saw Lisa had a recipe for it, I knew I had to try it. Now, in full disclosure mode, I was very tempted to make some of her pumpkin recipes, like her Pumpkin Gnocci with Creamy Mushrooms or her Jumbo Cheesecake Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins with Toffee Streusel but I decided that I was going to dig in my stilettos and finally tackle making Ricotta Cheese. My pumpkin obsession could wait.
Lisa’s recipe did not disappoint. It was rich and creamy with a bit of a tang from the lemon juice and all of this lusciousness came from only four ingredients – milk, cream, lemon and salt. That’s it! As I was going to be using it in a future recipe, I put it in the fridge for a spell to develop the flavors. I have to warn you – it takes a lot of milk to produce about a little over a cup of ricotta and you are going to need to employ some patience. It seemed like it took forever for the milk and cream mixture to come to a boil but, the end result was well worth the wait. Now, I always tend to employ the Barefoot Contessa mantra of buy the best ingredients and, when you are using something with only a few ingredients, this really comes into play.
So – when you are in a DIY mood, make this ricotta! You don’t have to tell everyone how easy it really is. Many thanks to Lisa for inspiring me to finally make a recipe that I have wanted to make for years.
Have you ever made cheese from scratch? What’s your favorite foodie DIY?
Now, on to the recipe:
Gather the Ingredients
Set aside your tools: a large mixing bowl, a mesh strainer and some cheesecloth. (I wound up switching out the colander after I realized that I needed “bowl room.” A mesh strainer worked perfectly!)
The magic ingredient that turns milk to cheese: lemon juice (definitely go with fresh lemon juice)
Time to add the lemon juice to the milk mixture and…
Watch the curds begin to form
Time to ladle the mixture into the strainer
End result: luscious creamy homemade ricotta
Ingredients
- 8 cups of whole milk (preferably organic)
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Juice from 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt
Directions
- In a large saucepan, add the milk, cream and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat, make sure to stir so that it doesn't burn.
- While the milk mixture is coming to a boil, place a strainer over a large mixing bowl and line with cheesecloth. Set aside.
- When the milk mixture comes to a slight boil, add the lemon juice, turn the heat to a slight simmer and continue to stir for a couple of minutes as the curds begin to form.
- Pour or ladle the curds and whey into the strainer and allow the mixture to drain for an hour or two, until the liquid is gone and you are left with a creamy ricotta cheese mixture.
- Taste for seasonings and add more salt if needed.
- Discard the whey (if you don't have another use for it) and you can either refrigerate the ricotta cheese mixture or use immediately.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Parsley, Sage & Sweet
|
Share the love
|
Get free updates
|
Twitter: theheritagecook
says:
I have been wanting to make my own ricotta for years and have never gotten around to it. I think you may have provided the push I needed. Look out world, here I come!
Jane Bonacci – The Heritage Cook recently posted..White Chocolate-Cherry Shortbread Cookies-SRC (GF, NF, CF)
Hi Jane! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this! Thank you so much for dropping by
Twitter: one_curly_fry
says:
I love some good ricotta. I’ll have to give this a try sometime.
jen recently posted..{Family Favorite} Baked Pineapple
Could you imagine some fresh ricotta in some homemade cannoli cupcakes?
Twitter: culicurious
says:
Wow, didn’t realize ricotta was so easy to make
Thanks for posting!
addie | culicurious recently posted..Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe #SeriousSandwich
Addie – you really need to give it a shot – it might be the perfect #Bam for a #SeriousSandwich
This is so cool. I’ve never made my own before. Looks fantastic.
Kim Bee recently posted..S’Mores Popcorn
Kim – you really should try it
Its one of those recipes where you wonder why you never tried it before.
I once made ricotta in a cooking class before and couldn’t believe how easy it was. I can just imagine all the yummy ways you intend to use it.
Lisa recently posted..Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Lisa – confession – I had one recipe in mind when I originally made it and it got changed to something totally different. Stay tuned and thanks for dropping by
Twitter: NevrEnoughThyme
says:
I’ve had cheese making on my to-do list for ages and have never gotten around to it. You’ve inspired me to go ahead and get busy! Cheese making this weekend. Maybe
Lana recently posted..Black Bean and Ham Soup
Lana – I thought you would have had this done already
You really need to try this – it’s so simple! Granted it takes a ton of milk for a little amount of cheese but definitely I think everyone needs to attempt it at least once 
Now – if only I can figure out how to make ricotta salata 
Twitter: scones4me
says:
Way to go. Making your own ricota. Fantastic.
Margaret recently posted..{TWD2} Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate, and …. Figs!!
Twitter: MyHobbieLobbie
says:
Oh wow. I have to try this out. Store bought Ricotta is very difficult to find here and if you do its very expensive. I’m glad to know that it can be made at home this easily.
I’m so glad you chose the ricotta! It is amazing how fresh and lovely it is compared to store-bought! I felt the same way you did when I made it, since it was my first foray into cheese making! Thank you for the lovely comments about my blog and sorry it took a bit to comment..-baseball play-offs and work have eaten up my tme AND motivation to type lol
Lisa recently posted..Chocolate Marble Pumpkin Bark with Nutella Cookies and Salted Pepitas, for SRC