Early yesterday morning (before my coffee had a chance to kick in), I made my own ricotta. After a few simple steps and a brief period of waiting, I HAD MADE MY OWN RICOTTA!!! I spent hours bouncing off the walls with excitement. No, it wasn’t the coffee! It was the ricotta! Ina Garten is a genius; but I already knew that. I absolutely love her and this recipe has clearly changed my life. This ricotta is silky smooth and creamy, not gritty and tasteless like the ricotta you find in a grocery store. Store bought ricotta is super expensive and this batch cost me less than a small tub from the store. How awesome is that?
Later on the in the day I made Ina’s herbed ricotta bruschetta for lunch and it was absolutely divine. I’ll post the recipe soon but first you should making your own ricotta! Put it on your weekend TO-DO list and join the fun!
Thank you Ina for helping me knock of another item from my 31 comes before 32 list!
#25. Make my own cheese from scratch=DONE.
And we’re off!
Milk. Heavy Cream. Vinegar. Cheesecloth. Strainer. Bowl.
Put milk & heavy cream in a big pot.
Add kosher salt. Stir it up.
Boil it.
Measure vinegar.
Pour it in the milk/cream that just boiled.
Let it sit for a minute.
Curds & Whey! Paging little Miss Muffet, where are you??
Pour it over the cheesecloth.
Strain out the liquid.
Let it sit. The longer you let it sit, the thicker it is. I went 40 minutes on this batch.
Ricotta.
I MADE MY OWN RICOTTA!!! You should do it too.
Homemade Ricotta
Makes about 2 cups (less if you strain it longer)
(recipe from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That? by Ina Garten)
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons good white wine vinegar
Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.
Pour the milk and stream into a stainless steel or enameled pot such as Le Creuset. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
Pour the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta (I left mine sitting for 40 minutes to make it super smooth). Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.
