Thursday night I took a stab at making homemade ricotta. I must admit I was growing weary of reading things like "every serious cook should have a decent ricotta recipe in their repertoire".
I was inspired to try buy Barbara Kingsolver's new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ...
She devotes a portion of the story to inducing readers to Ricki Carroll (a.k.a. The Cheese Queen) of The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company . I checked Ricki's book ...
... out of the library and was instantly hooked. I ordered some basic supplies, like citric acid and animal rennet, from her company and they arrived yesterday! I can't wait to try my hand at chevre, kefir and mozzarella. Homemade ricotta doesn't require any special supplies. All I used was a stainless steel pot, a thermometer, two limes, cheesecloth, a strainer and some salt. It's pretty hard to screw up.
STACY'S SEAT-OF-PANTS RICOTTA RECIPE: Mix the salt into 1/2 gallon of whole milk and then heat the gallon of whole milk to 185-195 degrees (be careful not to boil it). Add about 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice. The milk should begin to separate into curds and whey and the curds will fall to the bottom. Wait until the whey on the top doesn't look milky any longer (just a few minutes). Turn off the heat and let the concoction set for about ten minutes.
Line your strainer with several layers of cheesecloth and dump the curds and whey in there. I just drained the whey down the sink (I know there are other cheese making applications for pure whey and in the future I will reserves it for experimentation, but I just wanted to keep things simple this time) for about 30 minutes. My ricotta came out less like ricotta and more like ricotta salata - meaning it was rather dry and more appropriate for tossing with pasta or sprinkling on salads than for using in lasagne. If you want a moister ricotta simply drain it for less time.
Dryness be damned -- I used it in Deborah Madison's recipe for
Lasagna with Chard, Ricotta & Walnuts.Yum!
