I did a bit of research online and found some helpful tips which I included below. I also found that instead of using vinegar, some people use lemon juice (or even lime juice) to make a sweeter ricotta instead of a more savory one (using vinegar). My friend used lemon juice and was happy with her results. I used vinegar and was happy with mine, but I do want to try it with lemon juice some time to compare.
A lot of the recipes I looked at online also said not to use ultra-pasteurized milk (which I believe most organic milk is). So I used regular whole milk. And most of the recipes only used milk and no heavy cream. I opted to use the heavy cream!
Some important things to remember when making this recipe - the milk/cream/salt mixture has to be heated to at least 185 degrees. I let mine get to about 190 degrees. Then I stirred in the vinegar and let it rest for 15 minutes before I strained it. You do not want to stir the vinegar in too much. That is when the ricotta starts to curdle so you want to just leave it alone to do it's thing. Then when you drain the ricotta, don't keep it draining too long or it will dry out and get hard. You can store it with some of the liquid still in it and drain it more later if you need to.
I also found that most recipes online suggested using a cheese cloth, which is not necessary. I used a skimmer to scoop the ricotta out of the pot and then put it into a fine mesh strainer which was resting over a bowl.
I made a half recipe in a 4.5-quart pot which worked well. I did not measure how much ricotta I got from it, but the recipe below has some info from my mom about what she usually gets from a single or double recipe.
This recipe was very simple to make and I can't believe I didn't try it sooner. It didn't take long - you just have to be patient while the milk/cream/salt mixture is heating up. You don't want to rush that or it might burn. Then you have to keep checking the temperature until it gets to 185 degrees (it took about 20 minutes on medium heat for my half recipe). I just ordered a candy thermometer so next time I can have it in the pot and not have to keep sticking a thermometer in there.
Homemade Ricotta
1 gallon whole milk (Note: Do not use ultra-pasteurized
milk)
1 pint whipping cream (2 cups)
3 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons white vinegar
Combine milk, cream, and salt in a
saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring occasionally until it reaches 185° -
195°.
Remove from heat and stir for 30
seconds - add the vinegar while stirring (this is when it will start to
curdle). Do not over-stir!
Set aside for 10-15 minutes.
Drain the ricotta – rather than
pouring the hot milk mixture into a strainer (which could make a huge mess),
skim the ricotta curds off the top with a skimmer and place in a larger wire
strainer that is overtop a bowl for further draining. After you have skimmed as
much of the larger curds as possible, pour the remaining milk mixture through a
medium sized wire strainer to capture all of the remaining curds. Add that to larger curds. Drain, but DO NOT OVER DRAIN the
ricotta. If it becomes too dry it will be
very difficult to work with. You can
always drain any additional liquid if necessary.
Set aside to cool, then refrigerate.
Process takes approximately 1 to 1½ hours.
Single recipe – use an 8 or 10-quart pan
Double recipe – use a 12-quart pan
Each recipe makes approximately 2 lbs. of ricotta.
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| Simple ingredients! |
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| Whole milk, heavy cream and salt in the pot |
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| About 20 minutes later, it was heated to 190 degrees |
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| Stir in the vinegar and let it rest for 15 minutes |
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| Use a skimmer to remove the ricotta curds from the pot and place in a fine mesh strainer |
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| Done! |
