Fresh Ricotta

You could easily cut down some of the time by using store bought ricotta, but if you’ve ever spent the time to make it homemade, you’ll never buy that tub stuff again! The texture is soft, creamy and a bit sweet. It’s hard to not eat it straight out of the colander or on a giant spoon with a drizzle of honey. Below is my tried and true recipe and I will post the Gnocchi recipe shortly. I hope you give cheese making a shot. It’s not as scary as you think and the results will blow you away!

Fresh Homemade Ricotta


Ingredients
1 tbsp sea salt (untreated) – Trader Joe’s is a great resource
2 c water
1 gallon whole milk
1 16 oz heavy cream
1/3 c lemon juice from 2 lemons (or 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar)


Instructions

1. Mix the sea salt and water, until mostly dissolved.
2. In a large stock pot, add the milk, heavy cream and sea salt water.
3. Heat over medium-low heat until the milk begins to boil softly. this can take some time, make sure to keep an eye on it or it can scorch.
4. Add the lemon juice and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. watch for the curds to come to the surface. once you have a thin layer of curds, remove from the heat and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.
5. Place a double thickness of cheese cloth (you can buy this at the local fabric store) in a colander set in the sink. with a slotted spoon, skim the curds off the top and place in the colander. what will remain will be a yellowish colored water. you can feed this to your chickens and cats like it as well, or you can toss it out.
6. Gather the cheese cloth corners and tie them around a long utensil set over the sink and let drain for 20-30 minutes or until the desired consistency…the longer you hang it, the dryer the cheese. it can be stored in the fridge for only a couple of days so make sure you can use it up. this recipe 

Makes about 4 cups