I read an article in a food magazine about making your own ricotta cheese. I've never attempted to make cheese before but this recipe promised that homemade ricotta was fast, simple and a deliciously pure product, compared to the store-bought item.
With only 3 ingredients, milk, salt and acid (distilled vinegar or lemon juice), homemade ricotta was simple. Just heat the milk and salt, add the acid, drain and enjoy. I used 1 quart of whole milk and the result was about 3/4 cup of ricotta which you can see in the photo above. Click here for an online recipe and more detailed directions.
Acid causes the milk to form curds. These are then removed to a cheesecloth lined colander and allowed to drain.
This is the result of curds allowed to drain for about 1 1/2 hours. Allowing the curds to drain longer would of course produce a dryer cheese.
I like to eat my ricotta spread on toast or crackers with sliced figs or dried fruit and some pistachios. Homemade ricotta has a mild flavor and a soft, more delicate texture than store-bought ricotta.
This was a fun, easy project. Any chance you'd try this or have you tried it for yourself already?
I've never thought to try this, but since you made it look easy, I have to now!
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