Our cheese selection for the month of April is Whole-Milk Ricotta. An amazingly easy cheese to make, with very little ingredients too.
Again, we used the recipe from Home Cheese Making,by Ricki Carroll, to make whole-milk ricotta:
1 gallon whole milk
1 teaspoon citric acid dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water
1 teaspoon cheese salt (optional)
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
1. Add the citric acid solution and salt into the milk and mix thoroughly.
2. In a large pot, directly heat the milk to 185 to 195 degress F (do not boil). Stir often to prevent scorching.
3. As soon as the curds and whey separate (make sure there is no milky whey), turn off the heat. Allow to set, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.
4. Line a colander with butter muslin. Carefully ladle the curds into the colander. Tie the corners of the muslin into a knot and hang the bag to drain for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese has reached the desired consistency. The cheese is ready to eat immediately. For a creamier consistency, add the cream at the end and mix thoroughly.
5. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Yield: 1 1/2 - 2 pounds.
I did not feel the need to use the heavy cream, but I did add the cheese salt. There are really no notes or tips for making this cheese, it was very simple to make. It seems like it took a little while for the curds to separate from the whey, and it was not as clear as I imagined it would be, so I was a little concerned. But once I turned the stove off, and let the pot set for the ten minutes, the curds came together beautifully. There was so much whey, I did not think I would get the right yield, but I got my one and a half pound of ricotta. So, I am a happy camper with this one.
I used my ricotta cheese to make an Orange Ricotta Cheesecake, I will post the recipe for that later.
Next month, we will be making Mascarpone. I am hoping to be able to make it in first two weeks of May, as we will be leaving on vacation for the last two weeks. If not, there is always June.
Happy cheese making :)
Comments (7)
Candi, the cheese looks great. I'm looking forward to your cheesecake recipe.
Posted by sheri | April 29, 2009 7:15 PM
Posted on April 29, 2009 19:15
It looks so yummy! Marscapone will be interesting too.
Posted by Annie | April 30, 2009 6:21 AM
Posted on April 30, 2009 06:21
I'm inspired by those in your cheese making group. Your end products look so wonderful. I'm going to try this one of these days.
Posted by Barb Cabot | April 30, 2009 5:51 PM
Posted on April 30, 2009 17:51
Oh, my Lord, girl!
That looks delicious, delicious! How does it taste? As good as it looks???
YUM!
Posted by Brenda | April 30, 2009 6:57 PM
Posted on April 30, 2009 18:57
I am impressed. Also looking forward to your cheesecake recipe. I had to laugh though reading this because all I could think about was Little Miss Muffet with all the curds and whey talk (we act out that Nursery Rhyme every year in my class).
Posted by girasoli | April 30, 2009 11:11 PM
Posted on April 30, 2009 23:11
Thanks all for the comments.
Brenda, yes, the ricotta tastes very good.
girasoli, I think of Little Miss Muffett very often too while I am making cheese:)
Posted by candi | May 1, 2009 12:14 AM
Posted on May 1, 2009 00:14
So delicious! Marscapone will be interesting too. Also looking forward to your cheesecake recipe. Thank you for sharing this post.
Posted by Korean Ginseng | November 21, 2009 6:04 AM
Posted on November 21, 2009 06:04