Why buy ricotta cheese when you can make your own? Homemade ricotta is quite simple to execute and packs in tons of fresh flavor.
I realize that it’s much easier to go to the grocery store and buy a tub of ricotta cheese. It lasts forever in your refrigerator, you can pop open a container of it at 5pm and have dinner on the table at 6pm. I get it. It’s easy. But if you’re a ricotta cheese fanatic, you’ve gotta try this.
Tonight we served ours on some toasted baguette slices drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. The warm bread and the creamy cheese were a fabulous pair – but then I spooned a bit of honey over the top and OH-MY-GOSH it was heavenly. Warm, crusty bread – smooth, creamy ricotta- sweet, sticky honey…
We may or may not have eaten all of the ricotta. I may or may not have had bread and ricotta cheese for dinner.
I’ll never tell.
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- Yield: 1 cup of cheese 1x
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium, non-reactive saucepan, combine milk, cream and salt.
- Using a candy thermometer, heat to 190 degrees, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
- Once it reaches 190 degrees, remove from heat and add lemon juice.
- Stir gently a couple of times to combine, then allow to sit undisturbed for five minutes.
- Place a strainer lined with a thin towel (or a couple of layers of cheesecloth) over a large bowl.
- Slowly pour mixture through the strainer, and allow it to drain for 1-2 hours. The longer it drains, the drier it will become. (I usually stop draining right at the hour mark.)
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (this will depend on the freshness of your milk and cream, so it could be a couple of days or even 10 days or more – use your nose as a freshness guide!)
- Category: Basics
