Homemade Ricotta Cheese Experiment!

 Homemade Ricotta Cheese Experiment!!!

My good friend Rachel (a member of Genghis Barbie...) gave me this easy recipe for homemade Ricotta Cheese. All you need is: 

-1 gallon of milk (preferably whole and organic)

-1 pint (or small container) of heavy cream

-1/2 cup white vinegar

-a candy thermometer

-cheesecloth

-a big pot, a colander and a spoon!

Start with your big pot. Pour in your gallon of milk. I started with a gallon of organic raw milk from the raw dairy co-op I recently joined called Udder Milk. Check them out! 

(daaaaaang that's thick!)

The nice people at Udder Milk said that this cream would be heavy, and they weren't kidding. It was THICK. 

Add your heavy cream and stir. Turn on the heat to LOW. It's gonna take a looooooong time to heat up, but it's going to be worth it!

 Now it's time to put in your candy thermometer. This one ($9.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond) is adjustable and clips onto the side of your pot. Try to have it slightly above the bottom of the pot in order to get a more accurate reading of the milk temperature.

(keep it moving!) 

 

Stir frequently throughout, especially when it gets hot- try not to let any film build up on top of the milk.

Heat slowly until the temperature reads  

170 degrees.

When the temp is right, take the mixture off of the heat and let it sit for a minute while you measure your ingredients.

Measure out 1/2 cup of white vinegar.

Pour it in! 

 Let the vinegar sit for a minute while you get your strainer ready.

Take your cheesecloth and get it ready. Lay it over your colander and put it in the sink (make sure it's clean!).

Now get back to your pot o' milk (or is it cheese now!?) and stir gently.

(you gotta keep 'em separated!)

 At this point, it smells SO GOOD that you might lose your mind.

Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander and strain to a consistency of your liking. It's okay if there is a lot of extra moisture, you can always strain it again, or for each individual use. You can also add extra milk to smooth out the consistency if you want a creamier ricotta.

Now you have HOMEMADE RICOTTA CHEESE!

  Mmmmmm... it looks good!

Let's make dinner! 

I roasted some asparagus, baked a chicken breast, made some local greenmarket Carrot pasta with garlic & chives and dressed a salad with a homemade Raspberry Shrub Vinaigrette.

YUM!

For breakfast: ricotta pancakes. Then... ricotta cheesecake?

Enjoy!