Wednesday 4 September 2013

Home made ricotta cheese



Makes 1 cup

3 1/2 cups milk (the full fat kind)
1/2 cup heavy cream/ thickened cream (35-36% fat)
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice


1. Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3 litre nonreactive saucepan (stainless steel, glass) Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 87 degrees Celsius. Stir it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom.

2. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

3. Line a colander or sieve with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels or other non-terrycloth kitchen towels and place it over a large bowl to catch the whey.

4. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for an hour. If your ricotta looks a little dry for your tastes, stir back in some of the whey.

5. Discard the remainder whey. Eat straight  right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

* I got this recipe from Dishing the Divine. For the photo above I experimented a little and pressed the cheese with some cans in the fridge . I'm not professional and don't own any pro equipment and I'm guessing you don't either. So, just MacGyver it! Then I cut it into pieces like paneer. It won't form clean slices but it's still good anyway! 

Is it cheaper than buying a tub of ricotta from the supermarket? No. Not in Singapore anyway where dairy is expensive and carton of milk costs $3+, and a small tub of cream is about that price too. 

Is it fun to make? Definitely yes! 

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