Homemade Ricotta -- Where Have You Been All My Life?
I'm sure you more seasoned chefs have been making ricotta for years. I've never even contemplated it. Long story short, ended up with whole milk rather than the usual 2% milk due to a little "miscommunication". Nothing was inspiring me, and I couldn't throw it away (my grandmother would have been perched on my shoulder whispering "isn't that a shame" the whole time it glugged down the drain:) Came upon Smitten Kitchen Ricotta. Had some lemons, so I went for it with visions of lasagna for dinner tonight.
Thermometer jerry-rig on stove (ultimate lazy) to reach 190 degrees/then cooling five minutes.
No cheesecloth -- towel will have to do.
After an hour.
then fluffed.
Even though I doubled the recipe, I was a bit under for the lasagna. Such a shame -- after tasting it, I had visions of putting it on just about everything:) Are there t-shirts like the ones on the altered food thread, proclaiming this distinct delicacy? I'd wear one:)
I'd show you the lasagna, but can I tell you I screwed it up? Just keeping it real. Not only did I forget to put the mozzarella in with the ricotta (had to add it as a layer), but then I screwed up the layers too. Oh, and then my son had a piece before it actually cooled so we had some flowing, kind of melding layers HA! Not too pretty.
Putting this one in the arsenal though.
Cathy in SWPA
ps Promise, I've tried to make these pictures smaller, but they never post that way:)
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OT: Johnmari, you have changed my life
Comments (18)*chuckle* Thank you and you're welcome, budge! I was out-and-about all day yesterday closing on the new house, playing in it a while and then having dinner with friends to celebrate; today we had a (long!) showing here at the old house and I had a very long nap afterward. BTW, although they're super-cool, I'm too cheap to buy the nifty elasticized mop covers when I can get "irregular" microfiber cloths at three for a buck at the dollar store and use them for a dozen other things besides the floors. :-) (Okay, I did cough up for the Bona Kemi oversized hardwood mop and two covers, but we can call that a post-hardwood-installation euphoria. ;-) It's not maneuverable enough for my bathroom though.) I just use a regular ole Swiffer frame, the simple little one that comes in three pieces (no squirty thing) for about eight bucks from the grocery store, and while it's not the strongest thing in the world if you need to scrub that hard maybe it's not the tool for you! I wet and wring out a microfiber "miracle" type cloth, drape it over the rectangular head and push little bits of it in the holes with which you secure the disposable cloths. If you want to use a cleaner that requires rinsing, just wring out one cloth in the cleaning solution, then go back over it with a second cloth dampened with clean water. Me, I'm a one-step kind of gal, and for me one of the great joys of the microfiber cloths is that they just need water to get the dirt off stuff. I think Budge may have gotten a rather more specialized and less "cheap, quick and dirty" (ahem...) product. I just combined what I already had on hand, and I know a lot of other people already have Swiffers and microfiber cleaning cloths on hand so they don't necessarily need to go buy another product either. BTW, just a weird little thing I thought I would pass along - did you know you can use a wet miracle cloth to remove makeup? It even took off waterproof mascara and extra-long-lasting lipstick without having to resort to the oily crap I usually had to use to get the stuff off. (I'm not really the makeup type, and I hate raccoon eyes and touching up lipstick!) Another case of me being cheap - I wondered why I should pay $14.99 for a "makeup remover washcloth" at one fancy store when it looked and felt like the 3/$1 miracle cloths I had at home, so I tried it next time I had to paint up my (already-adorable) visage and it worked. The squeamish might want to get a different color to keep them separate from the ones in the cleaning supplies. :-)...See MoreHomemade Ricotta
Comments (13)Eileen, I just found this recipe on About.com, and it seems to yield 4 cups. Despite the warning, I may try this with 2% milk. Home-Made Ricotta From Cosa Bolle in Pentola, the Newsletter: Moving decisively towards food, Diana recently wrote: Though ricotta is often referred to as a cheese, if you want to split hairs it's actually a cheese byproduct, as it's made from the whey that is drained from the curds once the cheese is made. This doesn't mean one cannot make it from milk, however, and I occasionally get requests for a recipe. Gretl recently posted this to the FoodWine discussion list, and it does look good. The recipe is by Grace Pilato, and here are Gretl's transcription and notes: Homemade Fresh Ricotta (from Grace Pilato) I have worked on many variations of this recipe - trying it over and over again trying to get the right combination of taste, consistency, and ease of preparation. I have used readily available enzymes from the grocery store, vegetable enzymes from cheese distributors, fresh lemon juice, citric acid from the drug store, yogurt, and run-of-the mill, inexpensive white distilled vinegar. This recipe is definitely a winner-a perfect ten. The vinegar in this preparation is what makes the milk form curds. If there is too little vinegar, the curds will not fully form and you will get a smaller yield. If there is too much vinegar, you will get an acidic tasting ricotta. Accordingly, the vinegar should not exceed 5 percent of the volume of moisture. Ricotta is so easy to make and the taste so special that you will want to make it weekly to have on hand for eating and cooking. You will need to have a cooking thermometer for your first couple of attempts. The Taylor instant read pocket thermometer is my preference. It is reliable, inexpensive, and compact. Yield: 4 cups Preparation Time: 45 minutes Ingredients: * 1 gallon whole pasteurized milk * 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar * 1/4 teaspoon salt (more if you want a saltier taste and if you are not going to use it for desserts) Procedure: Rinse the inside of the pot you intend to use with cold water (this helps prevent the milk from scorching). Place 1 gallon milk in large, heavy non-reactive pot on medium heat. Add salt and stir briefly. Allow milk to heat up slowly, stirring occasionally. Soon you will notice steam start to form above the surface and tiny bubbles appearing on the milk. You want it to reach 180-185 degrees, near scalding temperature, just before it comes to a boil. Check the temperature with your thermometer. When it reaches the correct temperature, take the pot off the burner, add the vinegar and stir gently for only one minute. Add salt. You will notice curds forming immediately. Cover with a dry clean dish towel and allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a couple of hours. You can also begin preparing your ricotta in the morning before going to work and let it sit until you come home. When the ricotta has rested for 2 hours or more, take a piece of cheesecloth, dampen it and place it inside a colander. With a slotted spoon, ladle out the ricotta into the prepared colander. Place the colander with ricotta inside of a larger pan so it can drain freely. Let it drain for two hours or so depending on how creamy or dry you want your cheese to be. Lift the cheesecloth up by the four corners and twist gently. If the liquid runs clear, squeeze a little more. If the liquid runs milky, there is no more need to squeeze. Place in a tight sealed container. Refrigerate. It will keep for up to 7 days. Ricotta does not freeze well. Notes I would advise against the use of low fat or part skim milk in making the ricotta. The flavor comes from the cream in the whole milk. For desserts, add 1 pint heavy whipping cream along with the milk. I use this variation when I am making ricotta for a dessert filling such as cannoli, cassata, or cream puffs. It is richer, creamier, and a bit more decadent. Grace has a cookbook coming out; it's her first. Although it's listed as being available on the Amazon.com site, it won't be printed until January or early February. Take a look. It's called, appropriately enough, "Cooking With Grace."...See MoreOT - Just an update on my life...all good news
Comments (15)Such happy news, Fran! Congratulations! You sound so happy in your post. Good to hear you're getting back into quilting... it's hard to find time when so many changes are taking place. That special man might just need a special quilt just for him! Hope to have you more involved here, again! You were definitely missed!...See MoreMy 55th reunion is next weekend. How many have you been to?
Comments (33)I've only been to the ex's 10 year reunion. Neither of mine. I got an invitation to the first one but didn't go. Was over in Germany and didn't really want to go back, was very shy in school and had very few friends. I did buy a reunion book but they never sent it to me. I sent in my information about my life up to that point, for that book to be included, but who knows if they included me in there. I never got my 20th reunion invite. I went to Hawaii that summer but my dad lives in the same house he did when I was in high school so there shouldn't have been any reason they couldn't track me down. I assume they had a reunion that year but not really sure. A few years ago, around the time I went to Hawaii in fact, I got two friend requests on Facebook from old high school classmates. I was kind of friends with one, but not at all with the other. I accepted their requests, didn't want to be rude but they both have since unfriended me. LOL....See More
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- 8 years ago
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agooh yes! I only made it once a couple years ago and it was wonderful! I bought citric acid just to try a recipe I found on-line.... I may have even used 2% milk! If FB was easier to search, I could tell you exactly when and how I made it. lol! I need to make it again but BF is a big milk drinker, so I never have enough extra milk. :)
lindac, from what I've read you just shouldn't use ultra-pasturized milk. oops... misunderstood what you were saying, so deleting my blah blah blah. :)
ETA: I found the recipe I used as a basis... I remember now that I had a half-gallon of 1% milk for some odd reason and the recipe said 2% worked fine, so.... I went by the seat of my pants. I heated 1/2 gal of 1% milk over medium heat til 200F. Removed from heat and added 1/2 tsp citric acid powder and 1/2 tsp salt, stirred, then let sit for around 15 min. Lifted the cheese from the whey with a slotted spoon, then just poured the rest through a regular strainer. Came out great and no fussing with cheesecloth or anything. :) Here's my 1% version. Linda, you could easily split this and try a small batch w/ 1 qt of your lactaid milk.
:)
- 8 years ago
Ha! I can't take credit for the jerry-rig -- I had the "initiative" to look on line:), but I'll pretty much do anything to NOT stand at the stove. Yes, I tried to make this smaller; yes, I send thermometer pics to my kids so they'll try to cook more:) Poaching chicken breasts.
Lars, I'd love to see if you try cheese-making -- I know you're an adventurous cook:) I don't eat a lot of milk products cause I can never quite tell what the reaction is going to be, but I'll take a risk to a have just a bit of this.Going to watch Ina, Cindy Mac. She's usually my go-to as her recipes are pretty spot-on. Plus, she doesn't like cilantro and neither do I, so we have that in common --LOL!
And chloebud, oh my. That sounds delicious.
Annie! My grandmother said that too! HA! She's also the one that taught me to knead over the phone when she lived in Pittsburgh, and I lived in New Jersey. I loved when we moved back to the 'burgh -- this woman always had great food even when you dropped in unexpectedly. I digress, but I miss her:) So, I'm now probably going to go down the mozzarella rabbit hole some time this summer because your thread was pretty inspirational HA! Thank you so much for finding it. My goodness, what a fun and unique time! Is there a hint for this or will I know:
"The curd was cut into large chunks. If you cut it too soon,
it affects the texture and results in dray grainy cheese, so timing is crucial."And I love this encouragement: "Mozzarella takes between half an hour and an hour, I was surprised it went so well. Trust me, you could do it."
Have to look for rennet and citric acid too.
Linda, I googled lactose free ricotta and there are some sites. Can't verify this one, but it looked similar to the process I used Lactose Free Ricotta. There is also a you tube. You're such a seasoned cook, if you have some milk left over give it a whirl and make our grandmothers smile:)
Laceyvail, that's a good idea.
Cathy in SWPA
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