Lasagna with béchamel instead of ricotta
3 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (11)
Related Discussions
Lasagna - do you prefer cottage cheese or ricotta?
Comments (49)Yes, the whey is clear and a bit yellow. When you heat it you start to see bits of milk protein forming in the whey, that's the stuff that becomes ricotta. Mike, I salt when I pull the cheese and I make it when I want it, I don't try to store it. It gets a texture I don't care for when I try to store it in brine. I heat it on the stovetop, although I've been known to reheat in the microwave when it gets too cold to pull well. I'm still just starting on this, I took a cheesemaking class a few months ago. I use my old Harvest Maid dehydrator to make yogurt, but I don't have very much whey when I make yogurt, so I wouldn't get much ricotta, I don't think. Then again, I've never tried it so maybe I would... Annie...See MoreCan cottage cheese sub for ricotta?
Comments (10)Linda (lyndaluu), thanks for "seconding" Malna's advice. It sounds like the cottage cheese will work and taste OK. LindaC, I'll save that list; it explains why I can handle butter but not the other stuff. Lars, I appreciate your advice. I've read your posts in the past about lactose intolerance, and I think you're right that we can handle some cheeses (especially the hard, aged types) better than milk per se. But, unlike you, I've found that I can't handle cream, either (maybe it's really the milk mixed with the cream, but I don't want to experiment!). It's not a problem at home, of course, but I've sometimes been in great "distress" immediately after a restaurant meal if I wasn't aware of milk in a brown gravy or thought I could disregard the small amount of cream in a sauce or the shredded parmesan topping on a salad. After you suffer the consequences a few times, you learn to be very cautious (I carry Lactaid tablets in my purse). I'm going to try SoyaKaas mozzarella-style substitute in my lasagna. I keep watching for other new products. There are so many lactose-intolerant people, you'd think there would be a huge market for these products, but so far, they mainly sell soy yogurt and lactose-free milk, cottage cheese, american cheese, and ice cream. I'm grateful that I can have grilled cheese and ice cream again, after years of abstaining, but I'd like to see many more types of cheeses and other products. Sue...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 MoreFinally made lasagna noodles using rolling pin
Comments (35)Squircle!! I laughed because I still use my old Corning Ware with the blue cornflowers on the sides! My daughter keeps saying that I should get rid of them because they are so old. I tell her, "I am old too. Do you want to get rid of me?" I should give all my kitchen stuff to charity when I die, because she will get rid of it anyway. I will roll over in my grave when she throws my Ankarsrum mixer or my Breville Peel and Dice out. Maybe, I should be buried with them.... I love my stainless steel rolling pin that my father-in-law made for his mother-in-law. (My husband's grandmother) But, my husband loaded the dishwasher one night, and he put the rolling pin in the dishwasher. No more shiny! He did the same thing to my meat mallet. Biscuit and doughnut cutters are still shiny though. Used a Corning Ware dish tonight to make 4 rolls. Lars, your lasagna looks better than the one I made the other day. Mine was really flat and green. Not pretty at all, but it is probably one of the best recipes I have ever made....See More- 3 years ago
- 3 years ago
- 3 years ago
Related Stories


HOLIDAYSFeast Your Eyes on Holiday Dishes Around the World
See traditional Christmas and New Year’s favorites from different countries, along with festive holiday table decor
Full Story
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)