Homemade Ricotta

Years ago, Aunt Paula told me that making ricotta is easy. I finally got around to trying it. I don't know what I was waiting for. Homemade ricotta is easy to make and so much more delicious than store-bought ricotta. This ricotta was creamy and rich. It is excellent spread on crackers with or without other flavorings. I enjoyed this batch with some peach jam, but it would also be great with pesto and nuts, or any other topping.

This recipe yields about two cups of ricotta. The nice thing about making it is that you can control how thick or thin the ricotta will be. The longer you drain the ricotta, the thicker it will be. Also, the ricotta will firm up somewhat in the refrigerator. The liquid that drains out is whey and can be used or saved for later. The whey can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a few months. The whey can be used instead of milk or water in a number of recipes, such as bread or oatmeal.

Homemade Ricotta 

• 4 cups whole milk 
• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 3 tbsp white vinegar 

Set large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen two layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with cheesecloth.  Pour the milk and cream into a heavy saucepan. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for one minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts and milky parts. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20-25 minutes (or 10-20 minutes longer for firmer ricotta) occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl discarding the cheesecloth. The ricotta may be refrigerated for up to five days. Enjoy!