Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Yes you read that right!  I've got a special little treat for you today.  Did you know it's incredibly easy to make your own ricotta cheese right at home?  It's quick, it's delicious and you'll likely never use store bought ricotta again.



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4 cups of 3.25% (homogenized) Milk at room temperature
1/8 cup of lemon juice
1/4 tsp of kosher salt
Cheesecloth

Yield: Approximately 1 cup

Before you begin, measure out the lemon juice and salt so it's ready to go when called for in the recipe.  Have a tight weaved metal strainer lined with 2 or 3 layers of cheesecloth, set over a large bowl (at least 4 cup capacity).

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1. Poor the milk into a wide saucepan.

2. Heat the milk over HIGH stirring frequently, until it starts to become frothy and bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Be careful not to burn the milk.

3. Immediately stir in the lemon juice and salt, just to incorporate it.  You will see it starting to separate almost immediately.  Let it stand until you see white curds floating up to the top (2 or 3 minutes).

4. Carefully pour or ladle the mix into the cheesecloth lined, fine weave strainer and let it drain well over a large bowl.  You may need to gently move the cheese around to let all the liquid drain out.

5. In the end, you will end up with about 3 cups of yellow liquid which should be discarded.

Admire your kitchen savvy.  You've just made cheese!

Chill and store it in the fridge until ready to use.  It will keep up to a week.  Before serving, stir in a tablespoon of cream to loosen it up if you wish.  I prefer it as is.

Use it in your favourite dishes, as a garnish, or wow guests and serve it as a spread (make sure to tell them it's homemade!).  Ricotta, strawberry and some fresh cracked pepper is always a nice, simple combination.

Eat and be cheesy!

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