One of my goals this year is to start experimenting with making my own cheese. I'd really LOVE to take a class sometime, and I bought a kit online for making mozzarella. The year is beginning to wind down, and I realized that I haven't started on this goal yet. Where does all the time go?! From what (little) research I've done ricotta cheese is suppose to be the easiest (and quickest) cheese to make. So, at the very least I thought I could give that I try this week.
I took the plunge, and I am happy to report that making ricotta at home is SUPER easy! It's so encouraging to have a little success when you're trying something new.
There are tons of resources out there to learn how to make ricotta. I followed a short tutorial from the September edition of the Food Network Magazine. I found my batch needed a bit more vinegar and time to properly curdle, so I've added those tweaks to the directions below.
Homemade Ricotta Cheese, makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups.
6 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
First over a large glass bowl place a fine mesh sieve covered with a few layers of cheese cloth.
In a large non reactive pot (stainless steel or ceramic works best here) combine the milk, heavy cream and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is warmed through. Turn up the heat just a little add the lemon juice and vinegar. You don't really need to stir much, just every minute or so to be sure the bottom of the mixture isn't burning. Your milk should curdle after 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into your prepared sieve.
Allow this to drain for 15-20 minutes. Once drained you can store your cheese in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
Ricotta cheese is pretty cool, in that it can easily be used in both savory or sweet combinations. You can stir a little ricotta into your favorite pasta dish or on top of pizza. For a breakfast/snack option try topping toast with Nutella, ricotta and strawberries OR ricotta, blueberries and honey. Yum! Enjoy. xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman
51 Comments
Was it really that easy?
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Ricotta is one of my vices. I can say “no” to a lot, but not ricotta. I’m excited to try this!
Such delicious!!! 🙂
This is look amazing ^^
http://mademoisellejuliet.blogspot.com/
Yum! Your pictures make everything look so simple! I’m most definitely impressed. 🙂
http://sometimesgracefully.com
This looks delicious, and seems easy to make, much easier than I originally thought. Think I’ll give this a go sometime 🙂 my mum loves ricotta
This is so cool! I’ve never thought of making my own cheese before, but after seeing this I just might! Riccotta Cheese is also a favorite of mine to have with pasta 🙂
xx
http://www.zoesparablepsia.blogspot.com
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awesome 🙂
I saw kits to make goat cheese at Whole Foods the other day, and this website is supposed to be the best too http://www.cheesemaking.com/ (it’s mentioned in the beautiful “Vegetable animal miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver)
thanks for the tips 😉
The cheese looks yummy but I’m really interested in those mushroom measuring spoons. Did you buy them locally? I’m going to be in Springfield next weekend and would love to get a set of my own.
vintagehoneybee.blogspot.com
Thanks for the resource! And I just loved that book by Kingsolver. It was why I started my very first food blog, some years ago now. 🙂
-Emma
Sadly you cannot get them in Springfield. I bought them at Anthropologie while we were in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago.
-Emma
Those mushroom measuring spoons are ADORABLE!! I would definitely also be interested in where you found those. Darling!
Ricotta is the perfect first cheese to try making at home. So simple and delicious! Love the looks of those strawberries piled on top of the ricotta 🙂
Fantastic idea! Yum! What a great option to make at home…simple yet will really impress your guests!
Impressive was the thought that came to mind when I saw these photos too. An impressive undertaking!
I’ve been wanting to try yogurt and cheesemaking for awhile…thanks for the recipe and inspiration!
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Can’t wait to try making this!
My most recent cooking adventure: cacio e pepe
http://districtandmore.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/cacio-e-pepe/
Oh my God this looks tasty as hell! Great post, I’m heading straight to the kitchen! xx
fashionvitae.blogspot.com
Wow! This is kind of super awesome.
I love this idea! I’ve actually been using a similar recipe for years now to make paneer for Indian dishes, so if you want to use it for that, it works also! I’ve always just let it be crumbly, but apparently if you press it under something hard for a few hours you can get more of a cheese-block shape. 🙂
yum yum yum this looks really great! i have never had ricotta on toast before — inspired!
xx
Oh Yum yum! I really need to try this! It would be fun to make your own and then use it for ricotta pancakes. MM!
Fantastic idea!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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Dracula est de retour !
This is a nice post. Thanks for sharing the process Emma.
Cheers,
Janika
http://crazysketchbook.blogspot.in/
i’d loveee this! how cool
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
Wow, you made that look easy. Always impressed with your food!
Oh my that looks divine!
http://www.r1sweetworld.blogspot.com
Oh my gosh, this looks so delicious! Ricotta is definitely right up there as one of my favorite cheeses. Perfect morning cheese, if there’s such a thing! Thanks for the tip! – Leith
http://outsidelanddiaries.blogspot.com
I love your posts! So inspiering!
I love homemade ricota! My mother does once or twice every month. Emma, you definitely need to try cooking some Brazilian food. They are the best! The BuzzFeed listed some here http://www.buzzfeed.com/gabrielakruschewsky/traditional-brazilian-foods-you-need-to-eat-right-now , but we have so many delicious food… I’d love see some tradicional braziliam food here in this tag.
this looks delicious
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Wow, great idea. I live in Hong Kong so although we do have access to cheese at expat grocery stores, ricotta is usually the tough one to find. May just give this a try! Thanks! 🙂
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I’m not a big cheese person, but if ricotta is supposed to be the easiest cheese to make, I think I could make it for my mom because I know she’d love it! I like the storage in the mason jar. You can use them for anything!
M.
This looks so yummy! I’ve always wanted to try making my own cheese, maybe this winter I will!
that strawb and nutella one looks epic!
http://talisatalksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/homedics-ultraslim-pro-at-home-slimming.html
I’ve made mozzarella a couple of times and that was pretty easy, too!
I don’t cook much, but I am so tempted to try this as I love ricotta and it’s so expensive! Thank you!
I made ricotta over on my blog the other day! I served it up with strawberries and mint, honey and balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Mm mmm!
http://alexandrahallam.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/sip-and-sup-homemade-ricotta-served-three-ways/
I’ve made ricotta cheese at home a few times now — super easy! I don’t even use the vinegar.
Easy, and delicious. Perfect with some homemade artisan bread.
sunnylikelove.blogspot.ca
PS – Emma, I’m really interested to hear how any other cheese-making experimenting goes. We’ve been getting into cheese-making in our home too!
Looks yummy!
metinearbata.blogspot.com
Nice! I make ricotta/paneer all the time. I just use whole milk and lemon juice though – none of the other ingredients. Then I use the leftover whey as a substitute for buttermilk in pancakes, scones, you name it!
My favorite way to use ricotta is to put it on toast with honey and thyme!
I made paneer cheese one time and it was GOOD and it was really that easy. Very similar process.
Ricotta is so yummy. I like to just drizzle a little olive oil on it and some cracked pepper and flaky salt and eat it by the spoonful.
I like to use whole milk. It really makes much more in quantity, but tastes equally as delicious. (My mom was taught this old family recipe in a outdoor kitchen over a wood fire stove in Italy, and passed it down to me, minus the wood fire.) It is a little cheaper with whole milk. Also, for the budget conscious, cheese cloth can be bought from bolts at fabric stores! To me, this was a very exciting discovery.
yum! I made mozzarella with a cheese kit (this one: http://www.cheesemaking.com/30-Minute-Mozzarella-Ricotta-Kit.html) I got online and it was AMAZING. the only problem is finding high quality whole milk without paying a fortune! 🙂 happy cheese-making!
So I didn’t actually make my own, but I had ricotta in the fridge. Breakfast this morning! So tasty on toast with honey. Thanks for the inspiration– breakfast ideas are really difficult for me, and this was perfect!
Wow I just totally made some not too long ago on my blog! It’s a lot of fun making your own cheese! I made a savory dish with mine!
Omg, this looks so good & so easy! I’ve wanted to make both mozzarella and ricotta, but never seem to reserve the time for it. Awesome, thanks for the inspiration, hopefully I’ll try it soon!
Amazing idea!
Lulu xx
http://luluslittlewonderland.blogspot.com
I saw this done by one of Mario Batali’s chefs at a dinner that I worked for my job. It looked easy then, and you’ve confirmed that. I’ll have to try this out.
thanks for sharing this!! it looks so easy and so perfect for stayhome weekends. 🙂