recipe for what is sometimes called homemade r icotta cheese. Whi le it is wonderfully tasty it is not true ricotta cheese which is made from whey. Ricotta is Italian for recooked" because it is made by "cooking" whey which is produced when the curds are separated for cheese. There is an excellent recipe and scientific explanation of this from David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D. Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Ricotta/ricotta_00.htm
This fresh ricotta cheese is excellent when served with apricot preserves. My Favorite recipe for fresh apricot preserves is Michael Schwartz's thyme agave recipe which can be seen here at this MSNBC page http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43733768/ns/today-food/t/make-your-own-onion-dip-potato-chips-crostini-more/ or in his new cookbook Michael's Genuine Food. I find I usually need to double the agave in this recipe but it can really depend on how sweet your
apricots are.
Unfortunately even though this cheese is incredibly easy to make I can not always find the time to make make it and we tend to eat a lot of ricotta! Lucky for me there is one brand of real made from whey ricotta cheese with the quality and freshness that I require. Calabro Ricotta Cheese is the only ricotta cheese that does not use guar gum or any of the other artificial thickeners or preservatives that all the other brands use. The taste of this cheese is clean, fresh, dairy with absolutely no pasty texture. Also, it is not overly salty. Calabro Ricotta Cheese has a short shelf life and is sold only in Italian grocers or gourmet food stores. It comes in a metal container with with mound of cheese over the top that is covered with a small sheet of plastic held on by a rubber-band. Sometimes Italian grocers will sell it by the pound in the deli case. See the container pic below.
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
Using buttermilk eliminates the need to add acidity like lemon juice or vinegar. I have made this both ways and have found that the buttermilk produces a creamy rich dairy taste with no acidic tang.
When you are done making the cheese do not throwout the whey. The whey is nutritious and flavorful and great secret ingredient as a replacement for liquids in many of your favorite recipes like soups, stews, cakes and breads. When substituting buttermilk whey in baking remember you are adding some acid to the recipe.
1 gallon whole organic milk
1 quart cultured organic full fat buttermilk
1 scant tablespoon sea salt
You will need
A very fine sieve or specific cheese strainer (I have Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker which is just a plastic container and stainless-steel fine-mesh strainer that fits inside of it). Or The Euro Cuisine CB12 Cotton Bag for Making Cheese which is cheaper and will achieve the same results. Or you may also use a large fine woven cheesecloth with a large sieve or colander.
A ladle or a very large
cooking spoon
A cooking thermometer
1. First make sure the pot and all the utensils you are using are very clean and sterile.
2. Moisten the cheesecloth with water, then fold it several times, and place it in the sieve, or colander placed over a large bowl. You don't need to use cheesecloth if you have a cheese sieve.
3. Combine both milks in a large pot and slowly heat to 175 to 180 F, stirring occasionally.
4. When the temperature is at 175 - 180F, the curds and whey should separate. When that happens remove the pot from heat and very gently stir in the salt .
Gently and slowly, so as not to break up the curds, ladle the whey into the prepared sieve. Drain until the dripping stops, about 10 minutes. The longer you drain the cheese the dryer
it will become. You can adjust the draining time to your pallet or recipe. Spoon the ricotta into very clean sterile containers and cover. Refrigerate and
use within 4 days
Makes about 4 cups.