How to Make Ricotta at Home
Life keeps getting more and more expensive. With the way that economy is going, purchasing everyday food alone is a struggle. Let alone delicious creamy spreads to brighten your meal times. But all is not lost. Making ricotta for yourself is much easier than you could anticipate. With three basic ingredients and just a few minutes of your time, you can make a delicious fresh batch of ricotta.
But how do you snake this tasty creamy latticino? Well, that is what I aim to go over in this article.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right in and get started!
What Are You Going to Need?
There are inevitably going to be a few things that you need to make a delicious batch of ricotta. We have listed the ingredients you will need down below:
- Whole Milk – About One Litre
- Lemon Juice or Distilled Vinegar – About Twenty Millilitres
- Salt – One Pinch
With just these three ingredients you should be well on your way to making your own delicious ricotta!
Step-By-Step Instructions on How to Make Ricotta
At this point you should have everything you need to get started with your ricotta. Now all you need to do is follow the instructions we have laid out below:
Step 1 – Heat Your Milk Up in a Saucepan
The first thing that you need to do is pour your milk in a saucepan with a heavy bottom. Throw in a pinch of salt and heat up the milk.
Step 2 – Allow Milk to Reach Ninety-Three Degrees Celsius
You need to heat your milk up till it reaches about ninety-three degrees Celsius. Once the milk has reached this temperature add a little lemon juice or distilled vinegar and stir it through.
Step 3 – Stir for a While and then Allow to Stand
Take your warmed up milk off the heart and stir it for a few minutes. After that, you just need to allow the heated up milk to stand for between ten and fifteen minutes.
Step 4 – Separate the Curds from the Whey
Using a slotted spoon, separate the curds from the whey. When you are done, there should only be yellowing whey left in the saucepan. The curds should be scooped into a large sieve so that the whey can be drained from it.
Step 5 – Allow the Curds to Drain
With your curds in a large sieve, allow it to drain for about thirty minutes if you want a soft ricotta. If you want your ricotta to have a firmer texture, allow your curds to drain overnight.
Step 6 – Store and Use Within Three Days
With that, you should have a lovely batch of ricotta which is ready to be eaten. Now all that you need to do is store your ricotta in a container of your choice and refrigerate it. You should eat your ricotta within three days to stop it from going off.
A Few Great Ricotta Recipes
For those of you that might need a recipe to follow with a bit more detail, this section is going to be perfect for you. I have found three recipes which I thought were the best, make sure to check them out below to learn more:
- Serious Eats – If you want a ricotta cheese recipe which is super easy to follow and results in a great cheese, this recipe will be perfect for you.
- She Loves Biscotti – This recipe is super easy to follow, and the resulting ricotta cheese really is quite delightful. You won’t be able to stop eating it!
- Delish – If you want to make an extra creamy and decadent ricotta cheese at home, make sure to check this recipe out.
There are many great ricotta recipes online, if you want to find something a bit different, you are sure to find something that will suit you. But the three recipes I have listed above are really amazing.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you have enjoyed reading this article and learning about how easy it is to make ricotta cheese at home. It really is just as easy as you think it is after reading this article. You need three ingredients, a pot and a strainer. That’s it! With this article or one of the recipes we have mentioned above, you should be well on our way to making your very own batch of ricotta cheese.
With all of that said, if you have enjoyed reading this article, and learning about making this tasty cheese you should absolutely check out our website. We have a wide range of fantastic homesteading and self-sufficiency articles available for you to peruse. From how to make halloumi to how to make homemade butter.