Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (2024)

FAQs

How is ricotta made from scratch? ›

To make ricotta cheese, milk is heated until the curds and whey separate. The curds become the basis for varieties such as mozzarella, while reheating the whey produces the moist, fine grains that traditionally create ricotta (hence the name, meaning “twice cooked”).

It really matters what kind of dairy you use: organic whole milk and not ultra-pasteurized cream are preferred. I also want to emphasize the importance of timing: do not overheat the milk-cream mixture, and do not let it boil. Otherwise, you will end up with tough and rubbery curd.

Find milk that's full fat, 3.25% whole milk is ideal. While it's unsafe to drink raw milk, try to find a version that's not ultra-pasteurized since the proteins have been destabilized. As a result, the calcium in the milk does not properly bond together and won't curdle.

Cheesemakers make whatever cheese they want to make with the curds, and then repurpose the leftover whey to create ricotta (among other whey cheeses). To do this, the whey is heated—usually after a small addition of whole milk and some form of vinegar or citrus juice—and the remaining curds start to coagulate.

Ingredients: Whole Milk (not ultra pasteurized!): I recommend whole cow's milk for creamy flavor and texture. Alternatively, 2% or 1% milk can be used; but the final result will not be as creamy. Ultra pasteurized milk does not work for homemade ricotta.

Eggs help bind the ricotta cheese, but if you don't have eggs on hand then it's OK to omit them. Adding egg to ricotta cheese helps to bind the cheese for lasagna so that it doesn't ooze out of the casserole when you cut it. Basically, the egg helps all the cheesy goodness stay intact.

The stuff is made from whey, the milky by-product of the cheese-making process. The whey from, say, mozzarella or provolone is heated again, and the remaining proteins and fats curdle and are collected to form ricotta.

The one difference you'll want to pay the most attention to is the difference in liquid content. Cottage cheese can be a little runny, so you may want to strain it a bit before using it as a substitute for the creamier, thicker ricotta.

In cheeses without added colorant, pink discoloration has been associated with: certain strains of thermophilic lactobacilli and propionic acid bacteria, Maillard reactions, and microbial pigments (e.g., carotenoids and phenolic compounds), which may be responsible for development of pink-brown or dark brown ...

As for texture, chalky, grainy ricottas are a sign that the milk was heated too hot or agitated too much during production, causing the proteins to tighten up into rubbery bundles. There should be a slight graininess to the texture, but the grains should be composed of soft, creamy curds, not little rubber balls.

How long does homemade ricotta keep? ›

Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.

Why make homemade ricotta? Because you can. And because the results are so much better than most of the packaged stuff you can buy, especially at the supermarket. Making it yourself is also less expensive than buying fresh ricotta at a fancy gourmet market.

Milk (adding milk is optional but it increases Ricotta yield) Citric acid, vinegar, or rennet (1/2 tsp per gallon of liquid), dissolved in 1/2 cup water. Salt (1/2 tsp per gallon of liquid) The Ricotta yield you get from a gallon of whey (or whey-milk mixture) depends on the amount of milk solids in it.

Ricotta cheese prepared at 90 °C, pH 7 and CaCl2 6 mm exhibited the highest cheese yield, proteins and total solids, while high fat content was recorded for cheese processed at 100 °C, pH 5 and 4 mm CaCl2 concentration.

But there is a very good reason to try it. Ricotta, one of the world's most ancient dairy products, is made by reheating the whey left over from cheese-making with the addition of a little more milk, plus an acid such as distilled vinegar. Ricotta, ri-cotta, literally means re-cooked.

The key distinction between the two really comes down to moisture content and texture: ricotta is smooth and spreadable with extremely fine (almost imperceptible) curds, whereas the preparation of cottage cheese results in a soupy and lumpy finished product with a higher moisture content.

Whereas ricotta is sweeter, cottage cheese has a notable tangy flavor from the slow acid fermentation. It has a heavier, thicker consistency than ricotta, and is generally studded with larger curds, though it comes in small and large curd varieties.

Ricotta cheese is especially reasonably priced, so it is a toss-up if you want to make ricotta to save money. It is cheaper to make your own, if you are going strictly on the price of ingredients, but you do have to factor in your time.