My handsome heartbreaker, Gino Bino Valentino, has offered to be the guest post ambassador for today! I write this post at the beginning of Valentine’s Week and Gino is the perfect handsome face to welcome you to our newest beginner cheesemaking lesson – whole milk RICOTTA!
Ricotta comes in several different types and is made in several different ways… fresh, or pressed, formed and aged, made from whey, a combination of whey and added cream or milk, or made entirely from whole milk. Today, we’re making a high-yield ricotta recipe from whole milk.
These are the things you will need to make fresh ricotta with me:
- A gallon of milk. Any type will do, as long as it’s not nut milk or ultra-high temperature pasteurized milk
- 1/4 cup of vinegar – I like apple cider vinegar but white vinegar will do
- 3 tablespoons of melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda OR you can just use 1 teaspoon of salt
- A large pot, a colander and a bowl big enough for it to sit in, a clean white handkerchief or several layers of cheesecloth, a large spoon and a thermometer.
Pour your gallon of milk into your large pot and carefully heat the milk to 195°F. You want the milk to be just below the simmering point. When your milk is up to temperature, drizzle the 1/4 cup of vinegar into the milk, stirring constantly but very gently. You’ll see the milk separate into tiny little wispy clumps of curd and fairly clear, slightly greenish whey. If your whey is still white and milky, like the photo on the left, you can heat the milk a little bit more up to 205ºF, but do not add more vinegar, or the ricotta will taste sourish. When your whey is mostly clear, like the photo on the right, ladle the curds into the cheesecloth-lined colander and let it drain for about a minute. You actually want whey to remain in ricotta so that it stays light and moist, so don’t drain it for long.
Put your moist curds into a bowl and add EITHER up to one teaspoon of salt OR 3 tablespoons of melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. I prefer the latter. I like the extra richness of the butter and the salty fluffiness from the baking soda. This is also a good time for you to divide your batch of fresh ricotta into recipe-sized portions and add seasonings or herbs to your liking. Your ricotta will keep for 5 – 7 days in a tightly-lidded container in your refrigerator.
I divided my ricotta into a savory main course of stuffed manicotti. I filled a small casserole dish halfway full with my homemade tomato-and-hot-Italian-sausage sauce. Then I mixed a pound of ricotta with two beaten eggs, parmesan, and parsley, then piped it into the manicotti.
Now for dessert, I mixed a cup of ricotta with 4 tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a pinch of sugar. You can use up to 2 teaspoons of your sweetener of choice, such as maple syrup or agave nectar or sugar or honey. Blend it thoroughly and add a little more milk if it seems too stiff. I piped it into small dishes and garnished it with dark chocolate bark. Eaten together, the chocolate and the peanut butter ricotta taste just like candy. You can use 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee powder in place of the peanut butter if that’s more your style. This would be so delicious in mini graham cracker crusts with melted chocolate drizzled on top.
How do you like my little spoon? I found it on eBay. I could get in so much trouble on eBay. It’s a good thing I don’t go shopping there often…
Gino and I hope you enjoyed learning to make ricotta at home, and we hope you’ll be back to let us know your favorite ways to use your fresh ricotta!
