How To Make Ricotta Cheese At Home

Learn how to make ricotta cheese at home. It's quick and easy: all yous demand is milk, lemon juice, vinegar, and common salt.

Technically, authentic ricotta cheese is made from cooked whey, which is a past-product of the cheesemaking process.

However, this is a recipe for an easy milk-based ricotta, which is more like a fresh farmers cheese. It'due south just as wonderful and works perfectly well in all sweet and savory recipes which telephone call for ricotta cheese.

Table of Contents

Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
Pace-past-step instructions
Recipe tips and variations
How to Make Ricotta Cheese Recipe

Recipe ingredients

Ingredients for making ricotta cheese at home.

Ingredient notes

Milk: Utilise pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized / UHT) whole milk.
Lemon juice: Use regular lemons (non Meyer lemons; they don't have enough acrid to curdle the milk).

Step-by-step instructions

Line a colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and set in sink. In a liquid measuring loving cup, combine lemon juice and vinegar.

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat milk and salt to 185 degrees. Stir oft with a safety spatula to prevent scorching.

Remove pot from oestrus and gently stir in lemon juice and vinegar until the mixture curdles, well-nigh fifteen seconds.

Let rest, without stirring, until the mixture fully separates into solid curds and translucent whey, 5 to 10 minutes. If curds practice non fully split up the whey looks milky, stir in 1 tablespoon of vinegar and permit sit down 2 to iii minutes longer. Repeat this process until curds carve up.

Gently pour prepared mixture into prepared colander. Allow rest, without moving, until whey has drained from edges of cheese only center is still very moist, virtually viii minutes.

Gently transfer cheese to large bowl, keeping as much whey in centre of cheese as possible. Stir well to break up large curds and incorporate whey. Refrigerate until common cold, about 2 hours, or up to 5 days. Stir ricotta before using.

Recipe tips and variations

Yield: This recipe makes 2 pounds (iv cups) of ricotta cheese, or 32 (1-ounce) servings (2 tablespoons each).
Storage: Shop ricotta covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Leftover whey: Add it to smoothies for a poly peptide boost or utilise information technology in place of water when making breadstuff and pizza dough (it feeds the yeast).
Simple spread: Drizzle some fresh ricotta cheese with honey, then sprinkle with toasted chopped hazelnuts. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

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Put your ricotta to work

How to Make Ricotta Cheese

Larn how to make ricotta cheese at home. It's quick and easy: all yous need is milk, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt.

Prep Fourth dimension five mins

Cook Fourth dimension 25 mins

Cooling Fourth dimension 2 hrs

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 32 servings (2 tbsp each)

Course Pantry

Cuisine American

Calories 73

▢ 1/3 cup lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
▢ 1/four cup white vinegar plus more as needed
▢ 1 gallon pasteurized whole milk (not ultrapasteurized or UHT)
▢ 2 teaspoons Salt

Line a colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and ready in sink. In a liquid measuring cup, combine lemon juice and vinegar.
In a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat milk and table salt to 185 degrees. Stir oftentimes with a rubber spatula to prevent scorching.
Remove pot from heat and gently stir in lemon juice and vinegar until the mixture curdles, about 15 seconds.
Permit rest, without stirring, until the mixture fully separates into solid curds and translucent whey, five to 10 minutes.
If curds do non fully separate the whey looks milky, stir in 1 tablespoon of vinegar and let sit 2 to 3 minutes longer. Repeat this procedure until curds separate.
Gently pour prepared mixture into prepared colander. Let residual, without moving, until whey has drained from edges of cheese but center is however very moist, about eight minutes.
Gently transfer cheese to big bowl, keeping as much whey in center of cheese every bit possible. Stir well to break up large curds and incorporate whey.
Refrigerate until cold, virtually 2 hours, or up to 5 days. Stir ricotta before using.

Milk: Use pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized / UHT) whole milk.
Lemon juice: Apply regular lemons (non Meyer lemons; they don't take enough acid to curdle the milk).
Yield: This recipe makes 2 pounds (4 cups) of ricotta cheese, or 32 (ane-ounce) servings (2 tablespoons each).
Storage: Shop ricotta covered in the refrigerator for upwardly to 5 days.
Leftover whey: Add it to smoothies for a poly peptide heave or utilise it in identify of h2o when making staff of life and pizza dough (it feeds the yeast).
Elementary spread: Drizzle some fresh ricotta cheese with honey, then sprinkle with toasted chopped hazelnuts. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Serving: 2 tbsp (1 oz) Calories: 73 kcal Carbohydrates: half-dozen g Protein: 4 g Fat: iv chiliad Saturated Fat: 2 one thousand Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g Monounsaturated Fat: 1 k Cholesterol: 12 mg Sodium: 196 mg Potassium: 159 mg Fiber: 1 thousand Sugar: half-dozen one thousand Vitamin A: 192 IU Vitamin C: ane mg Calcium: 134 mg Iron: 1 mg