Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is a whey cheese - nutrient dense and low fat. Savour it freshly made or as a delicious ingredient in lasagne, cheese cake or home baked bread.

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Ingredients:

Whey from a batch of homemade cheese
Salt

Optional:

Milk or Cream
Vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid
Herbs of your choice

Required tools:

Pot with lid
Collander
Spoon sieve
Cheese cloth

Helpfull tools (non-essential):

Cheese tray
Thermometer

Preparations:

We recommend you make Ricotta cheese the day after making a type of cheese that left you with a nice portion of whey at hand. A cheese batch made from 6 litres of milk usually yields enough whey for app. 150 g Ricotta Cheese. If you add extra milk or cream (optional), yields will be higher.

Steps:
  • Ferment the whey by leaving it at room temperature for 24 hours.
    You can ensure the pH value is below 4.5 using pH strips. If not acidic enough, add 1-2 tbsp lemon juice, or ½ tsp citric acid.
  • Add extra milk or cream (this step is optional)
  • In a pot, heat the whey to 95°C and let it cool off slowly. In the process of cooling, tiny grains of curd will sink to the bottom. 
  • When all the grains has sunk to the bottom, take out as much of the cleared greenish whey as you can without stirring up the grains. Use a jug or large mug.
  • When the whey reaches temperatures below 60°C, move on to the next step below.
  • Suspend a collander lined with cheese cloth over a pot or a bucket.
  • Slowly pour small amounts of curd into the cheese cloth whilst not stirring it up too much. The slower you run it through the cloth, the easier drainage happens.
  • Pour or scrape the settled curds into cheese cloth. As the cheese grains are very fine, they may clog up the cheese cloth. Leave it to drain.
  • When almost all whey is drained off (this could take hours) get hold of the ends of the cloth and now suspend the collander over a bowl or cheese tray. If you have access to a cheese mould, you could lower the cloth into there and use a small cheese press to press out the last bits of whey.
  • After 6-12 hours when nearly all whey has drained off, scrabe the Ricotta off the cloth and into a bowl.
  • Add salt and perhaps cream or fresh hebs if you like.
  • To be stored in the fridge (can be stored in the freezer too)