Whey from a batch of homemade cheese
Salt

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

Pot with lid
Collander
Spoon sieve
Cheese cloth

Cheese tray
Thermometer

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.

• 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)