Chef Notes: Amanda’s Homemade Ricotta
I was reminded of how wonderful homemade ricotta cheese is while at a friend’s party this weekend. Jeff’s parties are famous for many things and the pot-luck dishes are at the top of the list. The ziti with homemade ricotta, red sauce, and freshly pulled mozzarella did not disappoint. The ricotta was delightful. We had a quick and dirty cheese making class in culinary school and I’ve dabbled in it from time-to-time but that dish inspired me.
My teenage son, Logan, and I had a great time making and eating it. Start with 10 cups of whole milk (not ultrapasturized), 3-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a nonreactive pot. Heat to 195F stirring frequently to avoid scalding. When the curds begin to form, remove from heat and let sit about 10 minutes. Ladle into a strainer lined with damp cheesecloth (or a linen kitchen towel). Tie the ends of the cloth together and put in the fridge in a colander in a bowl, weighed down with a tin or two to push the whey out, for an hour. A little heavy cream and additional salt can be stirred in to taste. It can be used it any recipe, sweet or savory. I served it drizzled with a bit of white truffle honey. Dear lord, it was amazing.
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We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
4 Comments
jan Clements
June 28, 09:44Loved the article and can’t wait to try making my own. Could you please explain what a nonreactive pot is?
Lynne Lopes
June 28, 17:42Hey Jan. A non-reactive pot/pan is stainless steel, clay, glass or enamel. What it means is…don’t use aluminum! Aluminum will react the ingredients in the recipe, especially the lemon juice. Using a teflon (etc) coated pot is ok, but make sure there aren’t any cuts in the non-stick coating. Cheers!
Lynne Lopes
June 28, 17:43sorry, react WITH the ingredients 🙂
Lynne Lopes
June 28, 17:45P.S. Thanks for the recipe Laura…going to try it as soon as it’s cool enough to put the stove on again! Way to hot here to do anything but BBQ!