Making my own Ricotta!

I fully understand that making my own ricotta cheese on a saturday night should not be the highlight of my week, LOL.  With that said, I had alot of fun doing it, so who cares if I am one of the most boring people in the world!!!!  What is important in my life is to make myself as drama free as possible :0) 

The ingredient list is surprisingly small and the process is actually extremely simple!  So here we go... 

8 cups Whole Milk, 1 cup Half & Half, 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt, 1/4 cup lemon juice

You will also need a large nonreactive pan, candy thermometer, cheese cloth, strainer

 

Line the inside of the strainer with a rinsed cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Rinse the inside of your pan with water, then clip candy thermometer to the side.  Add milk, half & half, and salt.  Over medium high heat, bring the milk up to 180 degrees, stirring occasionally.  This should take about 15 minutes.  When it reaches the right temperature, turn heat down to medium low.  Gradually add lemon juice and gently stir for about one minute or until small curds form.  Remove from heat and strain through the cheesecloth.  Allow to drain at room temperature for 1 hour, then take cheesecloth and cheese out of strainer.  Twist top of cloth to further drain ricotta. Put in an airtight container and refrigerate. 

1.Bringing the milk, half & half, and salt up to 180 degrees.

2.Lemon juice added and the curds are formed.

3. Poured through the strainer

4. Draining at room temperature.



5. Twisting cheesecloth around cheese.

        

        
6. ALL DONE!

My favorite way to eat fresh ricotta.  Spread it on some fresh bread, a little bit of salt and pepper, some sliced tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil.  Yummy :0) The only thing it is missing is fresh basil.  I can't wait to have basil growing on my deck again this summer.