There’s a lot of purists who will argue that the below method is absolutely not how you make ricotta – but I’m not worried because it looks like ricotta, smells like ricotta and we use it like ricotta! Ricotta means “re-cooked” because the correct way to make it is to reuse the whey from making other cheeses, add an acid, then watch as the whey curdles into what we know as ricotta. The below method works brilliantly on our boat especially when using powdered milk, and I haven’t bought ricotta since!
We use it in ricotta fritters (adding other veges, eggs, flour and spices) and occasionally turn it into a sweet treat with some boozy fruit we have. You can make cheesecakes with it, tarts, paleo breaky muffins with egg, bacon and veges – so versatile!
You will need:
- 1L powdered or fresh milk in a saucepan
- 50ml vinegar
- Salt
- Colander lined with cheesecloth OR your ricotta cheese hoop
Heat your milk up to 91-94 degrees Celsius or until you see just a little movement in the liquid (being careful not to boil it over).
Once the milk reaches this point, turn off the heat and pour in your vinegar.
Give the liquid 2 or 3 stirs, and then stop. You will see the milk start to curdle.
Leave the milk to separate into the curds and whey for 30-45 minutes.
Using your slotted spoon, spoon the curds into the ricotta hoop, or your cheesecloth lined colander, to drain off further whey.
Let it sit for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the whey has mostly stopped draining out. Tip out the whey from the bottom of the ricotta hoop.
Add ½ teaspoon of salt and gently fold through the ricotta, although this step isn’t necessary and is just for personal taste.
You can then take the ricotta out of the cheesecloth and store in a container in the fridge for up to a week – or simply pop your ricotta hoop into the fridge.
