Why make ricotta cheese at home? Well, most important, you will get fresh and creamy ricotta cheese instead of the grainy version in the tub at your nearest gourmet store. Second, as against many other aged cheeses, making ricotta cheese is quite easy and quick. And third, it is way cheaper. You can get a perfect batch of ricotta cheese for nearly a third of the money that you will pay for a tub of old, imported ricotta. I didn’t weigh the yield of this recipe, but it could easily be somewhere around 500 gms for under hundred bucks.
Compared to Mozzarella, Ricotta cheese does not need rennet or vegetable rennet to split or coagulate the milk. If you have made Paneer or cottage cheese at home before, there is only a slight change in how you make Ricotta.
Traditionally, Ricotta is a by product of making Mozzarella. It is made from the whey left over from Mozzarella and some other cheeses. However, making it this way is also very common now.
Equipment to make Ricotta Cheese
- Heavy bottom pot
- Colander
- Muslin Cloth
Ingredients for Ricotta Cheese
1 ltr full fat buffalo milk
200 gm full cream
2 tbsp White Vinegar
2 tsp Salt
How to Make Ricotta Cheese
1. Mix the cream, salt, and milk in a heavy bottom pot
2. Heat the milk on medium heat just below boiling point
3. Lower the heat to simmer and add in the vinegar and whisk lightly to mix the vinegar
4. Heat for a couple of minutes more and then turn off the heat
5. Let the mixture rest for a couple of minutes, until the whey separates
6. Line the colander with the muslin cloth and pour the pot contents and let it drain for an hour
And that is it, your fresh and creamy batch of Ricotta is all ready for a dessert or a savory pasta or a pizza.
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