homemade lemon ricotta
Aug. 21st, 2010 02:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraaThis is one of those recipes where there's no good reason to make it except that spending a little time messing around in the kitchen sounds fun. That said, if messing around in the kitchen sounds fun, this makes some really very tasty fresh lemony ricotta, and the active time is pretty short. It's also not too difficult, and it's a cheesemaking process that requires no specialized equipment (and no rennet or bacterial cultures), although you do need some cheesecloth or muslin or a clean non-fuzzy dishtowel.
This makes a couple of cups of ricotta, ish, but you can scale it up just fine.
In a pot big enough to hold everything, heat the milk, cream and salt over medium-high heat until it comes to a full boil, stirring intermittenly to keep it from sticking and burning. (It's okay if it gets a skin, though.) If you like, while the milk is heating, you can add the zests of your lemons. This makes the ricotta taste more lemony, which I like, but since lemon zest doesn't dissolve it will result in tiny lemon fibers in your cheese. Up to you whether that's worth it or not.
Once the milk is boiling, pour in then juice of the two lemons. (You can actually make the cheese with half that much lemon or a little less, if you want ricotta that does not have a distinct lemon flavor, but I like the lemon, so in it goes.) Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook, stirring constantly, until the milk curdles. You'll know this has happened because it will go from being a uniform white liquid to being little shreds or strands or clumps of white in a clear or slightly yellowish liquid. Keep stirring until it looks completely curdled, then remove from the heat.
Line a strainer or colander with a clean, damp piece of cheesecloth, muslin, or non-fuzzy tea towel. (Non-fuzzy just because lint in your cheese? Not good eats.) Gently pour the curds and whey through the strainer and tea towel; you may need to do this in several stages if it's moving slowly. Once all the liquid is in, let it drain a while—an hour is good—to solidify. If you want to hasten things along, or if you're looking for a drier texture, you can put a piece of plastic wrap over the top and weight it down to force out more liquid.
Once it's been draining a while, give it a poke with a spoon to see if the texture is as you like it. The longer you drain it, the drier it will get. When it's at a good texture, taste it and adjust the salt. If you really like lemon, you can add a bit more lemon juice at this point, too.
Once it's drained and seasoned to your taste, press it gently into a ball, wrap tightly, and put in the refrigerator to chill and firm up. Or, you know, put some in a bowl, drizzle a little honey on top, and just eat it.
I'm serving mine crumbled over a fresh tomato and cucumber salad, and if there's any left, I'll drizzle it with honey and serve it alongside the watermelon for dessert.
This makes a couple of cups of ricotta, ish, but you can scale it up just fine.
- 1 quart whole or 2% milk (may also work with 1% or skim; I haven't tried)
- 1 cup heavy cream (yes, part of the reason it tastes so gooooood is that this is not a low-fat food)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 medium lemons, juice and zest
In a pot big enough to hold everything, heat the milk, cream and salt over medium-high heat until it comes to a full boil, stirring intermittenly to keep it from sticking and burning. (It's okay if it gets a skin, though.) If you like, while the milk is heating, you can add the zests of your lemons. This makes the ricotta taste more lemony, which I like, but since lemon zest doesn't dissolve it will result in tiny lemon fibers in your cheese. Up to you whether that's worth it or not.
Once the milk is boiling, pour in then juice of the two lemons. (You can actually make the cheese with half that much lemon or a little less, if you want ricotta that does not have a distinct lemon flavor, but I like the lemon, so in it goes.) Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook, stirring constantly, until the milk curdles. You'll know this has happened because it will go from being a uniform white liquid to being little shreds or strands or clumps of white in a clear or slightly yellowish liquid. Keep stirring until it looks completely curdled, then remove from the heat.
Line a strainer or colander with a clean, damp piece of cheesecloth, muslin, or non-fuzzy tea towel. (Non-fuzzy just because lint in your cheese? Not good eats.) Gently pour the curds and whey through the strainer and tea towel; you may need to do this in several stages if it's moving slowly. Once all the liquid is in, let it drain a while—an hour is good—to solidify. If you want to hasten things along, or if you're looking for a drier texture, you can put a piece of plastic wrap over the top and weight it down to force out more liquid.
Once it's been draining a while, give it a poke with a spoon to see if the texture is as you like it. The longer you drain it, the drier it will get. When it's at a good texture, taste it and adjust the salt. If you really like lemon, you can add a bit more lemon juice at this point, too.
Once it's drained and seasoned to your taste, press it gently into a ball, wrap tightly, and put in the refrigerator to chill and firm up. Or, you know, put some in a bowl, drizzle a little honey on top, and just eat it.
I'm serving mine crumbled over a fresh tomato and cucumber salad, and if there's any left, I'll drizzle it with honey and serve it alongside the watermelon for dessert.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 05:48 pm (UTC)(I have a Rule about not making cheese from scratch; basically, unless I'm going whole hog -- so to speak -- and have milked the critter myself, no reason to make my own cheese when the grocery store can do that for me.)
It is a rainy day today and I have a tomato/white bean soup on the stove, but the ricotta will serve nicely for the next hot day.