My dad has been making ricotta cheese from scratch for some time. He’s become a bit of an expert with it. So imagine my surprise when he called to say a batch didn’t work out. His initial thought had to do with using a lowfat buttermilk (he couldn’t find a non lowfat.) I dove into some research and jumped into a couple of experiments.
We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not about the lowfat buttermilk. It’s about the type of whole milk used. Ultra-pasteurized (UHT or UP) milk is heated more to extend shelf life… which will effect the enzyme production in a homemade ricotta cheese. Do yourself a favor and avoid the ultra-pasteurized.
This homemade ricotta cheese made the BEST ravioli filling we’ve ever made. It’s not really effort, just a bit of time so plan a day head to let the cheese rest and develop flavor and texture.
Happy eating,
~Monique
Dad’s homemade ricotta cheese {gf}
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart buttermilk
1 pint whipping cream
1 tbls salt
Place a candy thermometer on the side of a large pot or you can use meat thermometer and check often, avoid disturbing the curds when you do this.
Add all the ingredients and begin to warm, stiring only enough to dissolve the salt. Keep the heat low enough for the milk to continue heating but not simmering.
Leave the milk alone, no more stirring. Goal is to allow the milk to heat to between 175-185 degrees. You should see curds forming on the top as the mik below looks more translucent. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for one hour and 10 minutes.
In the meantime, wet and ring out 4 large, squares of cheese cloth. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and layer with the wet cloth; let sit until the ricotta is ready to scoop out. (after the 1:10 minute rest.)
Carefully scoop out the ricotta curds from the pot, placing them in the cheese cloth-lined strainer. Tie up the ends of the cloth. Can use immediately but if you want that deeper, classic ricotta cheese, I recommend letting sit in the strainer for a couple of hours. Bonus points if tie the cheese cloth and let it hang versus sit in the stainer. Save the whey liquid to use in other recipes.
Then place ricotta, still in the cheese cloth-lined container, refrigerator overnight and up to 2 days. Unwrap and use your homemade ricotta as you typically would.
NOTE: I made ricotta using only whole milk and lemon juice. The plain milk doesn’t create curds as well, so after heating you need to stir in lemon juice or vinegar (though my preference is lemon juice) and let it sit. Curds will form! Then let it set to develop the best flavor.
