Homemade Ricotta


We had to do something with the left over meatloaf. I opted for an eggplant lasagna - not only because it would give us a different taste from the meatloaf than the night before, but because it afforded me the opportunity to make ricotta.

I've made goat cheese before with success, and the only difference I spotted between making that and whole milk ricotta, was the milk. And that you add the acid before cooking instead of after.

It turned out great.  The ricotta was a perfect complement to the lasagna - giving it a creamy perfection.

This is the basic recipe - I made three cups - so I just tripled the recipe. It's easily adaptable.

Now you don't end up with three cups of ricotta - what you see below is what I ended up with - so plan accordingly.

Ingredients
1 Cup Milk (NOT ULTRA HIGH PASTEURIZED) - I used simple Vitamin D Whole Milk
1 TBSP White Vinegar
1/8 tsp Salt

Directions

Over a large bowl, place a wire mesh strainer and line with 2 paper towels.


Combine milk, vinegar and salt in a stock pot and heat over medium high heat.


Heat to 165-180 degrees - just before a boil. If you don't have a thermometer, milk boils about 185- so take it off just before the boil.

Stir gently for 5-10 seconds - curds should separate from the whey.


Spoon your curds and whey into the paper towels and leave to drain. Voila.


According to this article on Serious Eats depending on how long you let it set, you'll get different consistencies - for different used. I opted for the 20 minute set since I was using it for lasagna.

Enjoy!

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