Ricotta
 
 
Recipe type: Cheese
Ingredients
  • Heat one gallon of whole milk in a large pot (it's important to use whole milk) until it reaches about 200°F and transfer milk to a clean pot so that it can cool to about 100°F
  • Add 2 tsp of kosher salt and stir well
  • Add ⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar and stir gently.
Process
  1. At this point, you'll notice curds will begin to form (this is good). Mix and then cover the pot with a clean dish towel and let sit for about two hours.
  2. After the ricotta has rested for 2+ hours, take cheesecloth and place it over a colander and ladle the ricotta into the colander. Drain as much as the water from the mixture as desired (depending on your preference for how creamy you'd like your ricotta). You can also lift the cheesecloth and create a small bundle and squeeze out any excess water (this will get most of the water out and yield a super rich ricotta!). Ricotta will stay fresh for about a week in your fridge.
Notes
You can use rennet, which consists of enzymes that act as a coagulant, instead of the vinegar. Some folks claim the rennet produces a richer and finer curd then vinegar. Try both ingredients and let me know which works best for you!
Recipe by Scordo.com - Italian Food Recipes and Lifestyle at http://www.scordo.com/italy/recipe-how-to-make-ricotta-at-home-recipe-cheese.html