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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

ricky ricotta


R
icotta is step one to making paneer. You can stop right there and enjoy it in its fluffy creamy state or you can press it and the result is a farmer cheese or a paneer, or you can take it one step further and inoculate it with mold and attempt a blue cheese or cook the curds again and make a mozzarella or heat it really really slow and you have a cream cheese. Whatever cheese you choose it isnt that hard.(officially ricotta, which means cooked again, is the cheese made from the leftover whey making it a whey cheese and not technically a cheese - thus this style of ricotta is technically not a ricotta) If you want to make a 'cheese' just to get the hang of it then get the large tub of plain yoghurt, low fat, no fat, all fat - your choice and come cheese cloth - put the yoghurt in the cheese cloth and let drain until a nice smooth cream cheese is left. Depending on how much you drain it will determine its consistency - if you need greek yoghurt for a recipe but you dont have any then drain regular for a bit until its thick - get the idea?



Heat the milk past 90F, add rennet or lime or vinegar to make the curds, the more acid the harder the curd, lime is the weakest vinegar is stronger and rennet is the best.



Let sit a moment then strain with cheese cloth and let drain a good long while. See the whey? This whey is what is used to make real ricotta.



This was 2% milk so you see you can even make it lowfat! You can eat it like this and enjoy the fresh ricotta you made in minutes or you can put it in a press if you want a firmer cheese.



I would then fluff up the curds and add salt -it is at this state that you would add the mold inoculate for blue cheese but this one I am leaving plain - then press it to firm it up.



This is it.



Enjoy!

21 comments:

The Diva on a Diet said...

You had me at ricotta. Oh how I love that stuff! Also, I'm in awe of your mad skills, dog. Truly.

Jenn said...

This looks simply delicious!! I can just imagine what you'll be making out that.

Pooja said...

That was an interesting read! The ricotta looks simply awesome!

La Bella Cooks said...

Wow! Very impressive! I should learn how to make my own since I never seem to have it on hand when I really need it.

Unknown said...

I can't wait to try this at home! How fun that looks!

Melody said...

I have been educated today. What a nice skill to learn. How did you learn all this cool stuff?

Christo Gonzales said...

diva: thanks diva - learning everyday - thats what I try to do

jenn: poutain if thats how you spell it - the canadian french fry, cheese curd and gravy thing

pooja: it is so good and so easy and this one is 2% fat

bridgett: it is literally this simple

danielle: I cant wait to see your results

melody: this basic cheese came from my grandmother and great grandmother when I was a kid - then we used the natural rennet that you get from the stomach of the butchered goats - I dont use that now!

Selba said...

Wow! This is so interesting to see the step by step of ricotta.

The Duo Dishes said...

The questions is...what are you going to do with it? We know it's going to be awesome.

Anonymous said...

Ummmm, now you've got me jonesing for some real Ricotta cheesecake (none of that cream cheese stuff).

theUngourmet said...

Really fun to watch it all come together!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I haven't tried making my own cheese.. It looks interesting.

Diana Bauman said...

Wow, we did do the same thing on the same day! It was fun seeing a different method :)

Harmony said...

Thanks for the tips...I really want to give this a try.

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Wow the ricotta cheese looks awesome ... I love it to eat like that..

Laura said...

oh I just learned how to make cheese last month I need to practice. I wish I had more time oh well winter is coming :)
Gorgeous as usual! I really enjoy your blog

tavolini said...

Looks good....but I know that ricotta is just plain yucky.

Reeni said...

I have yet to make my own cheese - thanks for the step by step!

Stacey Snacks said...

Lucy! I need some of this for my eggplant stacks!

Kim (@ Paper Apron) said...

I've been telling myself I was going to do this for a long while now. Your instructions look easy to follow so I'll put yogurt on my grocery list. If it turns out, I'll let you know.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

My friends make ricotta but I've never tried it - I'm putting it on my short list of things to do this summer.

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