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Diabetic Friendly Gifts from the Kitchen

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Happy April Fool’s Day! Sorry that I don’t have any wacky fool-your-friends recipes to share. But, I can guarantee that you can fool your friends, family or unsuspecting spouse into thinking that this creamy, heavenly homemade ricotta cheese was bought from the store… Except for the fact that it tastes ten MILLION times better than what you scoop out of a store bought jar! Just sayin’.

Make Your Own Ricotta Cheese

The whole process of making this ricotta cheese, thanks to The Italian Dish, was so quick and easy I did it twice. Just 15 minutes, 2 quarts of whole milk, a lemon, heavy cream and salt are all you need. Also, you’ll need cheesecloth. Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma have it, as well as my local gourmet supply store, Surfas, a.k.a. foodie heaven on earth. Seriously, you need the jaws of life to pull me out of there!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe

First, you use a heavy pot to boil the milk, cream and salt before adding the fresh lemon juice. Simmer and stir and get excited (you’re making homemade ricotta cheese!) for 5 minutes, until you see small curdles forming in the liquid. Pour it into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, wait about 10 minutes and you’ll have moist, fluffy fresh ricotta ready for your next recipe! I made these pesto lasagna roll ups with it, and they tasted out of this world.

For the ricotta recipe, click below. For recipes featuring ricotta, check out my favorites here:

Turkey Spinach Stuffed Shells
Berry Strata
Classic Italian Lasagna

Wishing you a very happy, cheesy weekend! Here’s hoping you don’t get fooled… too badly.

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Print Recipe

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)

You'll also need a small amount of cheesecloth (found at Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, or most gourmet food supply stores)

Directions:

Line a large strainer with a layer of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Slowly bring the milk, cream and the salt to a rolling boil in a 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until mixture forms small curdles, about 5 minutes.

Pour into the lined strainer and let drain for 10 minutes.  After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered.  It will keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Enjoy!

Adapted from The Italian Dish


42 Comments

Comments

  2. I totally love ricotta and use it in everything. I have never even considered making my own (until now)! Making cheese kind of intimidates me for some reason, but this looks so good!!

  4. It looks wonderful! I use to use the excuse that it took too much time to make my own cheese.. now I guess I can’t say that :)

  7. I never knew that ricotta cheese can be homemade. That’s interesting. It is very similar to quick paneer simply using milk and lemon juice.

  8. I’ve always wanted to try this but never knew how and apparently I was too lazy to look it up LOL Thank you so much for sharing…I’m going to whip up a batch this weekend :)

  12. I LOVE ricotta cheese. I could eat it like ice cream. Well, that could be an exaggeration, but I do love it :o)

  13. Michael is sure he doesn’t like ricotta. Personally, I just think he hasn’t had GOOD ricotta. This inspires me to try making it ourselves!

  17. It is essential that I start making my own ricotta cheese. It must taste so fresh & amazing. I have been using it all the time lately in my recipes. Thanks for the recipe Georgia! xo

  22. Don’t toss out that whey ! Use it in bread recipes, pancakes, or water your garden tomatoes with it.

  30. Ricotta is one of my most favroite cheeses. I love it on warm pasta, all by itself. My husband hates it, so I hardly ever get to enjoy it. I had NO idea it was so easy to make! Thanks for sharing!

  32. Thanks for stopping by Georgia– glad you did so because now I’ve discovered yours– absolutely beautiful! I’ve never made my own ricotta but have been wanting to get into cheese making, and this looks really easy. Surfas is the BEST PLACE ON EARTH! Could spend an entire day there…

  36. so wonderful: I love making home made basics, like bread and cheese. Ricotta is so satisfying to make isn’t it? I like mine on toast with a small drizzle of honey.

  37. I had no idea this was so easy…it’s always been on my list of things to try, and now I really want to! I can imagine how wonderful this homemade version is!

  42. I do agree with all of the ideas you’ve presented in your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are very short for beginners. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

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