Homemade Ricotta Cheese
A homemade Ricotta recipe | technique using malt vinegar, bay leaf and Black Truffle salt, to create a savory style cheese.
Servings Prep Time
1quart 5minute
Cook Time Passive Time
25minute 10 – 60minute
Servings Prep Time
1quart 5minute
Cook Time Passive Time
25minute 10 – 60minute
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Place the Dutch oven or large wide pot, preferably with a thick core bottom, to prevent hot spots over a burner on the stove top. Add the whole milk.
  2. Add the bay leaf to the milk. One could replace or combine bay leaf with a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary (a little goes a long way), oregano, marjoram, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, lemon peel, orange peel, peeled garlic clove, etc…) to add more flavor to the finished ricotta.
  3. Measure out the malt vinegar. Add the salt (Black Truffle Salt or other flavored salt) along with or kosher salt (substituting all flavored salt for more flavor) to the vinegar and stir to dissolve the salt.
  4. Warm the milk to 200°F | 93°C, over low heat. Using a wide edged rubber spatula to periodically stir | scrape the bottom of the pot, minimizing and the milk from scalding. This low temperature will also help prevent scalding.
  5. Once the milk is at 200°F | 93°C, turn off the heat and add the malt vinegar | salt solution. Stir the mixture to fully incorporate the vinegar into the milk. Over the next minute, the warm milk will curdle, creating small curds, separating from the whey. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes to fully separate the curds from the whey.
  6. Line a stainless steel colander with either several layers of Cheesecloth or a fine stainless steel strainer. Place the colander into a large bowl, to capture the whey. Pour the curds and whey into the strainer, removing all the curds from the pot.
  7. To create a wetter style ricotta cheese, you can drain it, then immediately transfer it to a quart size wide mouth canning jar and allow to cool, then seal and refrigerate. This will create more of a spreadable version of ricotta, as not all the whey has been removed. This is perfect for appetizers, crêpe, Barley Cavatelli Pasta or other recipe calling for a whole milk ricotta.
  8. To make a drier ricotta cheese, perfect for pasta ravioli or a pizza topping, let the curds drain the whey for 10 – 60 minutes. Then transfer it to a quart size wide mouth canning jar, seal with its lid and refrigerate.
  9. To make the dry style ricotta creamy again, you can add some of the reserved whey or add heavy or whipping cream, 1 – 4 tablespoons, stirring to get to the desired textured cheese, for its final use.
  10. Whey is the byproduct of cheese making. This medium is still nutritionally rich and can be used for many different kitchen creations. Whey is still full of lactose (milk sugar) and whey proteins (casein protein is what has transformed into curds and been removed).   Cool the whey, transfer to a canning jar and refrigerate up to 7 days or freeze (in ice cube tray) for up to 6 months.   In an effort to use all the milk product, since you’ve paid for it already, here are some suggestions on what to do with the whey.
  11. Baking: Whey can replace water in many different baking applications, from pizza crust, rolls, focaccia, crackers to used ice cold to make pie crust. Taste the whey, seeing how salty it is and adjust the recipe, if savory or sweet, accordingly. The resulting baked goods will have a more tender structure than if made with just water.
  12. Smoothies: Whey is used in many smoothies or breakfast drinks. Instead of using milk or yogurt, use this whey to get the desired consistency, that is pourable.
  13. Animal Feed: Many different animals are fed whey, instead of pouring it down the drain. In the culinary valley of Tuscany, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese makers in the small town of Reggio Emilia give the leftover whey to pigs in the neighboring town of Parma. This is one of the major differences in the pigs used to make prosciutto, as the whey sweetens the meat with the leftover lactose and casein protein.
  14. Stock: To make stock, vegetable, poultry (chicken | turkey | duck) or meat (beef | veal | lamb | venison), whey can be added, replacing the water entirely. If this finished stock is going to be used to make a sauce, especially a demi glaze, be careful of the salt, that is still present in the whey, from the cheese making process.
  15. Soaking Medium: Dried beans, rice and other starches can be soaked and cooked in whey, adding the extra nutrient to the starch.
  16. Fermentation: Whey can be added to a Lacto Fermentation, speeding up the lactobacillus with this nutrient rich liquid. You might need to adjust the salt % of the solution, accounting for the additional leftover salt in the whey.
  17. Watering: You can water your vegetable garden with whey, giving your soil and veggies a kick of nutrients.
Recipe Notes

Recipe Variations:

  • Hopped Ricotta Cheese: Substitute the bay leaf for 3 – 6 hop cones, to infuse the flavor of hops into your ricotta.  The fresher the better, to get the best hop flavor into the milk.  Citrus, herbal, resin | pine, earthy, dank or tropical varieties of hops will change and design the finished ricotta with a true Beer Cuisine flavor.  When using this variation, think about the beer being paired with the dish, using this recipe.  Using the same variety of hop that was used to make the beer being paired will add a building pairing element.

 

Recipes That Use This Recipe:

Executive Chef: Sean Z. Paxton

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