Homemade Ricotta Cheese with Roasted Garlic & Herbs
A homemade Ricotta recipe | technique using malt vinegar, roasted garlic and herbs, to create a savory style quick cheese. Try this Homemade Ricotta Cheese with Roasted Garlic & Herbs on a pizza, in a lasagna or other savory application.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1quart | 5minute |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 25minute | 10 – 60minute |
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Ingredients
- 2quart milk, wholefor best results, non-homogenize, organic such as Straus Family Creamery
- 2quart milk, goat,
- 1cup cream, whippingsuch as Straus Family Creamery
- 2tablespoon oregano, freshwashed and dried, on the stems
- 2tablespoon parsley, Italian leafwashed and dried, on the stems
- 1tablespoon chives, garlic
- 12clove garlic, roasted,peeld
- 1each bay leaf,preferably fresh
- 1/2cup vinegar, malt
- 1teaspoon salt, kosher
- 4 – 6tablespoon cream, whippingto add extra creaminess
Instructions
- Place a stainless steel large wide pot, preferably with a thick core bottom, to prevent hot spots over a burner on the stove top. Add the whole milk, goat milk and cream.
- In a Superbag 200 Micron
, Add the oregano, parsley, chives, garlic and bay leaf to the milks.
- Measure out the malt vinegar. Add the salt to the vinegar and stir to dissolve the salt.
- 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. Use a ChefStep thermoprobe, so an alarm will sound when it reaches this temperature. This low temperature will also help prevent scalding.
- Once the milk is at 200°F | 93°C, remove the Superbag 200 Micron
- Clean the Superbag 200 Micron
- Add 4 tablespoons of cream and gently stir in, to the desired textured cheese, for its final use. Transfer the final curd into a wide mouth quart jar, and let cool in the walk in. Label, date and seal.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Soaking Medium: Dried beans, rice and other starches can be soaked and cooked in whey, adding the extra nutrient to the starch.
- 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.
- Watering: You can water your vegetable garden with whey, giving your soil and veggies a kick of nutrients.
, Add the oregano, parsley, chives, garlic and bay leaf to the milks.
Recipe Notes
Homemade Ricotta 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.
- Homemade Ricotta Cheese with Black Truffle
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