Ricotta is Italian for "recooked" because it is made by "cooking" whey. It makes delicious lasagna, ravioli stuffing, gnocchi, cannoli, cheese-stuffed shells and blintzes, or a type of cheese cake. Here's how you can make your own.
Step 1
Save the whey from making cheese in a non-reactive pot. (Here you see curds for a basic cheese at the bottom of the pot, as the whey is being poured off.) Filter as many of the curd particles out as you can since they would otherwise form tough "beads" in the final ricotta. Cover and let sit 12 to 24 hours at room temperature to develop sufficient acidity.
Step 2
Heat the acidified whey with stirring, taking care to avoid sticking or burning. Use either a double boiler, or a pot with a very thick bottom which will disperse the heat well. This image shows that the temperature has risen to about 82 °C, and a white foam is appearing on the surface.
Step 3
Continue heating with stirring until its temperature is near boiling (95 °C). Note that foam will build up somewhat. Be careful. If it boils, it can boil over.
Step 4
Remove from heat. Cover and allow the "cooked" whey to cool undisturbed until comfortable to the touch. The curds should look like clouds suspended in the whey, while the whey appears clear and yellowish green.
Step 5
Do not stir up the curd: Set up a receiving pot with a large strainer and a fine clean cloth on top. If the curd is floating, you may dip out the curd into the cloth. Alternatively, if the curd all sinks, pour as much of the whey through the cloth as you can without disturbing the curds. It will filter through much faster if you do this carefully without stirring up the curds.
Step 6
Gently scoop out the curds. Because the curds are very fine and delicate, they can stop up the cloth easily. This will cause very slow draining if they are broken up. Much of the whey will drain out as you dip the curd.
Step 7
Drain the whey through the cloth (be patient, it can take 2-3 hours).
Step 8
Pick up the corners of the cloth, suspend it like a bag over the drainage pot (or sink), and allow the last of the whey to drain out. It will take several hours, and can be done in the refrigerator over night.
Step 9
Remove the ricotta from the cloth, pack into a container, cover and store in the refrigerator. Use it soon after making. Alternatively, ricotta will freeze very well.
Tips
- This process relies on allowing the inoculated bacteria in whey to further ferment the liquid as it sits at room temperature for an additional 12-24 hours. During that time, the remaining sugars are converted to lactic acid, which lowers the pH of the whey. The solubility of the protein in acidified whey is reduced. Heating the acidified whey denatures the protein causing it to precipitate out as a fine curd.
Things You'll Need
- Non-reactive pot, either stainless steel or enameled. If you use a thin enameled pot, you should either heat the whey in it over boiling water, or stir nearly continuously.
- Wooden spoon or long handled spatula (with square end to help to keep curd off the bottom)
- Thermometer (0-110 °C) to monitor temperature of whey while heating
- Receiving pot the same volume or greater as cooking pot (a clean plastic bucket will do)
- A fine meshed strainer to dip out floating curd.
- Large strainer to suspend over receiving pot
- Fine cloth (e.g. a clean sterile handkerchief or a non-terry cloth dish towel)
