Fresh Ricotta Cheese

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 16:00:01 GMT

Step 1

To make about 1 pound, pour 3 quarts whole milk (avoid ultra-pasteurized), ¼ cup white vinegar, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. You can subtly change the flavor by choosing different acids: Lemon juice will give it a hint of lemon, while plain white vinegar won’t alter the flavor too much. I highly recommend experimenting with different acids—my partner has gotten really into making his own vinegar, and his pumpkin-beet vinegar made for a really interesting ricotta.

Step 2

Bring the mixture to the absolute barest simmer you can, adjusting the heat as necessary—the mixture should be steaming, but not bubbling. If you have a thermometer, 180–185° is the sweet spot but 10° in either direction will still net you some tasty cheese.

Step 3

Once you reach that temperature range, maintain it for about 25 minutes without stirring—we want big fluffy curds, and stirring will break those up. You’ll notice the milk start to separate pretty early and curds will start forming throughout the heating process.

Step 4

Remove from heat, and use a slotted spoon to scoop the curds into a colander double-lined with cheesecloth. Resist the temptation to dump the curds and whey from the pot to the strainer—doing this will clog the cheesecloth and drastically increase the time it takes to strain. Different draining times will result in different textures and moisture levels—I find that letting the ricotta sit in the lined colander for about 30 minutes is right for most applications, i.e. pizza topping, lasagna/manicotti/ravioli filling. If you, like me, just want to eat it by the spoonful or spread onto toast, 5–10 minutes is plenty. Once you’ve harvested your curds, don’t toss that whey down the sink! Use it in smoothies, a replacement for water in bread recipes, or even to make stock or boil grains.

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