In this Pinterest world, I just thought I should start with a picture of my dirty dishes in the sink, a quick reality reminder of where all this kitchen loveliness happens. One of the 3 people who actually reads my blog asked about kitchen stuff I do here so I'm planning to have several posts about things related to my happy life in the kitchen.
When I have a sinkful of dishes (pictured above) and my kids have brought our daily milk home from the neighbor's cow, it's a good time to make ricotta cheese because I'm in there right next to the stove anyway and will hopefully pay enough attention to avoid letting it boil over.
I love cheese and was so excited to learn how to make ricotta a few months ago because that means I can make and eat as much of it as I want. Usually I have to ration our cheese eating because we bring it from the city a day or two away (we can't get it here).
It is super easy. In a large pot I mix (and measurements with me are always approximate): 2 liters raw whole milk, 1 c cream (or more if I keep on pouring), 1 c plain yogurt (if I have it), dash of salt, splash of vinegar. I do dishes and stir it sometimes to keep it from scorching and heat it till almost boiling, nice and frothy.
Then I add about 3T vinegar or enough to curdle it well, making nice yellow whey . Set the timer for 66:66 or an hr to let the curds set up a bit. Didn't your mother teach you that any timer or microwave should always be set for multiples of the same number to avoid pressing so many buttons?
One minute = 66 seconds, Half an hr = 33:33, 45 mins = 44:44 I don't actually remember any instruction on this, but my mom and I realized a few years ago that we both do this, to the consternation of our slightly more exact husbands.
When your timer beeps, get up from watching TV or whatever you are doing and pour the stuff into a cheesecloth (or thin towel) lined colander that is sitting in a giant bowl to catch the whey. Put that big burst of whey in a container and then reset your timer for 66:66 or an hour or two for it to drain.
When your timer beeps get your nose out of that book or whatever you are doing and put your ricotta in a container and your whey in another container. I usually get around 3c ricotta from the recipe I gave above. I keep the whey to use for soups or baking or reenacting Little Miss Muffett. Indeed, this really is curds and whey and we have plenty of spiders to sit down beside us. The curds and whey should both be used in a couple days or they start smelling and tasting funky.
Some of my favorite things to do with ricotta:
- Mix it up with Italian herbs and use for sandwiches or calzones
- Mix it with ground up oreos and make balls of that and freeze
