patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
I just think it's so cool that you can do this yourself at home 
so I am going to post the Whole-milk Ricotta and Ricotta Salata recipes (from Ricki Carroll's book) and you should go try them 
Whole-Milk Ricotta (ricotta is 'properly' made using whey from cultured cheese, but this is a whole-milk uncultured version, high-yield and v. good) (Makes 1 3/4 - 2 lbs)
1 gallon milk (can use homogenized pasteurized milk from the store but it has to be *fresh* and not ultrapasturized)
1 tsp citric acid crystals
1 tsp cheese salt (or kosher or pickling salt - NOT table salt)
Boil 2" of water in a LARGE clean stainless-steel pot, with lid on, for ten minutes, then discard (this sterilizes the pot) and put the milk in the pot.
Dissolve the citric acid in 1/4 c cold water, stir well to dissolve, then stir thoroughly into milk using a stainless-steel utensil. Also stir in the salt.
On medium-low to medium heat on the stove, gradually heat the milk to 185-195 F, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Curds will start to separate out. As you approach the target temperature, you will fairly suddenly notice the liquid turning greenish-yellow and fairly clear. When this happens, turn off the heat (do not overcook) and let sit undisturbed for 5-10 minutes.
Line a colander with butter muslin or a jelly bag or MULTIPLE thicknesses of cheesecloth. Put the curds gently into the colander, preferably using a skimmer or slotted spoon (must be stainless steel).
Tie the corners of the cloth into a bag and hang it to drain for 1/2 or whatever produces the consistency of ricotta you want.
Eat right away if desired (can mix in few Tbsp of cream if you want creamier texture), or refrigerate for up to 2 wks in airtight container, or proceed to Ricotta Salata recipe.
Ricotta Salata as per my interpretation of Ricki Carroll's and other recipes -- this is probably not the right way to do it but it produces something tasty whatever you want to call it
After draining the ricotta (some recipes call for a longer draining period, I am going to try a new batch today with overnight draining), crumble it apart in a clean bowl and add 1 Tbsp more cheese salt (less if you are only using part of the ricotta you made for this). Mix it in well with clean hands.
Take a margarine tub or something like that, and poke a bunch of holes at least 1 mm wide in the sides and bottom using whatever you like to poke holes in things with. (e.t.a. - poke them from the inside out, so the inside of the container remains smooth). Put the salted ricotta into the mold, not packing it too hard but making sure all space is occupied.
Cut the margarine tub lid's rim off, so it fits just inside the margarine tub, and put it there atop the ricotta. Put it up on "something" (I use plastic cookie cutters) on a saucer to catch whey that drips out. Weight the lid that's sitting on the cheese with a large can, either directly or in a bowl.
Let sit (I do it at room temperature) for an hour. Gently unmold the cheese, turn it upside down and put it back in the mold. Press 12 hrs.
Gently unmold, rub all over with more cheese salt, and refrigerate. I do not understand entirely whether this is supposed to be covered or not. In a frostfree fridge it dries out pretty fast if you don't cover it at all. But still produces an edible product. I dunno, use your best judgement
Every 24 hrs for the first week, gently rub with a little more salt and turn over.
After that, recipe sez age 2-4+ wks in fridge, wiping off any mold that might form using a bit of cheesecloth dampened in salt water.
Recipe says 'produces slicing dessert-type cheese in a couple weeks, grating cheese in a month or few months'. I wouldn't know, my first cheese is half-eaten already at about 10 days of age
Try it -- it is really cool to be able to produce something so cheeselike (I would liken it to maybe Havarti?) without culture or rennet or hard work or complicated directions
Have fun,
Pat
so I am going to post the Whole-milk Ricotta and Ricotta Salata recipes (from Ricki Carroll's book) and you should go try them Whole-Milk Ricotta (ricotta is 'properly' made using whey from cultured cheese, but this is a whole-milk uncultured version, high-yield and v. good) (Makes 1 3/4 - 2 lbs)
1 gallon milk (can use homogenized pasteurized milk from the store but it has to be *fresh* and not ultrapasturized)
1 tsp citric acid crystals
1 tsp cheese salt (or kosher or pickling salt - NOT table salt)
Boil 2" of water in a LARGE clean stainless-steel pot, with lid on, for ten minutes, then discard (this sterilizes the pot) and put the milk in the pot.
Dissolve the citric acid in 1/4 c cold water, stir well to dissolve, then stir thoroughly into milk using a stainless-steel utensil. Also stir in the salt.
On medium-low to medium heat on the stove, gradually heat the milk to 185-195 F, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Curds will start to separate out. As you approach the target temperature, you will fairly suddenly notice the liquid turning greenish-yellow and fairly clear. When this happens, turn off the heat (do not overcook) and let sit undisturbed for 5-10 minutes.
Line a colander with butter muslin or a jelly bag or MULTIPLE thicknesses of cheesecloth. Put the curds gently into the colander, preferably using a skimmer or slotted spoon (must be stainless steel).
Tie the corners of the cloth into a bag and hang it to drain for 1/2 or whatever produces the consistency of ricotta you want.
Eat right away if desired (can mix in few Tbsp of cream if you want creamier texture), or refrigerate for up to 2 wks in airtight container, or proceed to Ricotta Salata recipe.
Ricotta Salata as per my interpretation of Ricki Carroll's and other recipes -- this is probably not the right way to do it but it produces something tasty whatever you want to call it
After draining the ricotta (some recipes call for a longer draining period, I am going to try a new batch today with overnight draining), crumble it apart in a clean bowl and add 1 Tbsp more cheese salt (less if you are only using part of the ricotta you made for this). Mix it in well with clean hands.
Take a margarine tub or something like that, and poke a bunch of holes at least 1 mm wide in the sides and bottom using whatever you like to poke holes in things with. (e.t.a. - poke them from the inside out, so the inside of the container remains smooth). Put the salted ricotta into the mold, not packing it too hard but making sure all space is occupied.
Cut the margarine tub lid's rim off, so it fits just inside the margarine tub, and put it there atop the ricotta. Put it up on "something" (I use plastic cookie cutters) on a saucer to catch whey that drips out. Weight the lid that's sitting on the cheese with a large can, either directly or in a bowl.
Let sit (I do it at room temperature) for an hour. Gently unmold the cheese, turn it upside down and put it back in the mold. Press 12 hrs.
Gently unmold, rub all over with more cheese salt, and refrigerate. I do not understand entirely whether this is supposed to be covered or not. In a frostfree fridge it dries out pretty fast if you don't cover it at all. But still produces an edible product. I dunno, use your best judgement
Every 24 hrs for the first week, gently rub with a little more salt and turn over.
After that, recipe sez age 2-4+ wks in fridge, wiping off any mold that might form using a bit of cheesecloth dampened in salt water.
Recipe says 'produces slicing dessert-type cheese in a couple weeks, grating cheese in a month or few months'. I wouldn't know, my first cheese is half-eaten already at about 10 days of age
Try it -- it is really cool to be able to produce something so cheeselike (I would liken it to maybe Havarti?) without culture or rennet or hard work or complicated directions
Have fun,
Pat
