Creamy Homemade Ricotta
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Author Notes: My friend Maggy, of Three Many Cooks, recently dubbed me the Queen of Ricotta. She's definitely onto something. Since first blogging the recipe a year and a half ago, it has been made in kitchens from coast to coast, and as far away as New Zealand.
I put up a pot at least once a week, and find many uses for it daily, from a simple bruschetta, drizzled with truffle honey, a dollop in steel cut oats and even a smear on pizza, speckled with bits of smoky bacon and roasted onions.
Rather than leave my mark with just one recipe for one meal, I'd like to know I'm part of my friends' and family's everyday eating habits when I can no longer cook for them myself. - Jennifer Perillo - Jennifer Perillo
Food52 Review: WHO: Jennifer Perillo. Known to friends as "Queen of Ricotta". Her Majesty of Dairy writes about life and food at http://www.injennieskitchen.com/
WHAT: Milky and luscious homemade ricotta
HOW: Buttermilk, whole milk and heavy cream. A pinch of salt. Wait. Strain.
WHY WE LOVE IT: This recipe makes the entire kitchen seem conquerable. With just one stir of the pot, and a few minutes of wait time you have actually made cheese! After the initial swell of pride fades, you're left with a good amount of one of the most versatile of refrigerator staples -- spread it on toast for breakfast, stir it into pasta at lunch, or enjoy it as its original Community Pick recipe-tester theediblecomplex does, spoonful by spoonful.
- Food52
Makes 2 cups
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Add the ingredients to a 4-quart pot. Bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, line a sieve or fine mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a deep bowl or pot.
- Once the curds begin to separate from the whey (you'll see little specks of white bob to the surface), stir gently and set heat to the lowest setting (see NOTE). Cook for 2 more minutes, then remove pot from heat and set on an unlit back burner for at least 30 minutes, and up to one hour. (this will help the curds further develop).
- Gently ladle the curds into the cheesecloth-lined strainer (this helps produce a fluffier, creamier curd, than pouring it into the strainer). When all the curds have been spooned into the bowl, pull the cheesecloth up the sides to loosely cover the ricotta in the strainer. Let sit for 10 minutes to drain (this will yield a very moist ricotta. If using for a cake recipe, you may want to let it drain longer for a drier consistency).
- Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- NOTE: After making one to two pots of ricotta for a year, I've learned it likes to be left alone to produce the highest yield, so resist the temptation to stir it frequently once the curds begin to separate from the whey. One stir is enough, and if you're curious, you can dip the spoon in the pot once or twice to see how the curds are developing.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for The Recipe You Want To Be Remembered For
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4 months ago LCCCC
Organic milk doesn't work well when making cheese. It has that long shelf life because it gets some sort of Parmalot treatment. Try using just regular old non-organic milk for a higher yield.
Don't toss that whey, either. Use it as all or part of your liquid next time you make bread or rice.
about 1 month ago natjanewoo
Thank you for the tip! The second time around I used non-organic milk and received double the yield.
about 1 month ago LCCCC
You're very welcome. Bummer to realize that expensive organic milk is ultra-pasteurized.
8 months ago LoCooks
Hi! I made this recipe over the weekend, and read all of the comments to pick up any tricks/nuances to make sure it worked. I waited for it to pillow up like a tent, let it wait for an hour before straining, and ladled rather than poured...The results were delicious, but the yield was only 3/4 of a cup in total...did anyone else have this experience? Where might I have gone wrong?
about 1 year ago gothamista
This is such a terrific recipe. I tried a number of ricotta recipes before and this one beats them all. I keep making it because it's delicious and then partly eating it with a spoon and then having to find other recipes to use it in! But, there are worse things to have to do.
about 1 year ago Bertha1tx
I make my own buttermilk for this great recipe. To make buttermilk take 1 cup of milk and mix in 1 TBSP white vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes and voila, buttermilk. Thanks for the great ricotta recipe. I use the whey to wash my face at night and love the feeling of massaging it into my face.
about 1 year ago darksideofthespoon
Making this right now for gnocchi. Very excited to see how it turns out!!
about 1 year ago rederin
This turned out wonderfully. I've never made ricotta before, and couldn't be more pleased with the results! I've always felt pretty ambivalent about ricotta, until now. Mmmm. Served it on toasted rustic bread with roasted grapes. Mmmm.
about 1 year ago TOM BROWN
my oh my--this stuff came out good the first time, gotmme so fired up i went ahead and made my spinach manicottis immediately!! they were a big hit and the difference was notable. definitely not the last time i do this. now i need to find ways to use the whey
about 1 year ago Emiko
Ironically, the main use for whey is actually making ricotta (it means "re-cooked" in Italian, because you re-cook the whey used from cheesemaking to get real ricotta). This is actually what you'd call a cream cheese but the leftover liquid is still nutritious and can be kept for boiling pasta in, can be used to water plants (the ones that don't mind a bit of acidity), I've heard it even works wonders as a nice skin treatment if you bathe in it - never tried it myself but someone else might know about it! :)
about 1 year ago serafinadellarosa
Holy Ricotta, Batman! I just made this and it's SUPERB! We're never buying that stuff in the tub again! WHAMO!
about 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I'm posting here something I just posted in response to a Hotine question about what to do with the whey that's left over: I made ricotta over the weekend using this -- the best ever -- recipe, and of course saved the whey. I used some of the whey to cook potatoes in, for mashing. Really outstanding! I kept the liquid at a simmer, and had cut the potatoes into smaller than usual pieces. The whey gave the mashed potatoes a marvelous flavor. I also added a couple tablespoons of heavy cream and about a tablespoon of butter. I used 1 1/2 cups of whey per 1 large russet. And best of all, I saved the potato starch-enriched cooking liquid to use in making a loaf of white sandwich bread. Not surprisingly, it turned out spectacularly. ;o)
about 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Just made this over the weekend for brunch - heavenly with jam and biscuits!
4 months ago Hina Khokhar
Yum which which biscuit recipe did you use? Just made this ricotta with beautiful results!
over 1 year ago Judy at Two Broads Abroad
imadok, I'm so glad you mentioned this. I made this on Saturday and the ricotta seemed too creamy. Em-i-lis thanks for the coaching. The ricotta had a great taste, but not consistency. Thanks.
over 1 year ago em-i-lis
Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Sure, y'all! Hope you have better luck next time! Imadok, I leave the lid off too.
over 1 year ago imadok
I just made this, and there is almost no curds and tons of whey. What can I do to fix it? When it is resting for 1 hour off the heat, should the lid be on the pan? I left the lid off, so I wonder if too much heat escaped too quickly? I am currently straining the whey out with a cheesecloth, but after an hour of straining, it is still very thin. It does taste delicious though. I want to use it for ricotta gnocchi, so I need a firm consistency. Thanks!
over 1 year ago em-i-lis
Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Hi! This has happened to me before too but having now made it at least 40 times, I can tell you that it's probably because you didn't cook it quite long enough. Before lowering the heat to low for the final 2 minutes, make sure the ricotta has pillowed up tent-like. Not huge but definitely puffy areas. In my experience that really curds the cheese; they can then settle during the cool down. And definitely save that whey!
about 1 year ago imadok
I ended up re-heating the ricotta again, folling your directions, and it turned out much better. I even overheated it a bit at it was still wonderful. I used the whey to make a whole wheat bread that I usually use buttermilk for, and it was astronomically better with the ricotta whey. I also strained my ricotta for a long time - about 4 hours.
about 1 year ago em-i-lis
Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I'm so glad you had better success!! That's great!
over 1 year ago Kitchen Butterfly
Living in Nigeria, fresh heavy cream and buttermilk rarely make appearances in store aisles and so I made this with whole milk, powdered milk, powdered buttermilk and lemon juice. And still it was AWESOME. I ended up making 2 other Food52 recipes - strawberries in a pink cloud and Louisa's cake which were SUPERB. Now I have found some heavy cream, even if ultra pasteurised....and I'm going to repeat the efforts tonight! Thank you Jennifer.
over 1 year ago rachelib
First ricotta cheese I've made and it's absolutely delicious either straight from the spoon, or in stuffed shells (kids favorite). So easy too.
over 1 year ago beekeeper
I use nylon tricot instead of cheese cloth for straining homemade cheeses. It works wonderfully and can be washed and reused many, many times.
over 1 year ago Bevi
I love Jennie's blog and all her recipes. Jenny's jam graced the Metro Food52 party, and was the cornerstone of my holiday gift offerings. Congrats!
over 1 year ago Judy at Two Broads Abroad
Just made the recipe from Russ Parson's and the LA Times. Will definitely try this one as well.
over 1 year ago em-i-lis
Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Aah, that would be Hear, Hear! Kids woke me verrrry early this morning! :)
over 1 year ago em-i-lis
Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Here, here!!!
over 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Excellent choice for Wildcard honors. I make this all the time, as much for the whey, though, as for the cheese. It's the best ricotta recipe anywhere, ever. ;o)