Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is also something that never crossed my mind about making. Cheese isn't something you make at home. Or is it? I found this recipe in the food section of the paper and decided it was something I would like to try. Something to have under my food prep belt. I made cheese. It was pretty simple to do, though kind of time consuming. It wasn't a lot of hands on work, but it did take close to three hours to finish. The recipe I have made 2 cups of cheese, but the recipe I am using tonight calls for 4 cups, so I doubled it. The recipe I am sharing is the original and will yield 2 cups. If you want to make this for a specific recipe, I'd suggest doing the cheese the night before. It takes a while to drain and will stay fresh for a day in the fridge.

• 1/2 gallon whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine milk, cream, and salt in a large saucepan. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat once it is boiling and stir in lemon juice. Let sit without stirring for 5 minutes. Set a colander lined with cheese cloth over a large bowl. Pour into colander and let drain. If you want a softer and spreadable cheese, drain for one hour. If you are looking for a thicker cheese to cook with, drain for two hours.


This cheese is very delicious. No worries over where it was created, how clean a factory is, or how long it actually sat at the store before you bought it. You may want to compare costs if that is an issue for you. To make 4 cups, this cost me over $8.

The cream and milk mixture seemed to take forever to boil. It has to be cooked on medium heat to prevent burning the milk on the bottom of the pot. I did burn it a little and had to pull some dark pieces out of the cheese while it was draining. It did not affect the taste of the cheese, but was a bit of a pain.

The lemon serves to curdle the cream and milk mixture. Pouring my pot out and watching it plop into the colander was a bit discouraging. It definitely did not seem appetizing. I promise, the cheese tastes very creamy and smooth. Very delicious! This morning I spread some on a piece of Italian bread to go with my breakfast of eggs and tomatoes. Tonight I will use the cheese in a recipe for my favorite stuffed shells. Happy Meatless Monday!!!