HomeMade Ricotta Cheese!!!

I’m making Ricotta today, out of plain old milk I buy in the store, I hate paying the price for store bought ricotta! So here goes!

In a stainless steel pot I put in 4 cups of 2% milk, heated it to 200 degrees using my candy thermometer.Then I put in 1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon Distilled White Vinegar, gave it a little stir, I read where if you stir it to much the curds will be tough.I made sure it was still 200 degrees, cuz the recipe said to! You’ll see some curds coming to the top so that’s ok you didn’t wreck it!

Now I took it off the stove to set for about 15 minutes covered.

Next I strained it using one of my flour sack dish clothes, (some say to use cheese cloth, or pillow slip or if your strainer has small holes that will be fine.) over a bowl to let the whey drain into it. Have this set up beforehand to make it easier!

I tied the dish cloth up and let it hang from my cupboard for about 2 hours so the whey all drips off. (one recipe says you can do it longer if you like drier curds.)

Now unwrap and put it in a bowl add a bit of salt(1/8-1/4 teaspoon) bread it up a bit and eat or use! To store cover it and it will keep for about a week. I also read you can freeze it. You can also mix other herbs with it.

Any hints and helps let me know!!

Hints:
Some people add cream to the above recipe , I think it makes more curds.
You can use whole milk or raw milk.
This ricotta will be drier than the store bought stuff.
Also can be used as a substitute in most recipes calling for ricotta.
Now as far as the whey you drained its suppose to be good in other things! When I find out what those other things are I put it here! So freeze it!
Vinegar should not exceed 5 percent of the volume of moisture someone said.