Oh My Ricotta!

A while back I had clipped a recipe for homemade ricotta cheese from a magazine. I never got around to making it, but I remembered it recently and decided it was worth a shot. Naturally, I couldn’t find the recipe. But you gotta love the internet, because a desired recipe is never more than a few clicks away.

The recipe below is from Epicurious.com. (A highly recommended site… and if you are the proud owner of an iPhone or iPad, you can download their app for free. It’s great – especially the iPad version. VERY convenient for use in the kitchen.)


Fresh Homemade Ricotta

Ingredients:
• 2 quarts whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Special Equipment:
• Large sieve
• Fine-mesh cheesecloth

Line a large sieve with a layer of heavy-duty fine-mesh cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Slowly bring milk, cream and salt to a rolling boil in a 6-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about two minutes.

Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain for 1 hour. After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered; it will keep in the refrigerator for 2 days.


While it’s simple enough to make on your own, I will admit that it is not really cost or time effective when compared with picking up a container of the packaged stuff at the grocery store. This recipe makes about two cups of ricotta, and you can probably buy that for around $3. The ingredients will cost you close to twice that much. Plus, it doesn’t have a long shelf life so you really need to make it and use it right away.

But… and here’s the big “but.” The cheese on its own is nothing spectacular. But when I used it to make lasagna for me and B, forget about it. It was the best tasting ricotta cheese I have ever had in a lasagna. It melted perfectly and was so creamy and delicious. Never before have I tasted anything like it!

It’s up to you… a more expensive, but all natural ricotta to be used for baking, or store bought ricotta without the fuss and the muss. You can’t go wrong either way, but my vote says homemade is worth a shot, at least for special occasions. More times than not , I will buy my ricotta. But the next time I make lasagna or manicotti, I think I’m going to literally put my money where my mouth is and spend the few extra dollars to make the dish that much more memorable.