Does anyone know of an easy recipe to make Ricotta chesse?

Question

We would like to make Ricotta cheese, so we can make Lasagna, whenever we want. We need just a simple and easy recipe. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Last night I went to burtuccis and got a chicken and cheeze pizza and they put ricotta cheese on it and it was the best!!  

Answer 2

I searched the web and found this one: -- it takes an hour and a half to two hours to make, though, so unless you're a purist or in the middle of nowhere, I'd tend to think that simply going to the store would be simpler and faster.

Whole Milk Ricotta Recipe  

While it isn't "traditional" it is nice to be able to make ricotta out of plain 'ol milk you can buy at the store. This is the first cheese I ever made. I started making it quite a bit after I realized that making my own Ricotta with store bought milk was cheaper (and more fun) than buying Ricotta at the store. This "Ricotta" will be drier and not as smooth and creamy as the traditional "real" Ricotta. It tastes great and can be used as a ricotta substitute is most receipts.

In a heavy pot, over direct heat, heat 2 quarts of whole milk to 200° (sometime I accidentally heat it to boiling).  Add 3 Tablespoons of white vinegar or 1/4 Cup of fresh, strained lemon juice. Make sure to bring the temperature back up to 200*. You will see very tiny white particles (the albumin protein) floating in the whey.  The heat and acid from the ripe whey has precipitated the protein.

Remove the pot from the heat and set it, covered, to rest undisturbed for about 15 minutes.

Line a colander with very fine cheesecloth, called "butter muslin". You must use a very fine cloth here, or your cheese will pass through the regular cloth. If you do not have fine cheesecloth, use a clean cotton cloth (like a pillow case).  Place the colander over a big pot so you can save the whey and carefully pour the whey into the colander.  Be very careful because the liquid is hot.  Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang the ricotta to drain for an hour or so (the longer you hand it, the "drier" your finished cheese will be.

When it has drained, place the ricotta in a bowl, break up, stir and add salt to taste (1/4 tsp.- 1/2 tsp.).   This Ricotta will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Answer 3

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients:

    * 1/2 gallon milk

    * 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

    * Salt

Preparation:

Combine the milk and acid (lemon juice, Champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar) in a heavy pot and turn the heat to very low. Gradually bring the temperature to 180 degrees F. (At 7,000 feet, bring it to 172 degrees F.) It takes about 30 minutes. What you will notice is a ring of very fine bubbles around the edge of the pan. There will be some movement below the surface of the milk, which will be covered by a fine skin.

When it reaches the desired temperature, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and leave it in a warm spot -- an oven that has been heated briefly or has the pilot light on is perfect -- for 6 hours.

Line a sieve or a basket with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a coarse, porous towl, rinsed first in cold water, and set it over a bowl. Ladle the curds into the sieve and season them with salt, roughly a half-teaspoonful. (The whey, which will drain into the bowl, can be used for baking.) Refrigerate overnight or until the cheese is well drained. For a thicker, firm cheese, tie the ends of the cheesecloth over a wooden spoon balanced over a bowl and let it hang until all the whey has drained out.

Fold back the top layers of the cheesecloth or toweling and turn the cheese carefully out onto a plate. The imprint of the cloth will be left on the cheese. This cheese will stay sweet and fresh for 5 to 7 days.

Author's notes: "Traditionally, ricotta is made with whey, a by-product from cheese making, but since that's not usually available, this recipe uses milk. The same cheese is also called curd cheese or quark. Either whole milk or low-fat (2-percent) milk can be used. Whole milk yields a richer, creamier cheese." --Deborah Madison

Yield: about 1 pint  

Answer 4

I have never tried.. never had a partner to help enjoy the effort..

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Che...

Answer 5

You can use whole milk or half and half. Put in a gallon of milk or half of the milk in a pot. Bring it to a boil and add a tablespoon of vinegar or up to a 1/4 cup until it starts to curdle. Make sure the milk is hot. Its like magic and the milk fat will seperate and you can drain with a cheese cloth and place the white cheese in a container. you can add a little extra milk to loosen it up a bit. It works. You can add a bit of salt to milk when you boil it.