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–+ servings

Ricotta Fatta in Casa (Home-made Ricotta)

You can replace the cream with an equal amount of whole milk but using cream improves the yield. Because the boiling point of water (and thus milk) is much lower where I live in Santa Fe, I target a temperature between 192°F and 195°F. At sea level, you can go up to 203°F. What you don’t want to do is to have bubbles break the surface of the milk, though there will be some foaming around the edges.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 2 pounds
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 9 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

Method
 

  1. Warm the milk, cream, and salt in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.
  2. Stir occasionally until it reaches 170°F. Stir more frequently after that, and almost constantly once it reaches 185°F until the targt temperature is reached, 192°F or higher as described in the headnote.
  3. When it reaches the target temperature, add the vinegar and stir well. Turn off the heat and move the pot off the heating element. Even if you’re using a gas stove the grate will remain hot and can increase the temperature of the milk too much.
  4. Allow the milk to sit undisturbed. Curds should form a raft floating on top in 10 minutes. If curds do not form, add 1 tablespoon more vinegar, stir well, and wait 5-10 minutes more.
  5. Cut the curds into one-inch cubes with a knife.
  6. Lift the curds into cheese molds set on a grate to drain.
  7. Alternatively put the curds into a strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth.
  8. Drain until the ricotta is as dry as desired based on how you plan to use it. The ricotta will be slightly stiffer once it is chilled so do not drain it too much.
  9. Once drained, the ricotta can be stored with the bottom sitting in a little of the whey to keep it moist. It will not reabsorb liquid once it has drained out.

Notes

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