Homemade Ricotta Cheese

I made this the other day for my family when they came up for an appetizer, it lasted about 5 minutes and it was gone. I never realized how much fun it was to make homemade cheese! It so light, airy and creamy. Serve it over a warm baguette with fruity olive oil or honey with a little flaky sea salt.  Your friends will definitely be impressed! It’s great warm or you can keep it in an air tight container for up to a week. It makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp. distilled vinegar
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions

Start by preparing the colander with cheesecloth, then place onto a large bowl. Fold the cheesecloth 3-4 times over and place into the colander making sure it has an over hang. Dampen the cheesecloth and ring it out well. Place back into the colander.

In a large stainless steal pot add all of the milk, cream, and salt, over medium low. Gently heating the milk up to 192 degrees, stirring occasionally. It should take about 15-20 minutes. Make sure not to scorch the bottom of the pan. Once you hit 192, remove from heat and stir in the vinegar.

Cover the pot and allow it to rest off the heat for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the lid and gently ladle the curds into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Once all of the curd has been ladled into the colander, allow it to drain into the large bowl. The final consistency depends on how long you let it drain. For creamier ricotta let it drain 5-7 minutes, then for drier ricotta up to 20 minutes.

When ready to serve, unwrap out of the cheesecloth and serve warm with warm bread of crackers with a little olive oil and cracked black pepper or a nice drizzle of honey.  Keep in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!!