Whole Milk Ricotta
Ingredients:
5 pints (10 cups whole milk)
3 tbsp white vinegar
Cheese Salt (though I’ve used kosher without any earth destroying paradox)
Equipment:
1 Large sauce pot or pan.
1 colander
butter muslin
1 thermometer (preferrably a candy thermometer because you have to get temps up to 200 degrees)
The Process:
- Pour milk into pan, turn heat on medium. Don’t wanna turn it too high or the bottom of the milk will be scalded. No bueno.
- Check temp often, until it reaches 200 degrees. If it boils for a minute, it won’t be life ending.
- Add vinegar. Stir for a moment to incorporate.
- Put a lid on this and walk away. No peeking!
- Once 15 minutes have elapsed, there should be some creamy sludge on top of your kind of clearish skim milk stuff.
- Pour this gently into a collander you have lined with butter muslin, a pillow case, or your large tight woven cloth.
- Pull up the corners, tie them together. Hang them on something to drip dry. You may wanna keep the whey for something.
- Let this drain for at least an hour. Once about an hour has passed, you can twist the knot of the cheese cloth a bit to release excess water if it’s not drained.
- It should feel like a solid mass, or close to it, at this point. You can continue to dry it for a little bit longer if you like a drier ricotta.. I don’t really have the patience for this.
- Place remaining curds into a bowl. Salt them. Maybe 1/4 tbsp.
The Confluent Kitchen 