Ricotta
Ingredients
Makes 1 large cup
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream (can replace half a cup with milk for slightly less creamy ricotta)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 small-medium lemon)
Preparation
- Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom.
- Turn off the heat. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly.
- Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Line a colander with three layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. (It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.)
- Eat straight away or refrigerate until ready to use (keeps at least 3 days)