Cheese!

Let me start by saying I love cheese.  Cheese is probably my favorite food.  When I was young, and I mean 5 or 6 years old, my favorite present was a gift certificate to Hickory Farms.  I would go taste all the different kinds of cheeses (this was back when there were actualy Hickory Farms stores), and then select little tiny pieces of two or three different kinds.  I could work a five or ten dollar gift certificate!  (but I laugh thinking of what those poor store clerks had to put up with!)

I love cheese.  So this is why, when I ran across a recipe for making your own ricotta cheese, I got very excited.  I can't say that ricotta is a cheese that I have any particular love for, but being able to make any kind of cheese is totally cool.  And that's why I put it on my list (#21). 

Here is the recipe (courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa and Food Network):

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons good white wine vinegar

Directions

• Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.
• Pour the milk and cream into a stainless-steel or enameled pot such as Le Creuset. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
• Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. (I tend to like mine on the thicker side, but some prefer it moister.) Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.

It was so easy! 

watched milk takes a while to boil

 

curds starting to form

 

letting the whey drain

it's cheese!

I didn't have any kosher salt, and I didn't exactly measure what I used.  It could have used a little more salt in my opinion, but all in all it was good!  Very creamy and very fresh tasting.  I ended up with more than two cups worth, so part of it went on a pizza and part of it got mixed with fresh herbs and became a spread.  Yum!  The whole process was totally fascinating, especially watching the curds start to form as soon as the vinegar was added.  And then seeing the whey drain off and leave something that looked like actual cheese was pretty amazing.  I am definitely doing this again sometime!