The hardest part about making this cheese is cleaning the cheesecloth. It is perfect for Raviolis and Lasagnas, but Im eating it right now with some fresh cherry belle radishes and loving it. I learned how to make this simple fresh cheese from one of my most beloved cookbooks, The Kitchen Ecosystem by Eugenia Bone, a fabulous food writer, gourmand, and mushroom enthusiast.
I love how she organizes the book into ingredients, with several recipes on enjoying each of them fresh, preserving them, and then cooking with the preserves. She offers excellent kitchen advice and basic techniques for condiments, pickles, ferments, sauces, dehydrating, etc., as well as putting it all together into decadent, yet fairly easy meals(if you have done the prep work).
you will need…
- 2 quarts of the best whole milk you can find(unpasteurized or small batch pasteurized if possible)
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
- cheesecloth & strainer
method
- place milk and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot on medium low heat
- slowly bring to 185°F(it will start to bubble around the perimeter)
- take of heat and stir in vinegar
- allow 5-10 minutes for curds to form
- strain through cheesecloth in strainer over a bowl
- store in the fridge
The liquid that you strain off is whey. You should save it! It can be used for braising meat, scalloping potatoes, and any other time you might need a salty milky broth in a dish. If not using right away, you can freeze it. You will end up with about a pint of ricotta and 6-7 cups of whey, depending on the fattiness of the milk you use.
