Homemade Ricotta Cheese

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: HOMEMADE RICOTTA CHEESE
Categories: Dairy, Italian
Yield: 1 servings

- Chuck Ozburn HBWK07A

Unlike most other fresh cheeses - cottage and cream
cheese, for example - the curd of this bland, light
cheese is formed by the direct addition of acid to the
milk, not by fermentation. For that reason the time
required to make it is generally short.

If you haven't used this Italian favorite before, try
it in place of cottage cheese, as well as in Italian
recipes for such dishes as lasagne and manicotti.
You'll find it is a bit creamier than most cottage
cheese, with a much finer curd.

For a pleasant light milk dessert, sweeten ricotta
slightly and top it with a sprinkling of grated
chocolate or cinnamon.

2 qts regular milk 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar or
1/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice Salt, if desired

Pour the milk into a heavy stainless-steel or
enameled saucepan and stir in the vinegar or lemon
juice; set the pot over very low heat and bring the
milk very slowly to a simmer ( a reading of 200F on a
thermometer). There will be fine beads around the
edge of the milk, which will look foamy but will not
appear to be boiling; remove the pot from the heat and
set it, covered, in a spot where the temperature will
remain fairly uniform at a reading between 80 and 100
degrees; (an unheated oven, without a pilot light, is
a good spot) let the milk stand for about 6 hours or
until a solid curd floats above the liquid (the whey);
more or less time may be required, depending on the
temperature of the environment and the characteristics
of the milk; line a fine sieve with doubled dampened
cheesecloth (or better yet, two layers of very
fine-meshed nylon curtain netting, dampened) and set
it over a bowl; dump the curds and whey into the sieve
and allow the whey to drain off until the ricotta is
yogurtlike; if you want a firmer cheese, tie the
corners of the cloth to form a bag and hang it up to
drain further; (in warm weather, the draining might
well be completed in the refrigerator; when the
texture of the cheese is to your liking, add a little
salt (from 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) if you wish; store the
cheese, covered, in the refrigerator; it will be at
its best after it has chilled for 24 hours, and it
will keep well for 4 or 5 days. Makes about 1 pound.

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