Easy Ricotta Cheese

A big conundrum in my house is how to get through a gallon of milk every week.  Some weeks we finish the whole thing no issues.  We live 45 minutes outside of town, and I carpool to work so smaller quantities don't often work for us. I was on the hunt for something to do with milk that is just past it's expiry.  I had dabbled in making mozzarella cheese a few times, but it is honestly a lot of work, so I save that for times when I am really feeling ambitious. 

I found a super easy recipe for Ricotta Cheese which looked quick, and I had all of the ingredients in house.  I tried it with a 1/2 gallon of milk and it turned out really well. 

Ingredients

1 L of Milk (a couple of days after expiry is fine)
1 TBSP White Vinegar
1 tsp Salt

• Over medium heat, pour milk and salt into a large dutch oven size pot like this one from Amazon.
• Heat until it reaches 160 degrees.  I use a candy thermometer.  I actually just purchased this one from Amazon.  
• Once it reaches temperature, pour in the vinegar and stir for about 30 seconds.  You will notice the curds start to come away from the whey.

•  Move pot to the counter (on a heat proof trivet like this) and let sit for 5 minutes, untouched.
• Find a container that will be big enough to hold a cup or so of cheese.  I find that tall yogurt containers work well, but for this round I used a plastic measuring cup like this one.
• Cut a piece of cheesecloth about a foot square, doubled over.  Cheesecloth can be found at any dollar store.

• You will need either a large elastic or some clothes pins to secure the cheese cloth to the container.  I bought a pack of clothes pins and I keep some of them in my kitchen.

• The curds will now be separated fully from the whey.  

• With a slotted spoon, carefully spoon the curds into the cheese cloth.  You will notice that the whey starts running through the cheesecloth right away.  You may have to adjust the cloth so that it is tighter if the curds are sittin in the whey.  You can also just pour some of the whey off.

• You will be able to see the texture of the Ricotta form within a couple of minutes of letting it drain.  After about an hour, all of the whey should be drained, and you should have nice soft Ricotta.

• You can store the Ricotta in the fridge for about a week.  I use sour cream or smaller yogurt containers for storage and just write Ricotta on it.  
• If you won't use within the week, freeze it for the next time you are making lasagna, or something else that calls for a soft cheese.
• Don't throw that whey away (haha).  I strain it through a tightly weaved strainer and then freeze the whey to use in pancakes, muffins, and anything that calls for buttermilk.  The dog also loves it.
• PS you can quadruple the recipe for a gallon!

Give this a try, it is super easy and a great way to use up left over milk!