Homemade Ricotta Cheese
Fresh ricotta made from milk, cream, salt, and lemon juice gives you soft, creamy curds for spreading, spooning over pasta, or layering into desserts.
Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min · Total 2 hr 35 min · Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
- 7 cups whole milk, not ultra pasteurized
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions
- Drape several layers of cheesecloth inside a large fine mesh sieve, then place the sieve over a large bowl.
- Pour the milk and cream into a 5 or 6 quart pot, then stir in the salt.
- Warm the mixture over medium heat, stirring often, until it comes all the way to a full boil.
- As soon as it boils, take the pot off the heat and stir in the lemon juice right away. Leave it undisturbed for 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour the mixture into the lined sieve, carefully emptying liquid from the bowl underneath as it fills, if needed.
- Allow the curds to drain for 1 – 60 minutes, depending on whether you want a looser or drier ricotta. Around 10 minutes will give you a nicely moist texture.
- Move the ricotta to the refrigerator and chill until cold. Store it in the refrigerator up to 5 days.