Fresh Ricotta

By Melissa Clark

Fresh Ricotta
Total Time
About 30 minutes
Rating
5(1,891)
Comments
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Why make homemade ricotta? Because you can. And because the results are so much better than most of the packaged stuff you can buy, especially at the supermarket. Making it yourself is also less expensive than buying fresh ricotta at a fancy gourmet market.

Featured in: Fresh Ricotta Turns a Simple Pasta Dish Sublime

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Ingredients

Yield:About 1½ cups
  • 1quart whole milk
  • ½cup heavy cream
  • ¼cup plain whole yogurt
  • 1½teaspoons lemon juice
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

174 calories; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 239 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Line a colander with a quadruple layer of cheesecloth and set it over a bowl.

  2. Step 2

    In a large pot over medium-high heat, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Bring to a simmer and heat until the mixture just begins to curdle. Pour mixture into colander. (For a drier ricotta with bigger curds, continue to simmer 1 to 2 minutes longer until mixture completely separates.)

  3. Step 3

    Stop draining when mixture begins to look like ricotta, 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how dry you like it. Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to two weeks.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,891 user ratings
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Comments

Paul Bernstein

According to J.Kenji Lopez-Alt, this recipe would perform better with a distilled white vinegar, as it's pH is consistent; the pH of the lemons differ from lemon to lemon, yielding potentially uneven results. Also, he uses much more acid: 1/4 cup vinegar to one cup milk.

Ruchi

This is called Paneer in Hindi. I just don't add the heavy cream when making Paneer. Also the leftover liquid, whey, is delicious and can be added to rice as a broth.

aliborchardt

Yes, you can use a large coffee filter instead. I used cheesecloth the first time I made this, but have used coffee filters the every time after that --- worked great!

Cathy

Having never made fresh ricotta, I had no idea how to follow the recipe and it came out very badly.

Mary F

I just watched the video and it said to use 1 cup of cream but the recipe says 1/2 cup! Also 1 tsp of salt but recipe says 1/2 tsp.

Kathleen Bellicchi

what is the yield?

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