Today, a savory recipe: homemade ricotta with just 3 ingredients.
How many recipes can we make using ricotta? It’s great in desserts, like ricotta and corn flour cookies or a ricotta and chocolate cake, and in savory preparations, like ricotta and spinach rustic pies or ricotta meatballs, and then, how delicious is it to eat plain? Maybe accompanied by a cherry tomato sauce and two toasted slices of homemade whole wheat bread, I’m already salivating!
It’s true that buying it is much simpler, but isn’t it a great satisfaction to make it at home with just a few ingredients that we often have on hand? All you need is fresh milk, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. These last ingredients are necessary to thicken the milk and create the curds that we will put into a mold and then directly in the fridge. We’ll get a ricotta with a neutral and light flavor, also great for flavoring as we like.
In fact, starting from this base, you can make ricotta with arugula, chili pepper, or aromatic herbs. Just add the chosen ingredient to the curds when we put them in the mold.
The only thing that maybe not everyone has available is a kitchen thermometer which will be necessary to get a good result. There are all types available on the market and with a few dollars, you can get one that satisfies you.
Let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 1 form of 250 g
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 315.55 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 23.53 (g) of which sugars 23.53 (g)
- Proteins 16.52 (g)
- Fat 18.00 (g) of which saturated 11.34 (g)of which unsaturated 6.56 (g)
- Fibers 0.00 (g)
- Sodium 387.59 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 125 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Homemade Ricotta
- 4 1/4 cups whole milk (fresh)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tbsps apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp fine salt
Tools
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Mold
Let’s Make Ricotta Together
In a saucepan, pour the whole milk, place it on the heat, and bring it to just below boiling. Use a kitchen thermometer to measure the temperature, which should be between 185 and 194 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer, look for the first bubbles appearing in the center and along the edge, that’s the right moment.
Remove from the heat and add fine salt, apple cider vinegar, and previously squeezed lemon juice, stir with a whisk and turn the heat back on for two minutes.
Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid, let it rest for 15 minutes to allow the curds to form. If we want to flavor our ricotta with an ingredient, this is the time to prepare it. For example, if we want to add arugula, wash it, dry it, chop it, and after 15 minutes, add it to the curds.
Remove the lid and, using a strainer, collect the curds that have come to the surface. Place them in a ricotta mold, draining them well, and when all are collected, press the ricotta slightly with a spoon to remove any remaining liquid and put it in the fridge to cool and set.
Take your homemade ricotta out of the fridge, drizzle with some olive oil, and enjoy it plain, or use it for a recipe. While you’re thinking about how to use it, take a photo of your ricotta and post it on social media tagging me (a curly girl baking instagram and facebook) and let me know how you used it.
I ate it on a slice of toasted bread, with a drizzle of olive oil and two cherry tomatoes!
A Curly Girl’s Advice
I recommend using fresh whole milk for optimal results. If you don’t have lemon, it’s not a problem because you can also use just apple cider vinegar. Generally, you need three tablespoons of vinegar per liter of milk.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Is homemade ricotta made only with vinegar?
There are three ways to make ricotta at home:
-with apple cider vinegar
-with whey
-with rennet
Each method yields different results. The one made with vinegar and lemon is the simplest because the ingredients are easy to find.
