Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day Cheese

It seems that I misconstrued what Labor Day means...apparently I've cleared out the kitchen cob webs all in one day and it all starts with the cheese.
I've got this new cookbook, Stir by Barbara Lynch, that has a recipe for Easy Homemade Ricotta that I've been waiting to try. Only three ingredients, whole milk, vinegar and salt. Time to get cooking. The basic method is to heat the milk and acid to a high enough heat that the the milk will separate into curds and whey. Except my first attempt didn't really produce the kind of curds that seemed like they would produce a nice creamy ricotta cheese. Luckily I had stocked up on half gallons of milk so I decided to try again. However a little a little internet research was needed first. Turns out white vinegar wasn't not the most popular acid used when making homemade ricotta, lemon juice seemed to be the fav. The second thing I learned was that, unlike the recipe in the cookbook, most recipes call for adding the acid once the milk has reached 175 to 180 degrees. Armed with this new information, I hit the stove again. This was more like it.

cheese hanging bag

Here's my bag 'o cheese, draining out the excess whey.

cheese in cheesecloth

Beautiful creamy ricotta.

Bowl of ricotta

Now that I've got all this cheese, what should I do with it?

9 comments:

Noxy said...

The path is clear.

You must make pizza.

(no seriously, ricotta on pizza is just about the best thing to ever happen to anything)

moi said...

Spread it on toast and top with drizzles of honey.

Buzz Kill said...

With the summer heat finally going away, it may be time for some - cheese cake. One slice with no fruit please,

Melissa said...

CANNOLIS!

Dani said...

It's almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

I'm goin' with Buzz for some cheesecake.

Making Space said...

That's beautiful. I would have a hard time resisting just eating it out of the bowl.

Sharon Rudd said...

Ah, Shamy, that looks heavenly! I joined a cheese-making group a couple of years ago that, sadly, didn't keep meeting. I'd say anything you do with this lovely homemade ricotta will be a delight. Hope you'll share your dishes with us.

Dani said...

I love when you post things like this. Your photos and the food always put a smile on my face.

Making Space said...

yoyoyo again! Want some for breakfast.