Ricotta: How To Make It

One of the best cheeses you can use in numerous recipes is ricotta cheese. And what’s best about it is that you can easily make it at home. 

If you want to learn what is ricotta cheese and more about how to make ricotta, follow our easy guide.  

What Is Ricotta Cheese? 

Ricotta is a soft Italian cheese made from cow, goat, sheep, or Italian water buffalo milk whey. The milk whey or the ricotta milk is the one that’s left after making different kinds of cheeses.  

It is a delicate, smooth, and perfectly creamy cheese with a mild taste. It’s not too salty, so you can use it in many savory dishes and desserts too. So, there’s a chance you’ve had ricotta already in a dish, even if you didn’t know what is ricotta cheese. 

How to Eat Ricotta? 

Now that you know what is ricotta and before you learn how to make ricotta cheese, you’ll want to know how you can eat it and with what.  

We already mentioned that you could use it in many recipes, and these are our favorites: 

• On grilled sourdough 
• With omelet 
• On a pizza with cherry tomatoes 
• With meatballs 
• With pesto ravioli 

And if you enjoy desserts, you need to try an Italian lemon ricotta cake or a cheesecake.  

How to Make Ricotta? 

If you want to know how to make ricotta, you’re at the right place. And you should be happy, because it is so easy to make it, and it’s such a treat.  

You’ll want to heat your milk and wait until the whey is separated from the curds. Whey is essential for making this kind of cheese, and once you reheat it, you’ll get ricotta. And this is the traditional way of doing it, and we have a recipe that’s a lot easier to make. You’ll love it. 

Ingredients 

• ½ gallon of whole milk, cow’s or goat’s 
• 1/3 cup of white vinegar 
• Sea salt 
• 1 large piece of cheesecloth 

Preparation 

• In a large saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat.  
• Add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir.  
• Once the milk comes to a boil, stir it with a wooden spoon, and pour in the vinegar. You will see the curds forming at the surface. 
• You’ll want to make sure that there’s plenty of room for more curds to rise, so be sure to draw the curds to the center of your saucepan with a spoon.  
• Remove the saucepan from the heat once it’s boiling, cover it, and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.  
• Prepare a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth, ideally 3 layers over a large bowl. 
• Once the ricotta milk has rested, gently pour the ricotta cheese mixture through the cheesecloth.  
• The curds need to sit in the cheesecloth and the strainer for at least 15 minutes. 
• Then you should wrap the cheesecloth with the ricotta cheese mixture inside it and squeeze both hard and gently at the same time. You want to squeeze as much liquid as you can.  
• And what’s left in the cheesecloth is your homemade cheese.  
• Enjoy!  

We really hope that you’ll try to make this cheese at home because it’s so easy and fun to make. And that you’ll use it some exciting Italian-inspired dish.  

We also want to invite you to visit Mi’talia restaurant and try some of our many dishes featuring this simple yet tasty cheese. Our menu is full of incredible Italian-inspired dishes that will tickle your taste buds and satisfy your craving for delicious food. Call us today to book your reservation!