Fresh Ricotta Cheese

I LOVE this recipe. I make it all the time. By far the easiest. I don't always have cream on hand like other recipes call for. If I don't have lemons (I usually do though) I'll substitute vinegar. This will impress all your friends. Great with grilled eggplant, a quick sauté of fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic. Dollop this on top with basil and you have the perfect end of summer treat!

• dirtydog

• California

• 8/28/2015

This is easy and very good. I always make it when I make lasagna. There is no comparison between this and purchased supermarket ricotta.

• kryberg

• Baldwin, ND

• 3/20/2015

Excellent! May need a little more salt.

• MontereyHills

• Monterey Hills, CA

• 1/19/2014

This was SO easy! And so good! I can't believe that I have waited this long to make homemade fresh ricotta! Who would have thought it could be so easy and simple. The recipe was spot on. 20 minutes start to finish, and I have the creamiest ricotta I have ever tasted! Living in Switzerland, this is a boon because ricotta is hard to come by, and when it is it costs a whole lot more than 8 cups of milk!!!

• kimmimz

• Geneva, Switzerland

• 6/2/2011

After adding the lemon juice, I stirred--am not sure if that was the problem, but it would not curdle. I kept adding lemon juice, ended up using two whole lemons while still on low heat before the milk began to curdle. It tasted lemony which was fine--but I had 5 minutes of "what am I going to do with a pot full of sour milk?"

• margothyun

• 5/26/2010

No need to discard the liquid -- use it to make soup. For example, the flavors of salt, lemon juice, and flecks of residual milk solids work nicely with many chowders.

• wiredmomma

• San Diego

• 12/24/2009

This recipe is so easy and is a guarantee success. I made this on a whim after getting everything ready for my homemade lasagna. With ricotta from this recipe, my lasagna REALLY WAS homemade--scratch from start to finish! The resulting cheese is so creamy, milk sweet, and tender. I can't imagine buying containers of ricotta anymore.

• Clint02

• Honolulu, Hawaii

• 3/9/2009

I wish the instructions included a specific temperature for the milk to be at before adding the lemon juice - i think my milk temp may have been too high because the curds were a little tough.

• mschmitt23

• 3/3/2009

This is wonderfully easy. And, even better, it's incredibly worth it! Don't let the curds drain longer than a minute, or the cheese will be too thick. Also, just go ahead and make a double batch.

• mbuckl2

• 1/9/2009

I'm not sure about the liqiud from the ricotta but here is a link to making fresh mozzerella and then on the last page of that tutorial, a link to making ricotta with the remaining liquid whey from the mozzerella. http://www.instructables.com/id/Great- Mozzarella-Cheese/

• beast13

• East Meadow NY

• 12/29/2008

You can use it for baking bread/biscuits, but since it's already precipitated the protein from the milk, you can't use it to make (more) ricotta. Here's a good link. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/549139

• Anonymous

• Philadelphia, PA

• 12/22/2008

This is delicious but a large quantity of liquid is left over. Does anyone know if this liquid can be used for anything?

• olga6611

• Cape Cod

• 12/16/2008

This was delicious and so easy! It took less than 20 minutes, and only about five minutes of active time. Now I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some sheep's milk to try making sheep ricotta. I used it for the ricotta, fig and onion appetizers. Next I think I'm going to try Shopsin's lemon ricotta pancakes from Eat Me (also printed in the NY Times).

• suzannam

• NY, NY

• 12/14/2008