Can you make ricotta at home?

Homemade ricotta has a reputation as a show-off move. It is actually one of the simplest things you can make in a kitchen: milk, acid, heat, a sieve. The interesting part is that what you make at home is not quite what an Italian cheesemaker means by ricotta, and knowing the difference explains why the two taste different.

What true ricotta is

The Treccani dictionary defines ricotta as a dairy product made from the whey left over after cheesemaking, usually from sheep's or cow's milk. The whey is lightly acidified and heated until its proteins coagulate. The name comes from ricuocere, to cook again, because the whey is cooked a second time after the first cheese has been made.

That is why traditional ricotta is so light and delicate. It is made from what is left once the main cheese has been taken out. Unless you are making cheese already, you won't have a pot of fresh whey to hand.

What the home version is

At home we start with whole milk instead, sometimes with a little cream for richness. Heating milk and adding acid curdles it, separating soft curds from a thin yellowish liquid. Strain the curds and you have a fresh, mild cheese that tastes very close to ricotta, a little richer and creamier because it is made from the whole milk rather than whey. Many cooks call it milk ricotta, and we think that is fair.

How to make it

Think of this as a method with cues, not a recipe.

1. Heat the milk gently in a heavy pan, stirring now and then so it does not catch, until it is steaming and small bubbles appear at the edge, just short of a boil. A pinch of salt goes in at this stage.
2. Add the acid. Take it off the heat and stir in a little lemon juice or white wine vinegar. Stir once or twice, gently, then stop.
3. Wait. Within moments you should see the milk separate into white curds and a thin, slightly greenish-yellow whey. If the liquid is still milky, add a little more acid.
4. Strain. Line a sieve with a clean, damp muslin or a fine cloth and ladle the curds in carefully. Let them drain.
5. Decide how firm. A short drain gives a soft, spoonable ricotta for toast and pasta. A longer drain gives a firmer cheese you can slice or bake.

Lemon gives a faintly citrus flavour; vinegar is more neutral. Both work.

What goes wrong

• No curds: not hot enough, or not enough acid. Warm gently and add a little more.
• Grainy or rubbery: the milk boiled hard or was stirred too much after the acid went in. Keep it gentle.
• Sour taste: too much acid. Next time use less and wait longer.

Use ordinary fresh whole milk; in our experience long-life milk is more reluctant to set.

Using it

Home ricotta is at its best within a day or two, while it still tastes of fresh milk.

• Warm on toast with olive oil, salt, black pepper and lemon zest, or with honey and figs.
• Stirred through hot pasta with a splash of pasta water, Parmigiano and black pepper.
• In a frittata, a torta salata, or stuffed vegetables.
• Whipped with a little cream and sugar for a quick dessert with berries.

There are many more ideas in what to make with ricotta.

What to do with the whey

Do not throw it all away. It can replace some water in bread dough, cook pasta or grains, or go into soup. Keep it covered in the fridge and use it soon.

Is it worth it?

For a weekend, yes: it is fun, cheap enough, and the warm cheese is a treat. For everyday cooking, a good tub from the shop is excellent and there is no shame in it. A tub that lists whey among its ingredients is the real, whey-based thing, which homemade cannot claim.