*Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Living a bit out of the way from the grocery mart I often find myself just wishing I had something. A recipe calls for this or that and it sounds amazing but alas...I'm really not dying to go to the grocery mart. (honestly thats most of the time anyway but still.) I believe it was a Martha Stewart show Every day food? That made pizzas with ricotta, mushrooms and red onions and OMG I could barely get to the end of the show before I was like yum yum yum, I want need this. 

One of my favorite pizzas is actually something called a "sporkie" from Bertucci's and although I've not had it in a good number of years I always think of it fondly. I really do love ricotta on pizza. Anyway I got to thinking of things I'd seen here and there and I remembered seeing someone make home made ricotta (diners drive ins and dives, yes I watch A LOT of food related television) So I took it on myself... in the microwave. It got me to thinking of other pantry staples that I could make myself. Over the years I simply pass up a recipe if it misses something so the new label will be DIY pantry. I'm going to tackle pantry staples that I could SHOULD make myself more often. I mean really that is the Neo-Homesteading theory is it not? No preservatives all home made... Yessum. So my ricotta making adventures began and although I wanted to find a super convenient method to home made ricotta I also really wanted to experiment. I made three batches (2 cups of milk at a time) and came up with one final recipe and theory. Whole milk is necessary, (you are making it yourself so why miss out on flavor?)  and as far as your acid of choice goes you need 2 tablespoons per 2 cups of milk apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or lemon juice all work the same. To further explain I started the first batch with two tablespoons of cider vinegar and it worked great, the second I used only 1 tablespoon and it did not curdle the way I wanted AT ALL, my third batch I used two tablespoons of lemon juice and it worked just as well as the first cider vinegar batch. My primary complaint is that the cheese made this weird smell that kind of grossed me out but once it was refrigerated the result was heavenly, pillowy and rich. Really a wonderful outcome and well worth the effort. The sad truth is that this delight did not actually make it to a pizza...it did however go rather well on top of some garlic cheese bread. 

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons vinegar (white or cider) Lemon juice works as well

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine milk, vinegar and salt. Place in a microwave safe dish or in a sauce pan stir to combine. Heat the mixture until it reaches 160-165 degrees. (a simmer but not a boil) This will take 3-4 minutes in the microwave. (my microwave took almost exactly 4 but I stirred and checked the temperature in between each minute)

Remove from the microwave or stove and stir the mixture 20-30 seconds. Place in a sieve lined with a few layers of cheese cloth or food safe paper towels. I used 4 paper towels. Slowly and gently pour the mixture into the center of the sieve, be sure not to do it too fast. Allow to drain about 5 minutes or until your cheese is your desired consistency. Remove from cloth, I very very gently scraped the paper towel with a fork, you don't want towel cheese. Refrigerate up to five days. 

Portions: I made 3 batches with 6 cups of milk used and totaled around 1 cup of ricotta. If your looking for a larger amount you will have to adjust heating time. It really makes you appreciate the store bought ricotta however its well worth the effort to have fresh made.