Our gourmet grazing tables are all about freshness, deliciousness, tastiness and we want your tastebuds to sing whenever you experience one of our gourmet grazing tables! Which is why we like to include our very own homemade baked ricotta on our grazing tables. We also include homemade ricotta to our breakfast brunch boxes. Its so tasty spread on banana bread and drizzled with honey! Drool!!
So we decided that we wanted to share with you, our method on making your own ricotta because we don't just want our grazing table experience to end once you leave the party, we want you to remember us after you leave and time and time again.
This is one of the simplest yet satisfying things you can do in the kitchen (if you ask me), and ricotta cheese is just so versatile you can make so many dishes from it or just have it on its own.
Lets start off by listing some fun facts about this creamy, soft, versatile cheese...
1. Ricotta is low in fat
2. High in protein
3. Super easy to make
4. It's white in colour
5. Creamy in texture
6. Versatile
7. Delicious!
And the list goes on.
At La Paparedda Catering, we serve our ricotta with honey, crumbed pistachios and the freshest figs. You can find it on most of our gourmet grazing tables.
Although, once it's made fresh and it's still warm, we think it's absolutely best served on fresh crusty bread just the way it is... YUMM!! maybe topped with some blueberries and honey!! Because we like to go above and beyond!!
Below we'll show you how to make your very own homemade ricotta with just a few ingredients that won't break the bank. Trust us.
A little more knowledge about ricotta....
Ricotta can be made from sheep, cow, goat or buffalo's milk but for now let's just stick to the easy option which you find in every single supermarket, corner store, service station and even Newsagent. Cow's milk.
Top tips!
You want to make sure that it's full cream, otherwise you just won't get the creaminess and consistency you desire. Let's face it, Shepard's in the 19th century didn't process their cows milk to become skim milk because they were 'watching their weight. They used what Mother Nature had provided them and because that's all they were given!
Before you get started, you'll need the below equipment because this recipe does take a little bit of a mad scientist approach. Just a little I promise!
Equipment:
- 1 large pot
- Draining spoon
- Kitchen thermometer
- Ricotta basket and container (Buy ricotta from a supermarket and don't toss out the basket and container)
Ingredients:
- 2 litres of full cream milk. Don't try this with skim or low fat milk because you won't get the same result. In fact, you'll be very disappointed with the outcome.
- 1 teaspoon of salt. We use artisan salt but don't be fooled by the name. Table salt is just fine.
- 1 teaspoon of citric acid dissolved in 1/4 cup of cool water. You can find citric acid in your local supermarket.
Method:
- Firstly you want all of your equipment to be sterilised. Make sure you do this at least one day in advance and have everything ready for you to use.
- Pour all of the full cream milk into the pot and add the salt to the milk. Stir.
- Heat the milk and the salt to 95 degrees celsius (203 degrees Fahrenheit). Make sure to continuously stir so you get an even distribution of heat throughout the pot.
Once you have reached 95 degrees celsius, take the pot off the heat.
You also want to make sure that the two indentation points on the lower half of the thermometer are fully submerged in the milk when reading the temperature.
- You also don't want to remove the pot from the heat too early or too late. This will result in something else other than ricotta!
- Stir in the citric acid solution then let it sit and watch the magic happen.
Your ricotta should start to curdle immediately.
- Leave the ricotta to cool for at least 20-30 minutes.
- After 20-30 minutes, the ricotta should be firm enough for you to scoop into the draining basket. If it's still too soft, leave it to cool for another 30 minutes. This means the magic is still happening...
- Carefully layer the curds of ricotta in the ricotta basket. Leave the basket to drain in the ricotta container.
** If you don't have a container to catch the liquid, a bowl or any other container will do.
- Enjoy whichever way your heart desires!
...and remember, your delicious homemade ricotta can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Enjoy!