Although typically referred to as ricotta cheese, ricotta is not properly a cheese because it is not produced by coagulation of casein. .. Ricotta (literally meaning "recooked")- Wikipedia/Ricotta
Ricotta is typically made from the whey produced as the byproduct of proper cheeses: Cheddar, Swiss, etc. It takes out of solution most of the remaining proteins that are left in the whey. However, it's also possible to start from fresh milk. This is what I did since I wasn't quite ready to start walking down the Cheddar road.
I used the very simple recipe found in Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, by Jennifer Reese. While somewhat time consuming, the process is dead simple.
With the whey left over I decided to make some bread. I merged a recipe I found on the tubes, Making Italian bread with leftover ricotta whey, with several other bread recipes I found online.
Rocotta
Difficulty: dead simple.Time: Approx 1:45, including sitting time
Ingredients:
- 1 Gallon of Whole Milk Organic unpasteurized is preferred, but I got by just fine with regular old store-bought
- 6 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
- Large pot that can easily accommodate a gallon of milk
- Cooking thermometer digital preferred
- Measuring spoon tbsp
- Cheesecloth although Jennifer says a clean pillowcase can do in a pinch
- Strainer
- Large bowl strainer will go inside, minimum capacity should be that of the pot
- Mixing instrument something to stir the cooking milk, I used a ladle with holes in it
Pour the gallon of milk into the pot and leave uncovered.
Add the lemon juice. I used fresh lemons and instead of putting them in a juicer I just quartered them, put them in a freezer bag, and squeezed them with all my might. Two small lemons produced almost exactly six tablespoons.
Place your thermometer where you plan on having it the entire cooking process.
Turn the heat to medium-high (7/9 on my stove) and begin stirring.
Nothing happens for a while, as the temperature rises from the 40F range. Stir occasionally.
At 90F the curdling at the surface is noticeable. I continue to scrape the bottom to make sure I'm not burning the milk.
At 145F large chunks or curdle are visible at the surface (approx 1ML), and the aroma of delicious rich cheese with a hint of lemon wafts through the kitchen.
At 165F I started to get some sticking on the bottom so I reduced heat to 6/9. This may be inevitable without constant stirring. Still only occasionally stirring.
At 175F curdles are still on the surface only.
At 180F small bubbles are forming. Not boiling, but concerning. Curdles are still on surface only. I'm thinking maybe I needed to add more lemon juice (I'm wrong).
Now here's where things get a little crazy. The time it takes to go from 180F-205F is about 1/10th the time it took to go from 150F-180F. My only guess is the curdling process is endothermic and once you get over the hump it stops absorbing heat (remember that disclaimer where I talked about speculation?). In any case things move very quickly from here.
When I noticed the heat jumping up it was already at 195F. From here on out I stirred constantly.
At 195F-200F something amazing happened. Magically the entire pot suddenly thickens and is filled with magnificent curds. You can see the whey thinning, separate from the curd. I have made Ricotta!
Stir constantly up to 208F for even heating (I would imagine the curd/whey mix is not nearly as convective as the milk alone).
Once the thermometer is reading 207F-209F turn off heat but leave the pot on the stove and continue to stir until the heat drops to 205Fish. You're not supposed to let it boil, so make sure you don't get up to 212F (I've read the boiling point of milk is somewhere between 212F-215F, but 208F is plenty hot enough so I wouldn't press your luck).
While sitting place your colander in your large bowl and line with the cheese cloth.
After sitting pour into the colander/bowl.
Pour off the excess whey into a container to store it for the bread (that you can actually start making now).
Let the curds sit in the colander, covered, for approximately 20 minutes. The longer you let them sit the drier they'll be.
Should last for about a week. Makes approximately four cups.
Conclusion:
Oh man! This stuff is amazing!! It literally melts in your mouth. So sweet and creamy. Can't wait to use it in tonight's Lasagna.
The Bread
Difficulty: dead simple.Time: Approx 1:45, including sitting time
Ingredients:
- 5 cups all-purpose flower
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4.5 tsp yeast instant preferred
- 5 tbsp butter
- 2 cups whey from the Ricotta making
- Egg-whites optional, only need a couple tbsp
- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring spoon tbsp & tsp
- Spray oil PAM or whatever
- Buttering brush
- Small pot approx 5 cup capacity will be fine
- 5'x9' bread pan glass is preferred, as metal can mess with the yeast, but in a pinch metal should be OK too
Put the butter in the pot and start melting.
While the butter is melting mix all dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.
Once the butter is melted add the two cups of whey. If the whey is still hot no further heating is required. Approximately 110F-115F is required to activate the yeast. Too cool and the yeast won't activate. Too warm and you may kill the yeast.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.
Knead until well combined (at least 5 minutes).
Lubricate the bread pan.
Place the dough in the bread pan.
Cover with a towel and let rise for at least an hour.
Paint the surface of the bread with egg whites (optional).
Pre-heat oven to 450F.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Without removing reduce heat to 425F and continue baking for another 15 minutes.
The head of the bread should now be golden. Remove from the bread pan and bake an additional 10-15minutes directly on baking rack until entirely golden brown and hollow sounding when you tap on it.
Remove and let cool before cutting (if you can resist, I couldn't).
Conclusion:
This bread is delicious. It's very dense with a hard crust, nothing like what you get pre-sliced from a bag at the supermarket. Two thumbs up!
