Ricotta

We have a lot of milk right now. We have a lot of milk and it's about a week past it's best before. It's still fine, but I know its days are numbered at this point. This means it's time to make cheese! My go-to is normally paneer since we eat a lot of curries and it's nice to be able to make a good lactose-free paneer for TF. But I had my eye on this "breakfast cake" that called for ricotta, so I figured I might as well do that instead.

Traditionally ricotta is a whey cheese. You make a cultured cheese like mozzarella or Parmesan or something. The cheesemaking process causes the casein proteins to separate out (along with a lot of the other milk solids) and that's what makes up your cheese curds. What's left behind is whey. And that whey is full of whey protein. To get that to separate out, you need heat and acid. So you cook your whey, add a bunch of vinegar (or other acid), and then strain out the new curds that form. Those curds are your ricotta.

That's the traditional way of making ricotta. That's not what I did here. Honestly, a lot of commercial ricotta isn't even made that way these days. I made "whole milk ricotta". So, instead of adding acid and heat to a big pot of whey, you just put regular milk through the same process. So... basically the exact same as making paneer but without the pressing at the end. I also don't tend to keep cooking the paneer after the milk has curdled. I just heat it up, add the acid, and then drain it almost immediately. With the ricotta, I like to hold it at temperature for a while before draining it. I also don't drain it as thoroughly as paneer. This makes for a nice, soft, high-moisture cheese. Great for baking or enjoyed fresh drizzled with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Note: This method can also be used to make traditional whey ricotta but you will need A LOT more whey in order to produce the same amount of cheese since a lot of the milk solids will have already been removed by the first cheesemaking process. Also, this will not work with whey from a direct acidified cheese since the acid pulls out the whey protein as well as the casein.

Whole Milk Ricotta

Ingredients

• 2L whole (3.25%) milk
• ~1/4 c. vinegar or lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat milk to 85°C (185°F).¹
2. Add a few Tbsp. of vinegar and give it a stir. If the whey still looks milky, add a little more vinegar. Once the whey looks clear (it will still have some colour, but will become much less turbid), stop adding vinegar and stop stirring.
3. Cover and hold at 85°C (185°F) for 30 minutes.
4. Use butter muslin or a double layer of cheesecloth to strain the curds from the whey. You can be more or less thorough about the straining depending on how wet or dry you want your cheese to be.
5. Use in your favourite cake or pasta recipes or drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper and serve with crackers.

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¹ The InstantPot works great for this. I just use the slow cook "low" setting. ^Back

I'm trying to get into back home cheese making. I used to make paneer at home semi-frequently. I ventured into some other unripened cheeses at home back when I first started working at the dairy, but I never really got any momentum with it or got a good feel for doing it at home on a very small scale. I would like, though, to start experimenting with making my own cheese at home.

Last time I think I got a little ahead of myself. I tried to do too much too fast before I had either the knowledge, confidence, or tools. This time I'm going to try to take things a bit slower. I started out with a basic paneer, just to ease myself back into things. And today I did a simple, direct acidified goat cheese. I generally find direct acidified cheeses quite boring. I like cultured and ripened cheeses. They're more interesting, have more flavour, and are more fun to make. But, as noted, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. So I'm starting with simple, direct acidified stuff. And, I gotta say, despite my disdain for the "just add acid" cheeses, this one was really quite nice! It looks beautiful and has a wonderful texture and, although it is very mild, the flavour is excellent!

Fresh Goat Cheese

Slightly adapted from The Home Creamery

Ingredients

• 2L whole (3.8%) goat's milk
• 125mL apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Slowly heat the milk to 80°C, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or scorching.
2. Hold milk at 80° for 10 minutes.
3. Slowly pour in vinegar, stirring to incorporate. Milk should curdle producing small white curds and clear, slightly greenish whey.
4. Pour mixture through a cheesecloth¹ lined colander. (Whey can be saved and used for baking or discarded.)
5. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth together, tie, and hang the cheese to drain. (If not hanging over the sink, place a bowl underneath to catch the whey that drips out.)
6. Allow to drain for at least half an hour (for a softer cheese) or up to five hours (for a slightly firmer cheese).
7. Can be eaten immediately or kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Serving Suggestion:

Radishes with Goat Cheese

Adapted from Real Simple

1. Break up cheese with a fork and stir in 1 Tbsp. olive oil + salt and pepper to taste. (I like using a nice coarse salt for this.)
2. Slice radishes and use to scoop up mounds of mild, creamy cheese.

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¹ If using cheesecloth purchased at a grocery store, use a triple layer. If you can find it, "butter muslin" will work much better. Cheesecloth from an actual cheese making supply house will tend to be much better quality and can be washed and reused. Plastic "cheesecloth" is also an excellent option. It's much easier to clean than actual cloth. The drawback is that it also tends to be somewhat more fragile and can tear if you're too rough with it. All that being said, grocery store cheesecloth can be used successfully, it's just a bit of a pain since it can't be reused and also you need multiple layers and the curds have a tendency to get caught between them. It does make for a cheap and easily available option if you're just getting started though. And is, in fact, what I'm using right now until the rest of my supplies come in.^Back

Malai Paneer

Paneer is India's sole cheese. It's firm, slightly crumbly, and doesn't melt but does grill or fry quite nicely. It's a heat-acid curdle, so it's easy to make at home but is not at all safe for the lactose-intolerant (like myself and my sister); if that's a concern, use lactose-free milk or cream in its preparation.

660 Curries has two paneer recipes, one made with whole milk and one made with cream. It's the cream version that we usually make, and that I've reproduced here.

This recipe is for a plain paneer, but you can easily mix in spices during the cheesemaking process, to complement whatever curry you'll be using it in or just enhance its appeal as a snack -- as we did with the paneer below.

Ingredients

• 2L 10% cream
• 64mL white vinegar

Procedure

1. Bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent it from scorching or suddenly boiling over.
2. Stir in the vinegar and remove from the heat. Wait for the curds and whey to separate, ~30 seconds.
3. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, making sure you have some extra hanging over the edge. Pour the cheese and whey into the colander, and let it drain.
4. Wait until the cheese is cool enough to handle, 5-10 minutes.
1. If you're going to add seasonings, now is the time; mix them well into the curds.
5. Fold the cheesecloth over the curds and squish them to squeeze more moisture out.
6. Once you aren't getting any more moisture out, return the wrapped curds to the colander and place a heavy weight on top of them, such as a pot filled with water. Leave them for 3-6 hours (or in the fridge overnight) while the remaining liquid is squeezed out.
7. Unwrap the cheese, and re-wrap in plastic wrap; keep in the fridge for up to a week.

If you don't get enough liquid out during the squeezing-and-pressing phase, the paneer won't hold its shape very well; you get a very soft, crumbly "cottage paneer" that disintegrates into something resembling scrambled eggs when heated. It's still very tasty, but a completely different texture, and it can't really be sliced or pan-fried.