Ricotta cheese

[racheld]

Our favorite strawberry-season dessert (or dip for any fruit) is ricotta smoothed into a wide plate or wide shallow bowl. Sprinkle the top with a nice layer of turbinado sugar (the crackly, shiny, golden kind, sold at Sam's as Sugar in the Raw).

It's just heavenly, the contrast of a bite of luscious fruit, covered in the creamy, rich cheese with little sparkles of crunchy sweet sugar all through it. And after it sits a while during the winding-down of the evening, when everyone is still lingering over coffee or brandy, the sugar gently melts into golden pools and runnels of the most delicious syrup, dripping from each spoon of cheese.

And there's a scrumptiously ethereal (Sicilian? Italian?) dessert made with pound cake slices which are used to line a bowl, brushed with Amaretto, then filled like a layered bombe with first: Stiffly whipped cream with powdered sugar, almond extract and toasted sliced almonds...smooth that up the sides in the shape of the bowl. Then fill the center with: More whipped cream mixed with powdered sugar, melted chocolate, ricotta and more sliced almonds. Fit more cake slices over the top; chill 4 to 8 hours, unmold, dust with powdered cocoa, slice.

And, Wendy---what is the final amount after draining?

[memesuze]

citric acid...  How do I find it? 

vitamin C powder - from your local natural foods store, or drugstore

[Pat W]

citric acid...  How do I find it? 

vitamin C powder - from your local natural foods store, or drugstore

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Duh! I didn't realize she meant that citric acid. I was expecting something complicated & mysterious that had to be shipped in from afar. Thank you for clearing that up.

Slinking away in embarrassment, pat

[little ms foodie]

1 gallon of milk yeilds about 1/2 lb. of cheese.

I think this week we may try a nice ricotta cheese cake

[Kevin72]

Many thanks Wendy.  I'm pumped about trying this.  At the risk of wearing out my welcome.... citric acid...  How do I find it? 

pat

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Lemon juice or even a tablespoon or two of white wine vinegar will do, as well.

[kellytree]

being a nitpick again but the recipe really isn't ricotta-

it will look like ricotta but it won't taste like the real deal.

ricotta is made with whey.

[MelissaH]

citric acid...  How do I find it? 

vitamin C powder - from your local natural foods store, or drugstore

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More nitpicking here: vitamin C is not citric acid. Vitamin C is ascorbic acid, and citric acid is citric acid. They're both carboxylic acids, but they are not the same compound!

If you're looking to buy citric acid, you may see it sold as "sour salt." I found it (sold as "citric acid") in the canning supplies at my local orchard market. If you're looking to buy vitamin C, your best bet is probably to look in with the rest of the supplements.

MelissaH

[memesuze]

More nitpicking here: vitamin C is not citric acid. Vitamin C is ascorbic acid, and citric acid is citric acid. They're both carboxylic acids, but they are not the same compound!

forehead smack - of course....

[little ms foodie]

I buy it at a specialty food shop that caters to a lot of local chefs

[Really Nice!]

I buy it at a specialty food shop that caters to a lot of local chefs

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Ahem, care to share or do I have to make you and yours dinner to bribe it out of you?

[binkyboots]

if you do try the homemade ricottaesque cheese dont throw out the whey, it makes a delicious loaf of bread, just sub they whey for water (or half and half)

and, in a nice circle of life moment the bread is very good with the cheese and a little honeycomb spread on it

so.. you can tell what we were doing yesterday then!

[little ms foodie]

I buy it at a specialty food shop that caters to a lot of local chefs

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Ahem, care to share or do I have to make you and yours dinner to bribe it out of you?

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Oh I'll take that dinner please!!! but so you know where to shop for the makings you can check out Big John's PFI in Seattle

I think you've been there but if for some strange reason you haven't email me, it's hard to find the first time.

[little ms foodie]

I've recently made ricotta again with 2 quarts of whole milk and 3 TBS lemon juice. I don't pour it out into the colander anymore, it works much better if use a slotted spoon to transfer the curds to drain.

slathered it on crostini and topped with some sliced radishes and some arugula that was tossed with lemon juice and EVOO, cracked pepper on top.

[KatieLoeb]

I'd like to add that ricotta, cottage cheese, sour cream and soda pop all last a lot longer if your store them upside-down in the refrigerator so the air pocket is at the end of the container that's air-tight.

[mukki]

I've recently made ricotta again with 2 quarts of whole milk and 3 TBS lemon juice. I don't pour it out into the colander anymore, it works much better if use a slotted spoon to transfer the curds to drain.

slathered it on crostini and topped with some sliced radishes and some arugula that was tossed with lemon juice and EVOO, cracked pepper on top.

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Was there a difference in flavor and/or texture when made with the lemon juice v. citric acid? I'm thinking about making ricotta for the first time to use in cannoli, but I don't know whether to go the citric acid or lemon juice route. I read that buttermilk and vinegar don't work as well.

This ricotta mousse at Lucullian Delights looks really good.

[little ms foodie]

I've recently made ricotta again with 2 quarts of whole milk and 3 TBS lemon juice. I don't pour it out into the colander anymore, it works much better if use a slotted spoon to transfer the curds to drain.

slathered it on crostini and topped with some sliced radishes and some arugula that was tossed with lemon juice and EVOO, cracked pepper on top.

←

Was there a difference in flavor and/or texture when made with the lemon juice v. citric acid? I'm thinking about making ricotta for the first time to use in cannoli, but I don't know whether to go the citric acid or lemon juice route. I read that buttermilk and vinegar don't work as well.

This ricotta mousse at Lucullian Delights looks really good.

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I really liked the texture of the one I made with lemon juice but I think it was more about the technique of scooping out the curds with a slotted spoon vs pouring the whole thing thru the colander

[achevres]

This ricotta mousse at Lucullian Delights looks really good.

I looked up that link and one of the ingredients, cedro candito, is translated as candied cedar, but there's no way. Cedar is "a" translation of cedro, it is also citron and cedro candito is candied citron. Which I happen to like a lot.

What I really wanted to post, is that I'm going to print out this thread and have it handy. I can't count how much left-over ricotta I've thrown away over the years. There are so many good ideas I feel like buying some just to try them! And who knew you could freeze it? Or the ricotta filling? Thanks to all.

[little ms foodie]

we bought some whole raw milk at the farmers market last weekend and made ricotta again. this time the curds were very large and the consistancy of the cheese curds I buy from my cheese maker vs the smooth spreadable ricotta I'm use to getting. Do you think it was the raw milk or something else? The taste was fantastic but the texture was a bit chewy.

[little ms foodie]

if you do try the homemade ricottaesque cheese dont throw out the whey, it makes a delicious loaf of bread, just sub they whey for water (or half and half)

and, in a nice circle of life moment the bread is very good with the cheese and a little honeycomb spread on it 

so.. you can tell what we were doing yesterday then!

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I don't make bread so I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do with the whey?? maybe just feed it to my cats?

[melissafitz]

thank you for this thread! i just got some fabulous ricotta from a local italian place and mixed in some droste cocoa, sugar and amaretto. amazing dessert!

Edited January 12, 2010 by melissafitz (log)

[LindaK]

My favorite Italian grocer began selling their homemade ricotta this past summer, and I've found it to be really versatile. I like it with honey or a bitter marmalade on crostini for a sweet or spread very thinly on crostini as a base for braesola. Great ideas here for getting me away from the crostini habit. And it sounds easy to make, maybe that's my next project.

[Moopheus]

being a nitpick again but the recipe really isn't ricotta-

it will look like ricotta but it won't taste like the real deal.

ricotta is made with whey.

Can you still get whey ricotta in Italy? Here in the US, almost all ricotta you can buy now is whole milk.

[IndyRob]

My version of Anthony Bourdain's childhood oyster experience was Maltese Pastizzi - although in this case, my family wasn't exactly shocked by my indulging in them, as they were too busy knocking me out of the way to get their own

Although the true dough probably bears more of a resemblance to strudel dough, frozen puff pastry can be used to create an easy but less spectacular version.

Take the puff pastry out to thaw and dump your 15-16 oz of ricotta into a mixing bowl and add two eggs. Season liberally with salt and black pepper (to taste if you're not afraid of the raw eggs). Mix until incorporated. Roll out the puff pastry sheets to make them a little larger and cut out 9 - 3 or 4 inch circles from each. Put a spoonful of ricotta mixture on each and fold up and seal like an asian pot sticker (but without the flutes). Place each, seam side up, on a baking sheet and bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-25 minutes until golden. Or, you can freeze the unbaked pastizzi and bake the number you want right from the freezer.

After years of searching I've finally found two videos that seem to corroborate the correct method for producing the traditional dough....

Professional method of production.... (quick - about 2 min)

An apparently authentic Maltese Grandmother with the complete dough recipe... (longer - about 16 min)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=121209033894

I'll be trying this soon, but unfortunately the final shaping (which I think has a lot of important nuances) is very hard to see with the quick handed pro in the first link, and is not covered at all in the second link.

Edited January 12, 2010 by IndyRob (log)

[rooftop1000]

being a nitpick again but the recipe really isn't ricotta-

it will look like ricotta but it won't taste like the real deal.

ricotta is made with whey.

Can you still get whey ricotta in Italy? Here in the US, almost all ricotta you can buy now is whole milk.

I had never thought about this until I started making my own...then had my mother mention she only buys Whole Milk...we can also get Part-Skim. I dont think we can even buy Real Ricotta Cheese here. I will hereby stop refering to my Ricotta as Ricotta-like

Also I found a great tool for straining the cheese..My strainer that was the right size was too coarse so I tried a Frying Pan Spatter Screen...perfect

tracey

Edited January 14, 2010 by rooftop1000 (log)