Mark this date! I finally made my first ricotta at home. It’s draining now.
I used whole milk, the freshest I could find (reach waaaay back and check those sell-by dates!). It was very easy and only took a few minutes over the stove, then some time to drain.
I can definitely see making and serving some well-drained ricotta as part of a holiday cheese tray!
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How exciting! I have always wanted to do this! My son made paneer last year, and it is similar, I think. Or you use what drains from the paneer (whey?) to make ricotta. And then there’s queso blanco and queso fresca and haloumi — I’d really like to learn to make haloumi. My other son made farmers cheese when a dairy farm near him lost power and needed to give away a lot of (raw) milk in a hurry.
I would love to have access to raw milk! Maybe someday, and of course, with good safeguards in place.
Ricotta was traditionally made from the whey left behind from making, for instance, mozzarella. But for the home cook who is just making ricotta, you use milk. Of course, you could use skim or part skim, but I used whole milk. And next time might even add some cream, for extra creaminess, for eating “plain.” Plain here means with maybe a drizzle of olive oil, or honey, or jam.
It does indeed seem that paneer is pretty much like ricotta, drained and pressed; both use citric acid. I gather halloumi is often made with goat’s milk, and requires rennet, so it’s a little tricker (as I found out with that mozzarella!)
Post-Thanksgiving: A college student in my Social Problems class shared that she and friends had prepared and eaten “turducken” for the big dinner. I’ve never heard of turducken (if that’s how its spelled), but she said that its a turkey stuffed with duck and then stuffed with chicken. Please enlighten me. Joan Goldstein
Yup, that turducken is getting more popular it seems, and I’m in awe of those who take the time! Between turducken, and deep-frying, brining turkeys, and smoking turkeys (any/all of the above), and spending a wad on more flavorful/moist heritage/organic turkeys, and the myriad side dishes we must serve with it, it is amazing how much trouble we go through to make that turkey more “intersting” to eat! Now what does that say about our humble symbol of Thanksgiving?